Day 1 of holiday. Hell.

[gilesday]

This will come off really bad I appreciate that but sod it I have to speak my truth.

Day 1 of our family holiday we came to Greece. Have been excited for it. It’s all inclusive which is our second time, last year we did all inclusive and same thing I hated it. Don’t know why I thought it would be different but anyway.

I hate it. The hotel is just crap. The clientele are typical of what you would expect at an all inclusive and I just seriously regret it.

The thing is, I get I’m being a snob. Let’s be honest clearly we have the same budget as these people I’m slagging off (100k combined income) so should probably be a bit more humble, but I can’t. Every fibre of my being feels like I’m not built for this. I want better. I want luxury. I’m sooooo much more at home at high end places, where as the people here would probably feel uncomfortable there and like this better.

is anyone else like this?

What do I do, just avoid all inclusive from now on and stick to nicer hotels but just breakfast, eat out and explore more?

What do people do who are like me but equally don’t have the Dorchester budget?

You're not chained to your hotel bed. Just go out explore and have some local food, avoiding tourist places. That's what I do. I'd just suck up the extra cost. I've never earned more than £24k and manage to have perfectly nice holidays just by being savvy at where I spent my cash 🤷🏻‍♀️ pay big for experiences yes, say no to overpriced tourist traps where everyone is English.

I'm not a snob, but I expect reasonable behaviour from those around me whatever their nationality. Which is why I stick to nature based places rather than cities or resorts because people = noise and drama in my experience.

Maybe other people there feel the same? Wouldn't we all like absolute luxury but just can't afford it?

I have limited experience with all inclusive but from what I experienced wasn't a huge fan. Not necessarily because I wanted more luxury but just prefer to be left to my own devices and have an experience that feels more individual. I don't like being in crowded places, I find them noisy and unpleasant so would prefer a quiet villa somewhere. If you get annoyed by other people I wouldn't go in an AI. At the end of the day, you are sharing the hotel with other people. When you book an air b and b you can have the whole apartment to yourself.

5 star all inclusive is lovely. You’ve probably picked a bad place

Nothing snobbish about liking self catering. You don't have to drink to be able to benefit from an AI package. Provided you choose carefully you can get a cost benefit from it, as you can easily spend a lot on lunch every day plus some soft drinks or ice creams by the pool, and that's before you have any drinks with evening meals. But when I've had AI I've mainly liked the convenience of it.

It’s quite possible that OP grew up with luxury but now can no longer afford it. Downward social mobility is rife in the middle classes due to career choice and stagnant wages. I think a good lesson is to learn to make the most of things, whatever they are. I don’t know what the weather is like in England right now, but surely it’s nicer in Greece? Enjoy being out and about in shorts and flip flops and able to have a cocktail or two on the balcony on a weeknight - I’m sure you’ll miss that when you’re back home.

5* all inclusive is the way to go.
We haven't done all-inclusive since about 2018, but went to the same 5* place in Cape Verde two years in a row, we liked it that much.
Unfortunately, the only way to skim off the peasants is to pay more. And while that is no guarantee of success, it helps.

If I go to Spain I go where the Spaniards go and likewise if I go to Portugal / France etc. Much much nicer experience.

What was your budget may I ask?

Upscale people don't do AI at all IME. It's usually villas in beautiful quiet places.

The choice of location is absolutely key too.

I've had a lovely half board holiday in Greece, and very classy stays in Spain too.

Been to AI a few times. The 5 star luxury in Mexico was amazing & not comparable to the budget family friendly 3 star places in the Canaries/Med.
With kids AI made for an easier more relaxed holiday, I found. My DH is disabled & everything fell to me so AI was more of a break than the many SC holidays we’ve had. But if you want luxury you really need to pay for it whether it’s a SC villa or a high end AI.

You are not being a snob!
im a snob because I literally judge anyone who goes AL or on a cruise.

Snap! We went to 5 star in Cape Verde in Oct 2017 & loved it so much we booked to return in May 18. It was my DC first AI & they were gobsmacked at the luxury. It was a bit of a come down when we went to a 3 star in Lanzarote the following year!

No one is right or wrong - it’s just a matter of taste and if you aren’t at the level of getting individual a la cartes and good wine or paying Ikos money ( people roll it off the tongue as if everyone has £12k plus to spend on holidays) then it’s not snobbish to admit it’s not for you . I’ve done it twice, first time was a flash looking hotel , lovely pools etc, supposedly 5 star ( but it was Egypt) - we all got incredibly ill , their were individual restaurants but you could only book 2 a week and the main dining hall had the ambience of school dinners, complete with food on the floor and feral kids running around and clearly watered down drinks - truly awful and a big well respected chain too

2nd one - much nicer, calmer, lots more Europeans, less Brits, food a bit samey but not bad , - this was Majorca

I wouldn’t pick it again ( as it was I went with our son on my own so picked it for having other kids around etc) but it was ok -

Why on earth would you care enough to make a judgement on the type of holiday someone likes?

Go to a high end, more expensive, all inclusive. They exist, we went to one in Greece, fabulous location, food, pools, beach. Cost an arm and a leg, but it was truly fabulous. We took the view we'd rather have one decent holiday every couple of years rather than a rubbish one annually - so maybe we wouldn't be your kind of people either?

@Pregnancyquestion I honestly don’t care but I like to keep travel classy not trashy which is why I don’t mix with that crowd …. It’s nice they all stay in the same compounds/ hotel 😀

I think you’re already there so enjoy it. We’re not an all inclusive family, we did it once and made the most of it but it’s not really our place. That was a 5 star with restaurant though.

Instead, we did a family holiday to Italy this year and much preferred it.

This is something that individual governments need to deal with, with the owners of the properties that are being let out. Every holiday let I’ve stayed in during recent years has been owned by a local. And in fact in Croatia and Italy the owners have been living onsite/next door, having repurposed part of their property as a separate apartment or villas on their smallholding.

Holiday makers staying in a self catering let are also generally more likely to be spending in the local community, as opposed to the someone who never leaves their AI hotel which is a global organisation.

I went to a nice AI in Tenerife. Adults only. Very small (but part of a bigger hotel that you could venture into if you wanted). All suites (think there were 16 of them) and no fighting for sunbeds around the 2 pools. No buffets (unless you chose to venture into rest of the hotel) and food and drinks delivered to your sunbed table.
Bliss.

Ikos is nice but far from being a budget holiday

You get what you pay for! I do think its a bit of a ..whats the word ? You looking down on the other guests like you are better, when you are doing and experiencing the same as them..odd.
My nan would say you are all fur coat and no knickers!

How much did you spend on the holiday? Perhaps you could try going for a slightly shorter duration or every other year if you can’t afford to up your budget.

If you lot are representative of the people who refuse to do AI then my goodness am I glad I'll never bump into such a bunch of sanctimonious crashing snobs on holiday.

And I don't drink or have tattoos.

Ikos in Majorca is about £6000 for a couple for a week in June, so not peak school holidays. Amazing that so maybe people on this thread would consider anyone who stays there a nasty classless chav, given that it’s exclusively AI.

Why do you that, I’ve met so many interesting people on cruises from all over the world? How can you lump them all together?
I am on a flight on my way back home from visiting a friend who I met on a ship in Cambodia with just 54 passengers. I’ve had a lovely few days sailing on her boat and hanging out in her pool. I’ve loved meeting so many open minded ,non judgy people over the years,

Oh please be fair,,its hard when you are Skegness when you think you deserve to be Seychells!