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.

Some are better than others but I do share that experience. I want all inclusive with a sit down meal. Not a buffet

A couple of years ago, I went to an amazing all inclusive. It focused on local produce and healthy foods. It was all served so beautifully in big wooden bowls and all the tables were set beautifully.

So, yes lots of all incl are as you described, but there are others that are incredible!

To get good food at an AI hotel you really have to go high end. For example:

Ikos

Royal

Voyage Hotels etc

I stayed at this 5 star hotel last year 5 Star hotel
on HB and the breakfasts and dinner were luke warm. The hotel was stunning but the food really let it down they shouldn't have bothered doing food as it was sub par.

AI in Spain plus islands apart from Ikos is nowhere near as nice as Turkey/Mexico.

Enter "food" in the Trip Advisor search bar for food related reviews. That's what I do.

I’ve found AI very underwhelming apart from in Mexico.
To be honest AI just isn’t my vibe - I prefer an apartment or a villa, can come and go as you please. Maybe cook one night and have a chill. I find the schedule of a AI to be very limiting when on holiday.
You have to be back the room by like 5-6pm getting showered and ready for evening meal when I quite like to be chilling by the pool or beach still at this time when it cools off and you can sit with a nice drink at the beach bar.

@LightlySearedontheRealityGrill club med- very good!!

We've done Ai in turkey before and the food was really good.

5* all inclusive in Mauritius, totally wonderful! Different restaurants and places to eat and drink. Yes you can have to buffet, but also restaurants that cook food fresh.

We've only done Neilson AI holidays and found them fab (no alcohol included so that avoids any excess drinking). The standard of food was very good and plenty of variety. But not the cheapest I assume.

I was really snobby about AI until I tried it, suited us .. can't stand the debating about 'where shall we eat tonight' every night. Much preferred the convenience of dining on site .. of course you can go out as well if you want to and three evenings were 'dine out' anyway.

Breakfast buffets are the norm in many Spanish hotels and they are generally varied and good quality in three to four star hotels IME. But I agree children and buffets can be a problematic mix.
We went AI to Cuba 15 yrs ago but an adults only resort. DS was 17 and counted as an adult so that was fine. The hotel wasn't super fancy but it wasn't half bad - on the beach, great pools and facilities. But the best thing was the food, oddly enough for Cuba. It was a Spanish owned hotel and freshly cooked food, meat or fish, was always available at the buffet. Plus home made soup, salads and vegetables. Desserts were mostly cake and ice cream but fresh mangos were plentiful and they were the best I've ever had. It could be a bit of a scrum if lobster was on the menu, however. 😉

Also premium drinks, cocktails and so much more. Fridge in room, with wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks.

Surely dinner spans hours. Like 7pm-11pm? Can't you just go when you are ready?

I haven't been on an all inclusive since a child. What you describe is exactly what I'd expect and is one of various reasons why i wouldn't do it.

We went to a 4 star all inclusive in Gran Canaria last year and we’re so impressed with the food. We got a cheap last minute deal and expected to use it for breakfast, snacks and maybe a couple of dinners but actually it was so varied, good quality and had an adults section of restaurant we sat in which was civilised and peaceful (teenagers which was allowed). We ended up only eating out twice. The cocktails and the fruit juice weren’t very good quality but everything else was great. I bought freshly squeezed juice at a beach bar to get my fix and made do with coffee and cava at breakfast 😂

we’ve done it twice, one great, one not so much. I have mega fussy eaters and had got sick of spending my holiday in supermarkets trying to find something they would eat, eating out not possible. AI was great because they could choose what they wanted and no one minded if they didn’t eat it, they could get something else. Can’t afford it any more. Now holiday in UK as less stressful all round. I think in your position OP I would find a nice full or half board option instead where the food is apparently usually better.

Maybe look at Club Med, they have proper restaurants. For good all inclusive you have to go high end I think.

I’ve been to AI on Canary islands and Greek islands and food has been pretty varied, lots of seafood options, pasta dishes, curries etc. Definitely not all chips. It might depend on the particular resort and country. The food in a Turkish AI we stayed at was terrible.

Awful. The reviews are pretty brilliant though as well! I also saw it promoted on a local Facebook page recently as a family ‘must do’ holiday. I feel like we were completely missing something - anyway yes definitely not going back 😂

I've found them all a bit like this, it can often feel quite institutional at mealtimes. Canaries has some nice 5 star Riu places that had beautifully presented food but it's always brought down by the lowest common denominator of guest. I still like going, it's just a different experience which I book when I'm just too tired for finding the perfectly located villa (which usually isn't) and then faffing around with hire cars.

We went on an all inclusive at a Princess Hotel (Spanish chain) in the canaries a few years ago and absolutely loved it. The mix of guests was very international and the food was amazing. We always went for the stuff they were cooking up fresh rather than the other buffet style food though. The hotel was spread out across lots of beautifully kept gardens so even though it was big it didn't feel that way. We wanted an easy holiday - pool, beach, a bit of entertainment in the evenings, no cooking or food shopping - and it 100% did the job. We went back to the same place several times (boring I know!) and it was always incredibly relaxing.

Barcelo Active AI in lanzarote is great - possibly because they cater for swimmers and triathletes, who demand good and healthy food. Plenty of brown good for the kids, but a huge salad bar and excellent meat options too.

We’ve only ever done all inclusive at nice resorts where there are lots of restaurants to choose from or a so called exclusive section (pay extra for a lounge and an extra restaurant or two).

The buffet restaurant is always hellish like you explained- chaotic and poor quality non specialist food. You really need to research before you book one.

I’ve only done one AI in Fueteventura, I’d never do it again. Food was so repetitive, and we ate and drunk an unnecessary amount. AL isn’t very good for the local economy either. Horrified me watching the excess and greed of others to

We do AI, at the moment it works for our kids' ages, we can get a room that works size wise and the kids still like the shitty entertainment.

We generally eat out for either lunch or dinner every day and budget accordingly for this.

We were in Ibiza last year AI and the food was repetitive, not very exciting and yes like a school canteen. (This was a 7k holiday!).

Kids always enjoy the breakfast though and having snacks / drinks ice creams on tap is a bonus.

We are going back to Ibiza this summer but to a different AI that although lower star gets higher ratings.

All Inclusive is for people who like quality over quantity. Did it once, hated it from the minute I got tagged with a wristband.

We have got to the stage of ignoring any TripAdvisor reviews on food from British reviewers. We had what was absolute most awful meal I've ever had in my life at a restaurant that TA said was lovely!

If you have a reasonable grasp of the language look at reviews from Spanish, Italian or French visitors to get a better idea of what to expect.

This probably sounds very snobbish, but that's how it is.

That's not a reason not to go on an AI holiday, especially as you list the reasons, but perhaps it's a question of changing your expectations.