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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Are all inclusive holidays worth it?

266 replies

Blueisthecolour1 · 25/02/2023 18:03

Just throwing it out there - I got excited and went online to book an all-inclusive holiday in Corfu next May half-term. Spent ages looking at various hotels - it's a once in a decade thing, for us so a really one-off opportunity. BUT:

Can't find many AI hotels that offer a family room with adequate space or number of rooms. Don't want to spend thousands of pounds to sleep in the same room as my two children for a week (ages 9 and 5.) I've got a better set up at home - i.e. at least one or two doors between me and them at bedtime!

Trip Advisor reviews - they really freak me out. Especially as every hotel has bad ones it would seem, which is to be expected I suppose however, a pattern of comments around the buffet-type food halls which in general, people seem to dislike after day 3 - one person describing them as cattle-sheds! Lots of complaints in general about food being under-cooked, and lots of queuing for the buffet. Clearly, you get great reviews as well but there does seem to be a theme to some of the concerns.

Lots of reviews complaining about other people - their mess, their noise, again, the queuing and overcrowding of certain favourite areas, like splash parks/play areas.

For the money, is it worth it? I know there's always a mix of opinion on these things but themes do seem to crop up with the all-inclusive topic and it's made me nervous about booking something. Some of them seem absolutely huge in terms of their layout as well - does it get a bit tedious having to make the same journey to get a bite to eat in the morning with young children, then perhaps queuing for ages to get to the buffet table? Then again at lunch, and again at dinner - some people seem to wait ages to get seated at mealtimes by which time the kids are grumpy, overtired, fed up.

I looked on Booking.com to see what properties are available for the location we're interested in and you can get a lovely 3 or four bedroom flat right by the beach for half the price - self-catering obviously. But no kid's clubs, no fun splash park, and all the easy wonders of an all-inclusive environment - IF that's what it is!!! I just don't know!

What are other's experiences opinions on this?

OP posts:
ChungusBoi · 26/02/2023 11:29

What about half board? It will increase the number of possible hotels and you are more likely to find something with the living accommodation you want. I have done AI as well but we are not big drinkers, and after a good breakfast, we found that we didn’t want much lunch and were more likely to be out of the hotel in the daytime in any case.

WeAreBorg · 26/02/2023 11:35

The only AI I’ve tried is Ikos and it was excellent. The main attraction is not having to drag the kids round to find places to eat, then end up going to the same one anyway. The pools are heated, the food and drinks are lovely. I was quite dismissive of AI before I went but honestly didn’t hear one peep of complaint from the DC and I actually felt properly relaxed for a change!

Grumpybutfunny · 26/02/2023 11:40

We enjoy having the entertainment and facilities that come with all inclusive. We can book a 5* with slides, kids club and unlimited al carts for the same price as we would spend day going full board and paying for drinks but without the facilities. Have you looked further afield? 10 nights in the Caribbean or 14 nights in Egypt is often the same price as 7 in Europe. We really want to go back to the Greek islands but we can get Mexico for the same price!

JunkinDonuts · 26/02/2023 11:47

I always went all inclusive with my kids. It saved them hassling me for drinks and ice cream.
I still go all inclusive with my OH, but to couples only ones, even though I don't drink alcohol, I drink a lot of coffee. If I were to be buying coffee out all the time, I would be spending around £50 a day just on that.
Trip advisor reviews, take the good, the bad together and you will find an average middle ground.
What suits one, doesn't always suit another.

Throwncrumbs · 26/02/2023 11:54

AI holidays to places like Spain, Greece, in fact any European place is so different than an AI place in a long haul place so it depend which you choose. I wouldn’t go AI to Spain as you can eat out cheaply, but AI in the Caribbean or Indian Ocean is my choice because it isn’t so easy to find a place where you can eat out cheaply or somewhere for fussy kids imo

OldSkoolLikeHappyShopper · 26/02/2023 12:06

I’ve done 2 AI holidays.

One luxury one In Barbados, which was fantastic, there was a good choice of restaurants and the food was fresh and delicious.

One budget one in Egypt, which I wouldn’t recommend. The free booze was horrible, the food was grim, dd2 got food poisoning and her shits were green (the only meat eater among us).

So unless you’re spending a lot of money on somewhere posh, I’d avoid it. Also the problem with AI is that then you feel tied to stay at the resort rather than going off exploring, as the food there is bought and paid for.

Badwithmoney · 26/02/2023 12:12

I still have nightmares about our one and only package holiday but the kids loved it. For future holidays we tried to recreate with a few days in a resort and then moved onto a city or activity like mountaineering. You can organise it more cheaply if you book directly with the hotels and organise your own transport.

TicketEnforcement · 26/02/2023 12:25

www.tui.co.uk/destinations/cyprus/paphos-area/paphos/hotels/olympic-lagoon-resort-paphos.html

Amazing food
More than one restaurant
Next to beach
30 mins walk to town
You can book direct with the hotel

HereForTheFreeLunch · 26/02/2023 12:29

I haven't RTFT but just to add my two cents .. call them up about the room situation. They will be able to suggest the resort's where the room pattern will match what you want.

KimberleyClark · 26/02/2023 12:30

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 25/02/2023 18:57

Go on a med cruise. Mostly AI (for excursions you can DIY most of them) and the kids clubs are fantastic on them.

Yes cruises far and away the best value AI. Doesn’t get boring because there’s a variety of eating places.

PermanentlyinUAT · 26/02/2023 12:32

OP not RTFT but if it’s AI you’re looking for in Corfu check out Ikos Dassia. I don’t love AI personally as we are not huge boozers but the quality of food and drinks here is pretty good.

Nevermind31 · 26/02/2023 13:11

Choose your hotel carefully.
we had lovely AI in the Indian Ocean and Caribbean, but they were adults only. absolutely awful one in Egypt - supposedly 5*, but it was so far removed from the previous ones we had.
it really depends on whether you like large places with lots of people…

Xrays · 26/02/2023 13:14

PermanentlyinUAT · 26/02/2023 12:32

OP not RTFT but if it’s AI you’re looking for in Corfu check out Ikos Dassia. I don’t love AI personally as we are not huge boozers but the quality of food and drinks here is pretty good.

We have been to Dassia and absolutely loved it. Admittedly not that particular hotel as it is now, we went before it was Ikos but it was lovely then too. Beautiful location and food was amazing. One of my favourite holidays.

Katela18 · 26/02/2023 13:15

With a toddler and baby we like them....just because it avoids cooking and cleaning up for us parents. I wouldnt feel like I was on holiday if I was still doing meals and dishing 3x a day

That said, if we go away as a group we prefer self catering as it can really be split out more.

As with everything there are pros and cons. Yes you will see meals being repeated but in my experience there is generally enough variety for it not to matter too much.

Aphrathestorm · 26/02/2023 13:24

There's been a cultural shift in holidays over the last 20 years.

Back then I took toddler dc abroad. S/c was the norm. I bed apt so then in bedroom me in living/kitchen.

Apt complexes had pools, restaurant, playground apparatus etc.

Local supermarket had fruit/bread etc for snacks/light meals. (No oven in apt)

Went out for lunch/and or dinner to pizza/burger type places where I knew dc would eat.

Day trips to big water parks.

I really don't see how AI would have made our holidays better.

AI is much much more expensive than the total cost of any of my s/c holidays.

(Spain/Greece)

bellsbuss · 26/02/2023 13:28

We like them for our family holiday but will choose ones with Al a carte dining options , premium drinks and preferably long haul. We still want luxury even when holidaying with our children. When we do our couples holidays happy to just have breakfast included so we can eat out every night.

Rayn22 · 26/02/2023 13:29

I wouldn't. I have done cheap all
Inc in the med. 4 star in the med and a once in a lifetime in the Caribbean.
They are all the same. Or to me they are. Last year we booked a gorgeous apartment on the beach and just ate out different places every night. We had a 10 and 6 year old. What a difference. All the kids were bothered about is the pool so we spent a lot of time there without all the crappy entertainment l. However we are
Mor of a sit on the balcony and play cards family.My friend can't think of anything worse and loves all the entertainment AI brings. Depends on what you prefer.

Motherofacertainage · 26/02/2023 13:37

This is one of the occasions where a travel agent really helps. Did AI for the first time last year and ended up in Turkey which is good value for money for AI and great quality. Personally I would pay extra for extra bedroom/space because once you're spending a few grand on the holiday I think that aspect is not worth scrimping on.

Whammyyammy · 26/02/2023 13:38

We did a few AI in the med when the children were smaller, but always done our homework first, as some can be awful food and drinks.l, food for the masses my oh called it.

AI is great in Mexico or carribean, they seem to know how to do it right.

Now it's just the 2 of us, we prefer the freedom and choice of eating out somewhere different and having table service, as opposed to buffet style queueing.

GyozaGuiting · 26/02/2023 13:43

AI in the Caribbean is brilliant, but in Europe/canaries it is a bit more hit and miss.
As others have said pick somewhere with several restaurants, that way you get decent variation and it’s less of a canteen!
I also recommend 4 star, 3 and less and it can start to get a bit ‘butlins’.

Silversalt · 26/02/2023 13:46

They are perfect for families with a certain age group.
There are plenty of hotels that do bungalows so you get two bedrooms and a sittong room as well as AI.
You get what you pay for, cheap AI = cheap food.

I just came back from Lanzarote where the food on offer in the hotel was better than most restaurant food. Steak, lobster etc. Whole section on GF, vegan, Italian etc.
Never in Greece though, for some reason they do it very badly.

PumpkinTruffles · 26/02/2023 13:56

I think when I was younger and took full advantage of the free flowing alcohol, it was great. But I wouldn't enjoy it now personally. For me food is a huge part of going away and I love eating out at different places. AI hotels can quite often mean the food is very same-y and I agree with the comment about it being a bit like a cattle shed. It does depend on the hotel though - I went AI in Mexico and they had 7 different restaurants within the hotel complex and only one of those was buffet style. As for whether it's worth the money, again it depends on the hotel... but also depends on what you want out of it. If you like the idea of being based in the hotel most of the time for all 3 meals, fine. If you think you'd get bored and end up venturing out and therefore spending more on meals out, maybe consider bed and breakfast only...?

BrightPurple · 26/02/2023 13:58

We enjoyed our AI holiday to a huge aqua park in Egypt but I found myself getting quite board towards the second week.

I think it was more to do with the area we were in, I wanted to explore outside of the complex but couldn’t, we could only visit the beach via a coach that picked holidaymakers up at set times.

It was great for DC though. Met a few similar age DC, unlimited ice cream, etc.

MissAtomicBomb1 · 26/02/2023 13:58

TheHillsAreAliveWithTheSoundOfMystery · 25/02/2023 18:12

I wouldn't do AI in Greece but yes, it can be a good experience.

Me neither. Greek hotels often tend to be a bit more basic/traditional unless you are paying £££
I've been AI a couple of times in the Balearics and it's been great. You need to choose wisely though. The one we usually go to has a good choice of food - the kids love trying new things (plenty of fresh fruit, veg & salad too) Yes it does get a little samey after the 4th day but we used to have the odd meal elsewhere and go to a couple of the local beach bars after dinner. I'm not sure we'll be going AI once they're older as I like going to different places and having things freshly cooked but horses for courses and all that.

jetadore · 26/02/2023 14:03

Whenever I look at an AI/resort type holiday, prices work about 800-1000 pp for a family of 4 for anywhere that looks half decent, is that about right or am I doing it wrong?