Why is it a nightmare to get a sunbed?

[mommas2022]

I'm a new mum, due to travel to Costa Del Sol with my DP and 5MO.

The hotel I booked had brilliant reviews, but the last month it has been really down hill due to complaints about sun beds and queuing for them.

Wtf is going on? I don't recall it ever being this bad?

Is anyone else been on holiday recently and had difficulty getting a sunbed?

We don't plan on staying at the pool all day long, but it would be nice to be able to get a bed!

Wish every hotel had a booking system for this 🤦‍♀️

As OP hasn't mentioned the name of the hotel I'm suprised you can be so certain of

Gave up booking hotels abroad years ago and this was one reason. Utterly ridiculous to have to get up at 6.30 some days if you wanted to go to the pool. So instead, we just privately book a villa or apartment and never have any issues (currently sat looking out over the hills and sea as on holiday) and can decide what we want to do when...oh and usually cheaper anyway if a family although looking at flights next year that may change!!

It has already to the U.K though. Did the south wests last year as pissed off with Covid and couldn't be arsed to travel. Fucking huge queue for the pool at 9am. Madness

I get your point, they should of built a pool big enough for all the idiotic people that reserve a sunbed not to use it the majority of the day 🤷‍♀️

Was this in Santa Ponsa?

We stayed in one opposite a Tui there a no of years ago.

I woke one morning at 3am and went on my balcony for air.

People were already out reserving sun beds.

Worse still they were lining them up so the end of the bed was at the pools edge.

My favourite hotel I stayed in said pool opened at 9am and no one to go down there until then as they are cleaning.

Everyday without fail they'd leave the checks and cleaning until 8am - they also hoses down all sun beds.

You're going out of season in school holidays.

There's a reason the reviews are turning up now - they have larger groups and some parents will get sunbeds for their kids too.

Summer holidays are always the worst

I've never heard of this, such an alien concept in Australia. Do people really sit out in the sun/by the pool all day? I guess it's not an issue here as it's too hot/sun is too strong to do that. Not anywhere in Australia or SE Asia I've ever been on holiday.

No they generally don't. Which is the issue.

People reserve them at 5am and then don't use them until 4pm.

Some people do spend all day at the pool in AI - some everyday of their holiday - but they aren't the majority ime.

Yes very strange, that people will get up earlier on holiday to bag a sun bed, then not use is most of the day, just crazy, I don’t understand it either OP.

My advice would be to book a villa with a private pool next time, much better holiday experience IMHO.

That's outrageous.. well that wouldn't be tolerated in Australia anyway, it's not something we'd do I think.

Resorts like ikos are brilliant for this - if a bed has been unattended for some time, they just move the stuff so the bed can be used by someone else. There's no cost as they provide unlimited beach towels and you would go to pool desk to pick up belongings if any had been left on the bed.

When you arrive by the pool, the staff would also help you find somewhere to sit and set up beds with a parasol if you wanted one, it was absolute luxury. Unfortunately it comes at a price we cannot pay in school hols!

I've had my eye on Ikos for a while and have finally booked a week in October when one child is at university.

In the summer, it's more expensive than the Maldives for two adults and two teenagers (flights aside) which is saying something,

My advice would be to book a villa with a private pool next time, much better holiday experience IMHO

Not necessarily if you want a break from shopping and cooking. While you can go out for meals if you're in a villa, it's not quite the same as strolling down to a lovely buffet breakfast. It's my husband's favourite thing about staying in a hotel.

@Mykittensmittens
We've just come back from the same resort and nothing has changed - except that they have now introduced a policy that nothing may be left on any lounger before 8am. There were lots of complaints on the Magic Life app. We won't be going again. (For that and a number of other reasons.)

Surely you just watch the bed for 15 minutes and if no one appears back from the loo/pool/drink, you dump their stuff and use the bed. If you are not currently sat on a sun bed, you don’t need it, and therefore someone else can have it.

it’s like getting a table in a cafe before you’ve got your food, and making people with food wait as there are no free seats.

I don't sunbathe (ex goth) and my ex was ginger.
We only reserved beds once so we could have a bed under cover.
Not for me luckily.
Felt like a right selfish bastard doing it.
I just can't act like that

Yes very strange, that people will get up earlier on holiday to bag a sun bed, then not use is most of the day, just crazy, I don’t understand it either OP.

We just came back from a hotel in Greece where people reserved and actually used their sun beds all day. There were just too many rooms and guests as the hotel was at full capacity. Unfortunately many guests never got a sun bed or at least not until late afternoon.
Same with mealtimes - there was a long queue at peak meal times and long waits until tables became again.

This absolutely. Never had a problem. It is a certain type of hotel for sure.

Hotel is sol principe in torremolinos for the PP who mentioned 😆

Hotels should be able to provide enough beds for everyone who wants one. I don’t want to get up earlier on holiday than I do for a day at work - that’s the whole point of a holiday.

If they’re selling a beach/pool holiday in the sun, that’s what they need to provide. I find the higher star hotels generally are better for this, but of course it’s not always possible to stretch to that.

We're in marmaris at the moment and it's a nightmare getting a lounger. We managed to get one between five of us even though either side of us the loungers were not being used. One had a folded towel on that no one came back to for the two hours we were there and the other one had two coverups on it belonging to two girls next to it who already had loungers. Why were they occupying a lounger to hold two flimsy bits of material?

It's a vicious circle. Hotel doesn't have enough sunbeds, so if you go later, you will probably not get a bed so therefore you reserve one in the middle of the night and never remove your towels.

Went to a lovely resort in Rhodos last week - no issues, whenever someone left they just took their towels with them, as there were plenty of beds and you could simply choose another one whenever you wanted. All very civilized.

It does make you wonder who all the dicks are when there are so many people on here complaining about the sunbed reservers! Not that I disagree with any of you. People are dicks. Throw their towels off and move the bed somewhere else, then they can't start an argument with you as they'll be confused.

Me and my DP have had a chat and if there is no beds when we make it down we will just go to the beach. But we want to explore in the mornings before it gets too hot in the afternoon with our DD. So hopefully by afternoon we can have a bed, if not towels will be moved. Overall, we have priced villas for next year and would very happily pay the extra for a villa! Eat breakfast & lunch at villa and out for dinners at night. X

Move the towels. Or just use them if they are new and deny all knowledge. 'Oh no, there was nothing here. The pool staff must have removed them, see there's a sign that they will!'

This is why we booked rooms with our own minipool and loungers on the terrace this year. Can’t imagine doing anything different in the future. Was fine to fight over loungers in my early twenties but now I want a more
restful holiday. Use Booking.com to shop around for the best deals.