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?

Are tourist traps with some scottish people OK?

@Allthatshines1992the other guest as the original op has proved

How interesting given that the IKOS in Crete doesn’t open until 2026.

😂

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yes sorry it was Corfu. Apologies!

Corfu not Crete. A bit of a mixup with that on my part. But not that hilarious?

Which hotel was this please?

It was just rather amusing to imagine you complaining about a mucky glass door when occupying a building site, and housekeeping’s surprise to find you using the showers (perhaps the young man who walked in on you was a bathroom fitter rather than housekeeping?).

I spotted the error as I’ve just booked a trip to IKOS Kissamos for the spring.

This is why we never do all inclusive and never will. We are in our fifties and have avoided this hell and stayed in nice hotels of all budgets and sizes but haven’t had to endure awful guests and ‘entertainment’.

Also, are you aware of “do not disturb” signs, and that you can lock your hotel room door from inside? It’s surprising you wouldn’t have used these if “every day” he had walked straight into the room without knocking and proceeded into the bathroom despite hearing that the shower was on so it was clearly occupied. 😳🤨

Or just use one of those signs and hang it off your bikini all day.

What hotel are you in?

We go all inclusive and pick high end.

Recently we've been Maldives, Barbados, Mauritius and Cape Verde (didn't like).

We have to go school holiday. Long haul is better value in July.

Our income sounds similar. We went short haul when kids were young but was careful on what we picked and expectations were lower on somethings as it was about what was suitable for the kids

As many posters have pointed out, there are many all inclusive options that aren’t like this at all. You get what you pay for.

Prior to having children I always booked an apartment or villa on a self-catering basis and liked to explore more but frankly now, as a lone parent with young children, I want to go somewhere easy where I don’t have to DO anything except spend time with my children and relax. For me, this is the distinction between a holiday (for which a decent AI like IKOS is perfect because the purpose of the trip is just to rest and recuperate and spend time together with no other demands or responsibilities) and travel, which is entirely different and involves exploring another culture and place and immersing yourself in that - which I love but obviously am not planning to do if I book a trip to an AI hotel!

That said, of course we do still leave the hotel when staying AI. IKOS provide free hire cars so we have often explored other villages, beaches, restaurants, historic sites etc, but tend to do this for only maybe 4 days out of a 14 day stay because this isn’t the main purpose of this type of holiday.

AI is not for everyone. I know I wouldn't like it so I have never booked one. If I hadn't enjoyed a holiday one year I wouldn't book the same type of thing the next year.

To answer your question, we have a lower income than you and have to go during the school holidays. We always do self-catering in France. There are loads of holiday homes and you don't have to see any other people. Lots of people don't like self-catering so maybe try a much smaller hotel or B&B.

We did it once in Menorca. It was ok and luckily close to a lovely beach. We explored lots and had days out.

I also love that at IKOS you can just text the concierge to bring room service, or with any issue to fix, or arrange dinner reservations or a hire car, or even to arrange an appointment with the onsite doctor when one of my children was unwell. And the fact that there are numerous a la carte restaurants included so no awful buffets to deal with. There are always plenty of sunloungers so we’ve never once had an issue with this either on the private beaches or by any of the pools at any time of day. There are numerous pools so nothing ever feels crowded, no horrible loud “entertainment” (at least where we have been!) and there are also additional private areas/ pools if you book a “Deluxe” room/ suite so it is even more peaceful. And I have not witnessed any drunken behaviour from anybody during any of our stays there.

The issue does seem to be entirely about the type of hotel that you’ve booked @gilesday rather than the boarding/ payment arrangements.

Perhaps when my children are a little older we may start to have more adventurous holidays. I would love to take them on Safari. But at the moment, the rest and relaxation that a good AI can provide is very much welcome!

We went to a 5* AI in Greece in School holidays and it was fabulous. There were plenty of sunbeds, it was right on the beach and the food was fabulous. And I have never been anywhere so clean.

I have stayed in several AI and not one has had a barbed wire or a watch tower, you were always free to leave to visit other places.

I take snobbery to the next level. When I find a hotel I like, I check that Tui and jet2 etc don’t use it…

AI is just a hotel offering all inclusive. I've stayed in some lovely ones. In fact I can't think of a bad one we've stayed in! Quite often too you can easily find a quieter area away from the entertainment and enjoy the drinks, quite often again with waiter service. Never had a problem with other guests either. You shouldn't be so judgmental

@KaleCalewe do the same 😀

Some people on mumsnet seem to make a right song and dance about holidays. My tried and tested formula is - decide on location, research hotel/apartment, book hotel/apartment. Done. I don't expect a hotel to be much more than place to sleep and wash though. So I suppose that is easier. My key criteria are - walkable from the main sights, private bathroom, clean. That is it.

I wouldn't think to put do not disturb sign on in evening time before dinner . He walked in by unlocked my locked hotel door opened the closed bathroom door and walked right in. I was actually on the loo at the time. I said shower as it seemed more dignified. I made sure it didn't happen again! Their housekeeping was generally very poor given the amazing eds of the rest of it b

We tend to spend quite a bit of time relaxing in our accommodation. Hence going for a villa or nice apartment. We only use hotels for short breaks.

Both of them have an exclusive range.