To think all inclusive holidays are very good value?

[Septembersun101]

Have just returned from a week all inclusive in Greece.

I used to be a bit snobby about all inclusive and assumed it would be a bit crap but honestly having done it a few times now I think it’s such good value.

Admittedly it’s not as authentic as some other types of holiday. But we’ve just paid 3k for a 5 star AI.

The room was lovely with a patio overlooking the pool. There was a huge waterpark with our ds loved and no queues so we all went on as many times as we liked. There were 8 al a carte restaurants in much mixed it up and got us away from the buffet madness. Where we were able to have relaxing 3 course meals with drinks. There were 5 places you could eat for lunch buffet style.

A private beach for hotel guests only.

If you just want some fun in the sun with your children and not to have to cook for a week I think it can be outstanding value for money.

I prefer ai, when my daughter was younger it was for value. Now it’s for convenience. We are off to Caribbean towards the end of the year, going to a small boutique hotel , just us two and we booked ai, this means we don’t need to think about it at all.

https://capmaison.com

last year we went here

https://www.simplebooking.it/ibe2/hotel/9935?lang=EN&cur=USD&_gl=1fcasx5_gcl_au*MTAxMjkwOTQ5My4xNzg3NDAxNzk4

Again ai, and for us worth it, we have what we want, when we want, and don’t give it any thought,

From what I hear they can be much cheaper overall than paying for meals and snacks out, and entertainment separately. There's a reason they are so popular especially with families and people who want to know costs in advance. But I do think it can take some of the adventure and joy out of holidaying abroad...and I say this as someone who is rather cautious and risk averse. Some years back now (well before pandemic) I was on a package ...not AI...stay in a Greek resort. There were a few cafes along the main strip but only two restaurants...we were told the others had closed because the holidaymakers who used to visit now did AI. I do think this is a shame for the local economy.

I find resorts a bit boring TBH so we would usually prefer somewhere with more stuff to do.

Lalandia in Billund is perfect for us - great waterpark but also Lego stuff

I like them. We never eat in the hotel all the time, we go out lunchtimes and evenings a few times every holiday and also go sightseeing etc. But for drinks, snacks and other meals they are good value. But I am size TUI (iykyk) so get my moneys worth. Teeny tiny mumsnetters couldn’t possibly.

It’s cruises that I think are especially good value. I was so impressed with the price and cost vs other holidays in school holidays, then add being able to see different locations to the mix!

I think to derive the value you probably have to eat all your meals at the resort and for me that sort of defeats the object of going away. Part of the attraction for me is to get off the resort and explore, do activities, bars and restaurants. I suppose half board would be ok though. Depends what you want from a holiday. By the third day by the pool on a resort we're bored and wanting to get out and about. Horses for courses though.

I thought they might be good value but for a family of 5 have only seen them for £7-8k for a week, which seems very expensive (we are doing 10-14 days for that atm). If anyone has any recommendations for decent cheaper ones would be keen to know! Love our hols but it's never relaxing with cooking and cleaning a rental.

Wouldn’t be good value for us as we like restaurants where the locals eat, off the tourist areas.

It depends what you want. Yes, it's good value but in Greece I'd rather go to different tavernas and beaches. That's the whole point of going to me, you might as well be anywhere if you just stay round the pool.

£3k for a five star is exceptionally cheap, though I would never squeeze us into one room.
We had some good ones when children were aged 8 to 18, once children are old enough to get the most out of a resort hotel.They are perfect for picky eaters or bottomless teenagers. The main thing is to avoid the mentality of "we've paid for it so we must use it" and still go out and about for some meals.

However as adults I feel you don't get value for money unless you drink a lot. When I'm booking a holiday I always price up the difference between half board and AI and AI is usually several £100s more. We go HB and just put drinks on the bill.

@intsjl26 agree with cruises, excellent holidays with teenagers.

Was it 3k for the entire family, flights included? If so, which resort and who with?

Can you please name the resorts you loved?

AI is great for us with a young autistic child. We’ve done the really posh ones and are about to go on a not so posh (4 star) one.

I did look at self-catering this year but it worked out way more expensive.

We did AI for the first time recently and we enjoyed it. It definitely has its place for the ease and convenience. Sometimes we want the authentic experience of finding restaurants and exploring, but we will definitely do AI again sometime.

I agree but at the moment with an autistic four year old we are just not going to be boating around the small Cyclades like we were before we became parents.

I really rate the Grecotel chain because despite being AI they also feel authentically Greek. The one we went to had a very nice taverna on the beach and we went out to another one. I’ve done so much self-catering in Greece and it’s a faff with a young child. I’m sure we will go back to it but at the moment very much enjoying the reprieve from having to think, shop or cook.

The only AI I will do now I’m older is IKOS or of a similar standard (which is around £3kpp for a week!)

Otherwise, I can’t stand The Regime as we used to call it. Having to eat by X time and the endless bloody buffets broken up with a couple of ‘al la cartes’ is no longer for me. It was OK when the DC were younger and wastrels.

We now prefer to have more spacious accommodation in a villa as a family, and spend time eating out, which is all part of the holiday for me.

For just DH and I, premium AI is great for a week. We can’t quite afford to take the DCs though 🙈😬

AI can be brilliant with energetic primary age kids if you just want to not have to think, plan or organise and just flop in the sun for a week, I’m not sure I’d last 2 weeks at one. It’s good to know the overall cost upfront and I doubt it’s any more overall than flight, villa, car hire, food and restaurants unless you budget well, which I don’t want to do on holiday.

We’ve done a few week to 9 day Greek AI holidays and they’ve been great, always 5* and with plenty of pools, beachfront and a few with a water park. We do an exploring type holiday also so I do get a culture fix and as we get closer to teen years I think AI will start to loose it’s appeal for us as we venture further afield.

If I’m staying in a hotel for a relaxing trip, AI has worked out the best. Great faciltiies, my children can snack as they want. We still go out for a couple of meals, take the à la carte allowance at the hotel and do the general buffet for a few nights and that gives the best of both worlds. We’ll also see the local area and get our culture fix. This year we tried doing Airbnb, it was a nice change however it ended up costing far more in the end and wasn’t really as relaxing and we probably have had the same experience of our destination if we’d been at an AI.

I've loved the AI holidays I've been on

Yep because I like a drink, my wife loves an ice cream. Eating 3 meals, actually usually only 2 breakfast and dinner each day. Plus the coffee and soft drinks we have during the day...this January I worked out we were spending approximately £90 a night for our room in a 5 star hotel in Tenerife.

Which one was this please?

I'd love to go to Greece

Can I ask which one you went to?

I'm another one who wants to know where this well priced 5 star a la carte AI hotel is because any time I've looked, it's a lot more expensive and the ones that are cheaper are buffets 3 times a day, which I'm not interested in for lunch and dinner.

We went last year with our teens who are bottomless pits when it comes to eating. AI was amazing...the amount they ate and drank from the poolside snack bar alone was well worth it. When we previously went half board we spent an absolute fortune on just soft drinks and ice creams

Why would ai mean you can't explore and go to beaches. They do let you out you know?!

I can think of nothing I would least like to do. My idea of hell. I want to be with as few other people as possible, I don't want entertainment, or children activities, or to eat with hundreds of other people, definitely not buffets, guess AI isn't for me, at any price!