To ask if you’d enjoy this holiday ?

[CryJustALittleBit]

All inclusive hotel in Spain.

Fancy dress competitions for kids and kids club for general ents etc discos

Some of the male hotel guests putting on drag acts as evening entertainment

Two pools - one indoor / one outdoor

Sharing a dinner table with another guest couple at the hotel

Space invader machines /Pac Man etc

Pool table

VERY predominantly British guests

Hotel is right next to a beach

Plenty of cafes and bowling alleys near by for entertainment

Nice ‘bar’ area where you can also get drinks like milk shakes etc

Courier service so you have the option to go on day trips etc

Hotel guests in general are a bit ‘Phoenix Nights’ iyswim

So, what’s the verdict ?? Y Viva Espana?

Stock up on your own drinks - cheaper and most likely better quality than AI. I love a good old supermarket in Europe! Different experience to home. I adore the fresh orange juice machines they have in the likes of Spain where you just fill your own bottle and it's delicious!

You don't have to touch a dishwasher if you eat out. You could for the sake of the holiday use disposable glasses and recycle them, though I usually make use of the glasses in the accommodation for the sake of the few seconds it takes to wash them.

You don't have to drive around a lot either. It just gives you a bit more freedom and on hot days the aircon in the car is heavenly!! I don't drive abroad but DH doesn't mind.

There often quite good public transport and I think personally a holiday is a waste if you don't experience any of the scenery and culture of the location you are staying in.

I love all kinds of holidays, prefer a city break or a cruise these days, or even a walking holiday, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at a few days in Spain having some cheesy fun with friends. Live and let life, and lets face it, in the real world these type of holidays are very popular.

I don't massively explore but I don't just stay in the hotel. I go mainly for the weather and the beaches/swimming pools. I love the water. And I love a break from day to day chores. I like nice scenery. Eating as much as I want for a week! Im not a big drinker and rarely drink at home but I enjoy a few cocktails on holiday.

I would hate it but I'm happy for other people if that's what they like!

I don't understand the YABU/YANBU, but if you mean is it OK if you hated it or were otherwise less then thrilled, then YANBU. Same if you liked or loved it but someone else said you shouldn't.It seems like a weird pastiche to me; whether or not someone would like it kind of depends on personal tastes, preferences, standards, and previous experiences.

I love the beach and the sea; close to the beach is a big yes for me. I guess I would like kids' activities if I brought kids on holiday with me and wouldn't care about them if I didn't. Amateur drag acts by men are generally tired, cringey, and borderline if not full-on misogynist; it might have been a little more interesting if there had been a lot of drag kings. I don't care if people are British or if I have to share a table. I have no idea what Phoenix Nights means, but I can guess that it was a negative for you!

Overall, there's very little in your description that stands out to me as something I'd love, or as something you loved. I love Spain - for what it's worth, especially Cadiz, Granada, Sevilla, Valencia, and Barcelona - but to me this kind of holiday doesn't do it justice.

Not a holiday I’d ever want to go on, based on the description I’d rather stay home tbh.

But lovely that you enjoyed it, as did many others I’m sure. Great that we can pick what suits us best.

I love Spain too! I've loved Sevilla, Madrid, western Costa del sol (Estepona direction) and Valencia. The others are on the list!

I think I need a sun holiday this year. The last couple of years we've had city breaks for the most part for a variety of reasons, like Valencia, Rome (several times) and NYC. Valencia was lovely as it also had beautiful beaches and I am still salivating over the food!

No but my DD & DM would love it, hence why we haven’t been on holiday in years !

It sounds horrific but “each to their own”.

Just read your update about it not being AI. That’s what struck me. I was thinking surely AI weren’t a thing back then.
Anyhow, when the DCs were little then yes I would have gone on this type of holiday. Now they are older, no.

All inclusive hotel in Spain - not keen
Fancy dress competitions for kids and kids club for general ents etc discos - no
Some of the male hotel guests putting on drag acts as evening entertainment - not interested
Two pools - one indoor / one outdoor - Yes
Sharing a dinner table with another guest couple at the hotel - wouldn't bother me, but DH would hate it
Space invader machines /Pac Man etc - god no
Pool table - maybe
VERY predominantly British guests - wouldn't bother me
Hotel is right next to a beach - yes
Plenty of cafes and bowling alleys near by for entertainment - yes to cafes, no to bowling
Nice ‘bar’ area where you can also get drinks like milk shakes etc - fine by me
Courier service so you have the option to go on day trips etc - yes
Hotel guests in general are a bit ‘Phoenix Nights’ iyswim - NOCD

I turned 50 last year and so was 11 in 1985. This sounds like the type of holiday my family aspired to at the time and we all would have loved.

Fast forward to 2025, it sounds like hell.

I wouldn’t pick a holiday like this but I could make the best of it.

my DH would be moany about sharing a table.

my kids would love it and I’m happy when they are happy.

It sounds awful to me and I’d never go anywhere like that as I wouldn’t feel comfortable, but some people obviously love it!

It wouldn't be something I would choose and it would be not great for autistic DC overall but I guess it depends on the actual location and price. If it was somewhere with other stuff I would like to do and it wasn't really expensive the other guests wouldn't bother me

To be fair, when I go on the family holiday, yes, I am going for the weather. I want to be able to feel warm for a whole week. I want to swim in warm sea every day. I want to walk round without a hoody. I don't want to see my laptop glaring at me from the corner.

I'd love to do culture, but if we can only afford one holiday a year then warmth, swimming, chilling and reading wins every time. With a cultural trip thrown in one day during the week. I'll have to get my culture from books.

You're lucky - I was 22 and graduating in 1985!!!!

WTF did my youth go!!! 🙄😃

DH and I did do a couple of half board hotel holidays, 30+ years ago. It was back in the day when you had to go to a travel agent to book your holidays! We found it quite restrictive so we stopped doing it.

We skipped the entertainment though. There was some stuff poolside and it was totally cringey!

Sorry for my ignorance what dues NOCD mean?

So you get accommodation in walking distance from amenities or use public transport or occasional taxis.

We tend to self cater in places where ideally we can walk to a Mercadona or other proper supermarket (convenience stores will do but expensive and limited range).

If walking take your suitcase on day 1 to stock up on drinks then just make sure you have easy food, snacks, cheese etc and perhaps a couple of return trips for fresh bread and other top ups. It's nothing like day to day regular grocery shopping and cooking at home.

We eat out at least once a day, go on trips out, beach, walks and also spend a lot of time on the balcony or terrace. No cooking as such and the only 'cleaning' is minimal washing up or dishwasher loading which everyone does their share of. I'd definitely take a couple of washing up sessions over a hotel buffet and love a nose around a Mercadona anyway.

We only have one holiday a year and tend to choose holidays where we can do a bit of both - time on the beach and some sightseeing/culture. Hot weather isn't really a deal-breaker. I don't like it very hot tbh.

@CryJustALittleBit NOCD = not our class darling

An ex manager used to use this expression all the time.

Not entirely my cup of tea, but I'd absolutely make the best of it.

AHA !!! Thank you !!! I was looking for the abbreviation but couldn’t find this one

Phoenix Nights was a sitcom on in the early 2000s about life in a northern working men’s club.

The clientele in the hotel were very ‘Phoenix Nights’. I feel most at home with people who are very Phoenix Nights.

So it was a win win!

The good thing about it was though you could be your own person. So if you didn’t want to get involved at all and just wanted to sit down and read a book on your own no one would pressure you - they’d totally leave you to your own devices and respect your wishes !