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Original poster

The big sunbed debate

51 replies

BibbleandSqwauk · 07/08/2023 16:10

Just wondering what the general consensus is in the whole "bagging" sunbeds for the whole day with towels but nothing else and then buggering off / removing said towels if you're actually there and want to use them? 100% wouldn't move books / sunglasses etc where people are mostly likely in the pool but when it's just towels and there none others free? I moved some today but felt awkward the whole time after in case they came back.

OP posts:
EvilElsa · 07/08/2023 19:14

Beds shouldn't be reservable. Towels left should be removed by management. If there was no management I'd personally fold the towels and put them to the side.
I couldn't stand going on holiday to somewhere where I had to scrabble around for a sunbed. Seems like hell on earth in the videos you see online of the daily 6am stampede and the fights about beds and towels. Hideous. I've seen that some hotels are now good at managing it and will remove towels. Can you buy some cheap lilos and use those instead as a back up? At least then if you bag one bed the kids can use those.

CornishGem1975 · 07/08/2023 19:17

BibbleandSqwauk · 07/08/2023 19:00

It's not "newsworthy" just happened to me today and I'm idly wondering.

Oh I am not saying that to you OP - I mean it has literally been on the TV and in the newspapers today!

Changeforachange · 07/08/2023 19:29

ForestGoblin · 07/08/2023 19:04

I don't understand why people go on holiday to lie like a sausage on a turny thing in canteen.

I am counting the days til I can sizzle like a sausage ☀️🏖️
I just love the feel of the sun on my skin & having a little read, nap, swim, nap, read.

A total escape from a quite intense & responsible job when I have to be personable & productive the rest of the year.

Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same!

Elphame · 07/08/2023 19:31

I find the whole thing utterly ridiculous.

I would not want to stay anywhere that required such a stressful start to the day.

Loub55 · 07/08/2023 19:34

The only thing that would put me off moving them is how do you know they aren't in the pool?

ForestGoblin · 07/08/2023 19:34

Changeforachange · 07/08/2023 19:29

I am counting the days til I can sizzle like a sausage ☀️🏖️
I just love the feel of the sun on my skin & having a little read, nap, swim, nap, read.

A total escape from a quite intense & responsible job when I have to be personable & productive the rest of the year.

Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same!

Show quote history

Yeah but to the point you'd queue for hours for somewhere to lie like a lump?? Just go out and about, there's sun everywhere!

Nevermind31 · 07/08/2023 19:34

So what you actually need to do if you want to reserve a subbed is to put your towel, an old magazine - opened on a random page - one of those free tote bags you get with a magazine, and an empty sun cream bottle on/ by the bed. Because people don’t have to physically lie on the bed to use it, they may be on the toilet/ bar/ getting a snack…
But I agree… wrong hotel.

ForestGoblin · 07/08/2023 19:34

The sun just feels like a couple of years of wrinkles to me.

Curseofthenation · 07/08/2023 19:37

I mean, I'm with @ForestGoblin but if I did like roasting in the sun then I would not hesitate to move a towel.

summeree · 07/08/2023 20:31

We've been to 2 hotels in Cyprus where they have a guy with a sunbed chart who allocates you your sunbeds on arrival and if you're not happy with the choice you can normally change in a couple of days. Works like a dream and i wish more hotels would use this method.

Claysta · 07/08/2023 20:39

Just back from a P&O cruise (Azura) and the same thing happened around the pools onboard. People lay out a towel and then disappeared for hours. My DS and DD amused themselves by removing towels ‘the towel game’… as they called it.

GangleLoper · 07/08/2023 20:40

Ive only ever seen this happen on TV, in real life staff remove abandoned goods for safe keeping.

Kpnutz91 · 07/08/2023 20:49

We came back from palmanova 2 weeks ago where towels were left on loungers for hours and were nowhere to be seen. People complained at reception and they said to just move them. There was a really bad argument at the poolside where a 50+ year old British man was swearing and shouting at this family who had ‘stolen’ their sun beds.. I like the idea of paying a small fee to book them if you so wish or even get allocated them on arrival though.
I can’t see anything changing anytime soon mind 😒 we spent time just waiting for some to come free which was a pain but didn’t fancy getting screamed at when there were kids around either.

Ginmonkeyagain · 07/08/2023 20:52

The Daily Mail is OBSESSED with this at the moment.

As someone who has never been to a hotel that has sunbeds I am lowkey fascinated by this debate.

I'm the kind of London dickhead who excels at bagging train seats, finding space at a busy bar and tables in pubs so I reckon I'd have sunbed skills. Issue is I hate lying still in the sun so I am not sure what I would do with one when I had it!

BounceyB · 07/08/2023 20:58

This whole issue gives me the rage. On my last holiday it started at 7 am. I got so fed up of it.

SamW98 · 07/08/2023 21:06

I think putting your belongs on a sunbed as you come down for breakfast is find if you’re going to be sitting there soon as you’ve finished eating.
It’s the ones who get up at the crack of dawn to reserve their sun beds then stroll down at midday that should have their towels removed.

Sadly it’s not just these huge hotels. I stayed in a 22 room hotel in Greece years ago and tel families who stayed there every year used to block about 12 sunbeds out in the early hours. We were sitting on balcony after a night out about 2am and we saw the two dads come down with a pile of towels and reserve the beds in the dark.

Fantina · 07/08/2023 21:11

Center Parcs has this too in their subtropical ‘paradise’. I’m heavily pregnant and need to sit down regularly but at Elveden recently every single poolside chair was constantly taken. In one area (Venture Cove) there’s about 20 chairs and every single one was ‘reserved’ and not with bums.

I think the staff should have a policy of moving the towels and piling them up carefully, it would remove the danger of a confrontation if you do it yourself.

ItsNotRocketSalad · 07/08/2023 21:13

GangleLoper · 07/08/2023 20:40

Ive only ever seen this happen on TV, in real life staff remove abandoned goods for safe keeping.

Please name the hotels that do this?

IhateJan22 · 07/08/2023 21:16

We’ve just been away and I can honestly say I don’t get it. There was no queue in the mornings to race for sun beds but by about 9am all beds are gone, fine if people are using them but why put a towel on to leave it like that for hours on end? If people just used beds when they’re actually using them I’m convinced there would be enough for everyone. We would go to the pool later in the afternoon and there would often be numerous beds not been touched all day. We often used one bed between three of us as the child and one adult would be in the pool whilst the other adult chilled for a bit.

Alwayswonderedwhy · 07/08/2023 21:17

I would make sure I don't book anywhere that this is likely to happen. Avoided package holidays/all inclusive type places and you won't have to deal with it.

UndercoverCop · 07/08/2023 21:19

If someone is just swimming or at the bar/loo there are usually other things on the sunbed.
I wouldn't even leave a sunbed blocked to get lunch, unless it was a takeaway hatch thing by a bar.
I just neatly fold left towels and stack nearby if anyone says anything eg, oh I left my towels there, I just say oh they were empty when we arrived, there's a pile of towels over there though they might be yours if you are looking for them.

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 07/08/2023 21:30

Years ago I was in Lanzarote and there was an official sign by the pool saying 'any towels left on sunbeds overnight will be thrown in the pool' we laughed at it thinking it was a funny sign and there didn't seem to be a towels on beds problem. We were there for 2 weeks and the middle Saturday changeover we were in the bar late and saw the security guard casually chucking towels in the pool Grin

Didn't see any towels out at night the rest of that week either!

Ohmylordnotagain · 07/08/2023 21:36

Not towel related but sunbed related in the 1980s we were on works holiday it was my now exdh who worked in sales.
A very very posh couple were part of our group.

We were all on the beach and the sunbed people were protesting something and making everyone get off the beds tipping them off if they didn't move.
The posh lady didn't move they told her to, she actually said 'oh no you can't mean us we are British' 😂😂😂

inloveonholiday · 07/08/2023 22:29

I was on holiday recently in an adults only resort. A beautiful sun bed with canopy was empty apart from a pair of sandals and some suncream. No towels. Prime position and empty.

I asked around if the bed was occupied and people said they hadn't seen anyone. So I got the staff to remove the items.

After about an hour a lady appeared and was quite flustered because her things had been moved.

I told her the staff had moved the items and they wouldn't be far. Then I went back to reading my book.

I'm menopausal and no longer give a care what people think. If it's obviously unoccupied it's up for grabs.

Original poster
BibbleandSqwauk · 08/08/2023 07:22

Again, to the people saying "I wouldn't choose this" well it's nice you have a choice but as a single parent on a limited budget and wanting the safety net that comes with an organised, package holiday, it's kind of hard to avoid. The place I'm at isn't terrible actually, so long as you're down by about 11 it's fine, no crack of dawn issues. As others have said, you can sort of tell between "gone for hours" and "just in the pool" by what else is or isn't there. It would be good if more places actively managed it.

OP posts: