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Original poster

Reserving sunbeds

125 replies

OhamIreally · 29/07/2023 06:18

I have just got up and reserved two sunbeds at the resort I'm in.

I hate doing it but 25 minutes ago all the sunbeds were clear then when I looked again 10 minutes ago about 30% were reserved with towels.

Now, I am not an early riser and I fully accept that the early bird gets the worm BUT this is not early risers going for breakfast and reserving a sunbed on the way as breakfast hasn't even opened yet.

This is the last day of my holiday. Most days we haven't had sunbeds as I have refused to do the reserving thing and we have gone to the beach instead.

I'm really upset that this is a thing and that I've had to do it.

Thanks for letting me vent. Don't know what the answer is.

OP posts:
TakingTheHorseToFrance · 02/08/2023 19:57

BeanCounterBabe · 29/07/2023 16:28

We always self cater or camp. Occasionally I feel a little hard done by then I read threads like this. I will not be going to a resort hotel until we’re no longer tied to school hols and can go when it’s quiet. Never had a sunbed problem on the big European campsites. We’re not early risers and I don’t see anything remotely relaxing up getting up at the crack of dawn for the privilege of lying next to a pool all day.

I've only been to 2 eurocamp type holidays and both places had sun-lounge hoarders.

Pin parasol last year the first week we were there was nice and calm and then the second week a large extended family single handedly started an epidemic of hoarding beds. They would head down and reserve 6 or 7 beds and would disappear and might pop back in the afternoon for a half hour and head off again absolutely no shame at all. From then on everyone did it and then people started queuing in the morning to get beds. Was fascinating to see how it happened but infuriating.

Eminybob · 02/08/2023 20:20

I was at a hotel last year when this was definitely not an issue. Loads of beds, no problem.

For reasons I won't bore you with, I was sat on a lounger by the pool at 4am one morning, speaking (quietly) on the phone.

Some guy came out of no where and reserved some loungers with towels and buggered off again. I can only assume he heard/saw me down there and assumed that was what I was doing and decided he didn't want to miss out. Very bizarre behaviour.

Personally, I check trip adviser specifically choose hotels whirs reviews mention that sunbed availability is not an issue. I was burnt once many years ago, never again.

SydneyJKL · 02/08/2023 21:05

The last hotel I stayed in had loads of sunbeds, piled up too, if all of those out were used. Huge grounds so plenty of space unless you wanted to be right beside the pool.

In another hotel we overlooked the pool. Interestingly, it seemed the ‘hen pecked’ men did the towel run on behalf of the wife.

I'd love to join the mumsnet pact. My idea is to remove some towels and swap others around….and watch. Some people would be on the sunbed belonging to others, some people wouldn't know, some wouldn't be able to find there things…and I could watch the chaos. 😀

If noone ever reserved, the need would go.

ballsdeep · 02/08/2023 21:16

Parker231 · 29/07/2023 08:39

I’ve also not stayed anywhere with this problem but I would move a towel so I could use the sunbed. If you’ve gone for lunch, the sunbed is no longer yours.

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A bit harsh! Some people only pop in for twenty mins or so!!

AugustSlip · 02/08/2023 21:18

I do swim-up rooms now. Your own private terrace with your own sunbeds on it and no one else around! I'll never look back.

SpainToday · 03/08/2023 07:27

AugustSlip · 02/08/2023 21:18

I do swim-up rooms now. Your own private terrace with your own sunbeds on it and no one else around! I'll never look back.

We had one of those a few years ago, it was great! Thankfully our terrace got the sun all day but if we’d been in the other side of the hotel, we’d have been in the shade!

Ginmonkeyagain · 03/08/2023 09:41

I am not a beach/pool/lounging holiday person so I am fascinated by this - the Daily Mail have been running a series of mad articles on this issue for the last few days.

What do you do when you have your sun lounger? Do you stay on it all day? If you leave is it fair game for others like a table in a London pub ? Do people hover waiting to snatch your lounger?

Do you not get bored?

We spend a few days at a town on the Med on our French holiday last month - we just took a towel to the public beach and sat on it. Problem solved.

Orangello · 03/08/2023 11:13

What do you do when you have your sun lounger? Do people hover waiting to snatch your lounger?

It goes like this: one person gets up at 6AM, takes entire family's towels and places them on best sunbeds around the pool and/or beach. Then they will go back to bed. Then breakfast. Then back to room. Around 11ish or so, they will briefly appear and actually use the bed. Then they will go for lunch. But woe betide anyone who dares to remove their towel to actually make use of the lounger!! Sunbed wars will ensue.

Ginmonkeyagain · 03/08/2023 11:15

Cripes.

I can think of better ways to spend a holiday!

Tapasgoofy · 03/08/2023 11:25

Orangello · 03/08/2023 11:13

What do you do when you have your sun lounger? Do people hover waiting to snatch your lounger?

It goes like this: one person gets up at 6AM, takes entire family's towels and places them on best sunbeds around the pool and/or beach. Then they will go back to bed. Then breakfast. Then back to room. Around 11ish or so, they will briefly appear and actually use the bed. Then they will go for lunch. But woe betide anyone who dares to remove their towel to actually make use of the lounger!! Sunbed wars will ensue.

This is pretty much it.

We went on our first holiday like this recently so it was new to us but we put towels out about 7.30, we then Stayed with the towels and chilled for a bit as we wernt allowed to leave them😂
Kids and other parent would come down about 9.45 -10 and we all went for breakfast together.
After the breakfast we went straight to our loungers and kids got in the pool about 10.30.
We then had lunch around 1-2 and we would leave the loungers and go out for an hour. Sometimes at this point we give up the loungers and went to the beach after or into the markets etc to look around.

We would then go back about 4 and spent another hour or 2 at the pool before leaving for good.

YES, I was bored. I thought it would be lovely and relaxing and I was bored a lot of the time but like I said it was our first ‘relaxing’ holiday, we normally do more stuff on holiday. I won’t be doing one like it again.

No one really hoovers around the sunbeds, most people walk down and have a look and if they see no spare beds they just walk off and went to the beach I presume or jumped their stuff in a pile by the wall.

nobodygoesdowninthejungle · 03/08/2023 11:29

I messed up the entire system last year as I love getting up at 7am on holiday and going outside & reading whilst DH and the DC sleep. Our balcony was in shade so I started to go down by the pool. The best sunbeds at that time were by the kids' pool. I'd always take two beds as DS would join me just before the pool opened at 9am. DH and DD would then appear at 9.30 and we'd go for breakfast, picking up our towels and things and leaving two beds in prime position. This caused lots of confusion and some grumpiness. By about the third time I did it, I was conscious how many people were watching us, ready to pounce.

Batalax · 03/08/2023 11:38

If you can’t beat them, you have to join them.

Tapasgoofy · 03/08/2023 11:55

Batalax · 03/08/2023 11:38

If you can’t beat them, you have to join them.

This is pretty much it.
we missed out on the first couple of days and then thought fuck it.

Readthebooks · 03/08/2023 11:58

I've never experienced this at a hotel nor would I wish to, that is not my idea of a holiday. We go before the English schools break up though, went mid July this year and at least 50% of sun loungers were always empty. The place we went to had large grounds and gardens with sun loungers dotted all over so you could take your pick. I don't book places with 1 pool where all the sunloungers are crammed round it 1mm from each other.

Polis · 03/08/2023 12:10

I do swim-up rooms now. Your own private terrace with your own sunbeds on it and no one else around! I'll never look back

We do secluded coves by the sea and rarely use pools and sunbeds at all.

Tapasgoofy · 03/08/2023 13:33

Readthebooks · 03/08/2023 11:58

I've never experienced this at a hotel nor would I wish to, that is not my idea of a holiday. We go before the English schools break up though, went mid July this year and at least 50% of sun loungers were always empty. The place we went to had large grounds and gardens with sun loungers dotted all over so you could take your pick. I don't book places with 1 pool where all the sunloungers are crammed round it 1mm from each other.

The hotel I went to had 3 pools… still rammed everyday..

thenightsky · 03/08/2023 14:11

We could do with a permanent thread/list of hotels that allocate loungers and take not shit from the hoggers. Updated by posters when they return from various hotels around the world. Grin

LizzieBananas · 03/08/2023 14:24

BoobyDazzler · 29/07/2023 06:24

The answer from hotels should always be that towels left for more than an hour should be removed. I wouldn’t go to a hotel that didn’t have that policy.

How would that work with lunch?

FatCatBum · 03/08/2023 14:26

I often am on the sunlounger by 7. I don't sleep late and 7-8.30/9 is my absolute favourite time to sit and read as it's quiet and not too hot.

I'm sure the people that come down in the 30 minutes where I meet my husband (a late sleeper) and go and have breakfast think the worst of me but not everyone wants to sleep late 🤷‍♀️

LizzieBananas · 03/08/2023 14:27

Counciltelly · 29/07/2023 08:15

The Olympic lagoon is part of the Kanika group. All their hotels have a reservation system and have for many years.

Dominey · 03/08/2023 14:31

LizzieBananas · 03/08/2023 14:24

How would that work with lunch?

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Someone else gets to use the sun bed when you leave it, whether it’s for lunch or any other reason! The sunbed doesn’t belong to you. It’s so selfish to think that other people shouldn’t get to lie on a sun bed just because you’ve put a towel on it!
We saw this last year in Majorca for the first time. Such odd selfish behaviour. It annoys me when people say it’s the Germans - it was all Brits in our hotel and it was happening constantly.

doingthehokeykokey · 03/08/2023 14:37

I'm now glad we've got our own pool in our next hotel! It's my idea of hell having to reserve loungers. If everyone followed the hot desking model, it would work fine

Parker231 · 03/08/2023 14:44

LizzieBananas · 03/08/2023 14:24

How would that work with lunch?

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Likely that someone else would take your sunbed when you went for lunch. The sunbed isn’t yours for the whole day.

Fundays12 · 03/08/2023 14:49

tonystarksrighthand · 29/07/2023 07:05

We are in an alleged 5* resort now and this happening. Watched a family put their towels on beds at 9pm last night!!

This happened to us multiple times in Greece by Germans who reserved every sunbed the night before but didn't bother to go to the pool till after lunch. Strangely they started finding there towels wet in a heap together after staff has fished them out of the pool earlier that day.

Kucinghitam · 03/08/2023 15:11

This thread has me boggling! I've clearly been going on the wrong sorts of holidays!