Is all inclusive food actually good or just cheap and easy?

[roses2]

I'm currently at a 5* all inclusive for a few days in the Mediterranean. It had amazing reviews. But the food is so bland and not good quality and no comparison at all to local restaurants.

This is the second all inclusive I've stayed in and the first was similar. I've decided all inclusive isn't for me.

Why do people rave so much about the great food? Is it just because the food is there and you're not looking at the price tag?

Buffet food is all much of the same ime, even very expensive fancy buffets in Vegas etc. I have stayed at an AI which is all a La carte but if you are on a low carb diet AI is not a good option.

We’ve only done AI once and the food was so shit, despite excellent reviews, that it has put me off ever trying again.

Agree with this.

Also places that do AI as an option not solely AI.

It's not generally my cup of tea, but if you are doing it you have to do a shit ton of research.

Also the star system in widely misunderstood. A 5 star hotel isn't necessarily an indicator of quality its an indicator of services available. Having a restaurant, or laundry services for example.

Plus you get what you pay for, and a med hotel in summer includes a massive uplift. For a true comparison, always look at the first week in December and see who can still charge premium prices.

The buffets that I’ve encountered in have been good for a low carb diet so long as they have a grill station(All that I’ve encountered in Spain and the Carribean have) where they cook fresh seafood and meat. That paired with some vegetables would work. Likewise some do omelette stations in the morning.

This is so true!

I think it just depends on the chefs.

we have been to a 4 star hotel where the AI food was varied, tasty and there was plenty of choice.
we have also been to a 3 star where the food was tasty but pretty repetitive.

this year we are going to a 3star plus so will see what the food is like.

I've only stayed in AI once. We went expecting the food to be a bit basic and took extra to eat out at local restaurants (the AI was really cheap, we were expecting something like Benidorm 😂 ) The food was a pleasant surprise, really varied and tasty. I think we were lucky as the hotel was not aimed at British tourists so it wasn't what I was expecting with stereotypical fry ups for breakfast and burger and chicken nuggets for lunch and dinner. It was very European.

For me, AI feels like a proper ‘holiday.’ I went SC this summer and it’s honestly not my bag. Sure, we ate out. But it cost a fortune and was just too much effort. Plus, I love the choice at AI.
I’m probably not as classy as you lot, but I’d take a bit of bland if it meant having more choice, convenience and not having to do anything.

I’ve personally never heard anyone rave about the quality of food at an A&E (though people often like the availability of food).

Usually there are “stations” with chefs preparing fresh food - focus on these. Alternatively, the a la carte restaurants on site are usually better.

Yes I’m not usually a big fan of the European AI food. It’s perfectly fine, but rarely great. Same goes for drinks - especially the incredibly syrupy cocktails. I’d prefer to go self catering and go out for nice meals, but sometimes with a good deal AI is just convenient.

It is nearing 20 years ago since I’ve done a Caribbean AI (so it may well have changed, it was much more affordable back then!) but the food and drinks in the Caribbean ones I went to were far far far nicer.

It’s nothing to do with class, it’s just about what you value in a holiday. I really enjoy good food, and value that more than having the ease and convenience of AI. Finding good restaurants to eat in is part of the fun for me. Either way is fine, no need to bring class into it!

Dh and I tend to go AI one week a year when we have a break away without the dc. Always out of typical ‘holidays’ season and push the boat out.
We’ve mostly been quite impressed and the variety and quality but always eat out quite a lot too, using the resort as a base but not limiting ourselves to only eating there.
I find it really easy to eat well, grilled meats and salads and veg for when I’m low carbing but lots of carb choices when I’m not. Egg station for breakfast if we want it. Bacon is always a disappointment anywhere in the world though 😂😂
Dd went to an AI with her boyfriend recently, it was super cheap and they both said the food options were absolutely dire, very limited and incredibly bland, they ended up eating out most of the time which they hadn’t planned to do but they found some good places locally and were much happier in other restaurants than their AI.

I like AI sometimes because it’s easy. Everything is included especially drinks. I’m still happy to go out and eat other places but at least I know breakfast etc is covered. I prefer not to self cater as it still feels like work to me.

The food is never amazing but I always choose a resort where there’s plenty of different restaurants as well as the buffet.

All 4* AI I’ve done have had great cooked meats etc - cooked to order on the grill in front of you.

massive variety of salads, rice and pasta and potato.

Lots if cheeses and hams.

The only thing I find they get wrong is vegetables. I’ve yet to visit a hotel that can just bung a tray of peas and carrots out without making it in some watery tomato sauce!

puddings are usually great too although cake isn’t quite out version of cake 😂

Strongly agree with pp who says look for an AI with a la carte restaurants not just a buffet. We’ve been to a few of the Ikos resorts and the a la carte restaurants are excellent.

Remember that the ‘5*’ just means they’ve got various facilities. It’s not actually related to the quality, exactly.

I’ve had good food in AIs, but it’s been in the really eye wateringly expensive places in the gulf.

As others have said the quality varrues enormously, but in general I expect it to be on par with a mid-range restaurant rather than high end. Not AI but full board the best food I’ve ever had was Neilson Vounaki - the staff are all long tenured and the buffet was sensational. I’ve got dietary requirements and a fussy child and they were ace.

It can be a mixed bag. We stayed somewhere in Majorca where I found the food really good...paella was available every night. Various canapes and starters. There was also lots of grilled meat, salad and chips which is very much what it says on the tin. The desserts always look better than they taste I find! I like the breakfast buffet...every type of bread, fruit, cereal, cheeses, cooked breakfast. It is what it is. Unless you go very very expensive it's not going to be fine dining but it's usually perfectly decent standard type food.

In Turkey there was great food, a whole buffet bar of fantastic veg and salad…I was one of the few eating that while everyone else headed for beige….

When I do ai I tend to eat out in the evening anyway because generally yes it’s shit.

Id go for either the cooked to order omelette for breakfast or yoghurt and fruit Then a mn tradtional massive salad for lunch, then eat out in the evening.

I’m usually ok as on holidays in the sun I find myself leaning towards salad cold cuts and seafood all of which are pretty standard and not reliant on seasoning

I personally think there needs to be a new class of stars as 5 star varies wildly. I’ve stayed at some exceptional 5 stars usually in Turkey and the food is outstanding and all Al a carte included

same for Mexico and some places in Greece

the rest of Europe I don’t rate their 5 stars as proper 5 star

It’s very much depends. Usually European is as you describe (there’s a lot of nice ones out there, but usually high end).

Long haul though, Maldives, Caribbean, Mauritius are great! Of course depends on your hotel but the vast majority will be better than a typical med resort.

5 stars also depends who’s rated it, it’s not set across the board. It should be like ships where you have 6/7 star ships.

It varies. Some hotels are brilliant, others are not so good.

We stayed in a brilliant one in Menorca - there was so much choice of fruit, pastries, cereal and juices at breakfast, they had a chef doing cooked eggs/omelettes fresh however you wanted them. Amazing fresh bread selection. Lunch they had someone cooking on a grill, some days there was fish, others chicken/pork/beef, ever-changing salads, plus all the basics of rice, pasta. At dinner time they had similar stuff to lunchtime but with the addition of a pasta station outside with 4-5 different styles of pasta and 6-8 sauces and they did it fresh, plus a pizza oven.

Other places have been much more meh in terms of quality or cooked food although usually the salad/bread is good.

The only thing I find consistently under par is the dessert other than ice cream as it's usually bought in and very artificial.