Coming to the end of our first all inclusive and wondering if they’re all a bit like this…? Or if it’s our family that doesn’t fit them?

[Xrays]

We’re staying at a 4/5 star resort in Ibiza. It’s got very good reviews on trip advisor, good reviews online elsewhere etc and I know - before someone pounces on me - that we are incredibly lucky to have a holiday at all, yet alone this one, considering how much people are struggling financially right now. This holiday was booked and paid for with some inheritance money from my Mums passing just before covid and has been rebooked and cancelled many times. It’s our first time abroad as a family, Ds aged 11 who has autism and dd aged 20 (normally at university). We’re a close family, and dd really wanted to come, no issues with all being together etc (I know lots of people here are often horrified at older teens etc going on holiday with them)!

But it’s all been a bit underwhelming. Mainly the food aspect. Most of the food is buffet style with kids running riot, it feels like a school canteen with lots of kids screaming, everything feels sort of cheaply done - pizzas that are freshly cooked only have a small amount of topping in the very middle and edges bare etc, the pasta dishes are basically like pasta bakes you could make yourself from a jar from Tesco, lots and lots of chips and everything at breakfast feels like it’s sat out there for ages - except for omelettes which they cook in front of you. I’m kind of sick of omelettes now…! Feels a bit like if Haven did an all inclusive- and just to be clear, I love Haven and we go there every year but I wouldn’t consider Haven 4/5 star and pay to eat there all inclusive!

I guess what I’m wondering is if we were / are just a bit unlucky and other places are better / have more fresh food cooked to order or if they’re all a bit like this? Or maybe we’re just really fussy? (Perhaps we are). I’m thinking ahead to our next holiday and just not sure whether to look at another all inclusive or whether to go for self catering - and use that as a base and eat out (and that’s basically what we’ve ended up doing this time, we’ve given up trying to eat here, which is a shame as we’ve paid ££££ already for food…)! I don’t feel I’ve had a holiday if I have to cook as I do that all the time at home.

Looking to see what other’s experiences are and if you have any ideas of better AIs or elsewhere throw them at me….! Or just tell me they’re all like this and I’m being too fussy and I’ll look for self catering apartments etc.

Those bolds weren’t my intent 🤦‍♀️. I tried to use * as “star”

They aren't all like that but a substantial amount are a bit like that. It depends a bit on the country, the resort and the hotel.

We did an amazing one in a small Italian hotel, no buffet at all apart from the cold things at breakfast(fruit, cheese, cereal, pastries, juice etc). Hot food was cooked to order and served to your table. Evening meals were a different menu each day but only about three choices per course. The waiter took your order at your table and served food and drink to your table. All excellent local cuisine.

Generally though I prefer to book bed and breakfast, then eat out because I don't like the buffet set up.

We tend to book AI for the kids to be able to get food, drink, ice cream etc at any point in the day. We usually have breakfast and lunch then go out for dinner, it can get very repetitive with the buffet, but also great if you just want to grab something quickly.

If you are in Europe the level of AI is quite low, Turkey and caribbean are a completely different level.

With kids We did AI in Egypt and it was just as you described except they had a really good salad bar and great bread. But it was like a canteen, we ate out once and in the restaurants on site twice. Hated breakfast, kids running round poking fingers in things….

turkey was a much better experience….more fresh food. Lots of interesting vegetables and dishes and fish. but still a bit canteeny.

what was good wax the kids being able to get ice creams and drinks and snacks easily.

but I wouldn’t go AI with just Dh and I ….

I've done AI quite a lot and that's what 90% of them are unless it's a massive resort type place that advertises multiple restaurants/ "a la carte" options or whatever. Especially in Spain.

Most people choose standard AI because you know it's all paid for in advance (so if the worst happens and you're hit with a huge expense 3 days before you go that wipes out your savings, you know you're not gonna starve) plus most people see the food as an added bonus and it's more about the adults having unlimited drinks and the kids having unlimited ice creams. You don't really have to worry about a budget so if you blow all your spends on the first day, who cares?

But I've also been to the big resort type places in Turkey where they have the standard all inclusive "canteen" then other options such as a Turkish restaurant doing kebabs, Italian offering nice pizza and pasta, seafood place, steakhouse etc. One even had a Chinese (it was terrible). That was good too but very expensive and the highlight was the fancy coffee bar and the cocktails at night.

Basically I feel like you're mostly paying for the alcohol + piece of mind.

I wouldn’t go AI with just Dh and I ….

Completely agree. I have also never found one cheap enough and with enough facilities to bother outside Turkey. We’re going for 2.5K in October half term to a 4 star (locally rated 5). It won’t be either perfect or the holiday of a lifetime but it will extend the summer and the dc will love it.

There's a huge difference between a 4 and 5 AI imo. I also check that number of restaurants that at are on site. Personally, I always find a buffet to be a bit of a bun fight - fine for breakfast, but I like to be seated and served my evening meal if I'm paying for a 5* on holiday, not have to dodge ankle nippers with chicken nuggets.
Some AI offer table service restaurants of varying cuisine which is nice. We do a different one on different nights. As said, different countries also have different standards, AI in Dubai, Jordan, Asia, Maldives and Caribbean have been amazing. Spain, Turkey, Northern Africa and Egypt, pretty poor.

Hmm no we always went 4star many years ago and the food sounds better. We had been Spain, Canary Islands ect. They generally had buffet style but it was very varied. Couple places had 2 restaurants for choice. Breakfast would be cooked, continental and pancakes. One hotel I remember the options being hot dogs, pizza, ravioli and salads, we did venture out to try other restaurants in the evening for more variation.

@Xrays You’re not alone, I felt exactly the same on my first AI holiday and I’ve never been on one since! The food was repetitive and didn’t cater very well for vegetarians like me. Unless it was labelled, we had no idea what a lot of the dishes actually were! I didn’t like eating in a hot, packed dining room either, especially at breakfast where it was more of a rush than the evenings. I felt that our day centred around food and I didn’t like that. So we now book a 4/5 star villa with a pool somewhere and it’s a much more enjoyable, relaxing holiday in my opinion. When I’m on holiday, I don’t want it to be centred around food as to be honest I could live off sandwiches abroad, it really doesn’t bother me. With a villa we can get up when we want, eat when and what we want, without feeling rushed etc. and obviously a private pool is an added bonus. Hope your next holiday is more enjoyable.

Why bother travelling to another country if you aren’t going to explore at all or eat local food? You could be anywhere. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hate the star ratings that are used- they mean very little these days. We’ve experienced a complete downgraded especially on the food side over the years. Been married to a Spaniard for nearly 50 years and have to go there most years. Spanish hotel buffets are usually rubbish and many are like school canteens. Avoid All in wherever possible and find a decent looking restaurant instead!

You can do that on a different holiday though can’t you? Chilling in the sun for a few days and swimming in the sea when it’s cold at home surely speaks for itself?

I don’t understand why people need to be snobby about things they don’t do themselves. We’re all different.

I think this is probably us too. I recognise that, as another poster has said, some people want the destination and good quality food without caring what cuisine they eat, so this sort of place would work better for them. But we really want to eat exciting and interesting local food on holiday and it‘s a big part of it for us. We choose places to go based on how much we want to eat the food!

Horses for courses and all that. It would be unfair of me to blame the AI model as it’s just wrong for what we want in a holiday. But I can see how Trip Advisor is a total minefield as one person’s amazing food is another person’s nightmare, and there’s not necessarily an easy way of working out what you’re reading.

Because we don't have the sort of resorts here in the Uk where you can be served by the pool, lounge in the sun and have massages. I don't always go on holiday specifically to see other countries. I sometimes go because I want a break

I just don't find self catering has the luxury of being waited on all day. I like being able to order food and drinks when I want without even moving from my lounger. I like being able to have a massage without having to leave the resort. I don't want to clear up my plates on holiday. I want my bathroom to be spotless when I'm done and I want my beds made. They are just completely different experiences. Even self catering with staff is not great as inevitably their English isn't great so it's awkward and not luxury.

Haven't read all of the responses, but from my limited experience of AI (once in Majorca & once in Turkey), it is exactly as you have found. Both times we regretted not having the flexibility to eat out at the lovely looking & smelling local restaurants (well, without considerable extra cost).

We won't try it a third time unless it's a remote carribean island type place with nothing else around. More recently, when we've been abroad (not every year) we choose nice self catering apartments & eat out each evening. Our youngest will be 12 this summer, so maybe that's easier for us than for people with very young children.

Turkey doesn't appeal to me so I can't say, but Spain is definitely in a lower league than other European countries.

I'm with you - it's all so baffling! I spend ages and ages researching potential hotels and looking at reviews and it still feels like pot luck whether you end up somewhere brilliant or tacky. I never used to understand people who go to the same hotel every year but the idea is getting more and more appealing...

We've been to a lovely self catering apartment in Zakynthos twice where you still have daily housekeeping/clean sheets & towels and still can order food & drink from your sunlounger. You just pay as you go.

It doesn't need to be like self catering in the UK.

Turkey is quite simply much cheaper for AI than anyone else. Not sure why it ‘doesn’t appeal’ as if you are going to an AI you are going to an AI as has been pointed out many times. Make sure it has a minimum of 4.5 on trip adviser. Tbf I wouldn’t go in mid summer as it’s a level of heat I can’t cope with.

You’ll get less for your money elsewhere 🤷🏻‍♀️. There are people with horror stories for sure but you find that everywhere.

When we go AI, without children though, we always eat out in local restaurants at least 4 out of 7 nights. Daft I know.

Yes, there are better ones with different restaurants and more expensive; but we don’t like AI and the sea of people; especially on buffets; we prefer self catering and our own space and a peaceful restaurant; we either cook or try some of the local restaurants

DH and I both have fairly full-on jobs and have often chosen AI just because it’s easy, so I do wonder what @croft89 means. We went to Mauritius earlier in the year, most of the hotels are AI/FB because of their secluded location, so if @croft89 is implying only the Benidorm/bingo crowd do AI, then she’s mistaken.

But if doing AI around the Med, we nearly always use local restaurants in the evening. Even doing this, it generally works out as good value, neither of us are big drinkers but soft drinks round pool all day can really add up.

Most AI’s have been really good, they work well for a real cross section of people.

I’ve been in many all inclusive holidays and I do enjoy them. My number one criteria is outside dining with beautiful views so Turkey really fits the bill. I do like to go out and eat a few times too and go out sightseeing on excursions at least every other day. I find spending money to do these things greatly enhances the holiday and at the same time I’m not worried about running up a huge bill for the mocktails or ice creams etc I’ve had.

The place we went a few weeks ago had its own bar / restaurant (with excellent food), it was right next to the pool so not really any effort to get a drink. They would bring dinner and lunch to your villa if you wanted, and the service was generally quicker than what we ever got at Ikos (often had to wait quite a while for drinks by the pool there). The villa was cleaned daily too, it was immaculate. We did have to wash up, but there was a dishwasher so we only washed up a small amount after breakfast (and once we forgot and the housekeeping staff did it for us!). The staff all spoke excellent English. Grounds and general surroundings were beautiful and well kept. So there are self-catering places, although this place wasn't cheap 🙈it was through Simpson Travel which seems to specialise in higher end options

I don't agree that AI makes the location, culture, and cuisine irrelevant.