Have I wasted money booking all inclusive for teenagers?

[OboePiccolo]

I’ve booked a week all inclusive in Spain for next summer for me and my two (14 and 16) and now wondering if I’ve made a bit of a mistake.

I’ve always done self catering before, usually caravans or apartments, and tbh I’m sick of spending half my holiday in supermarkets and then cooking tea when I’m supposed to be having a break. I found a deal I could just about afford and thought it would be nice to not have to think about money every time they want a drink or something to eat. I’m paying for it myself and have been putting money away for ages so it’s not something I can just change on a whim.

Anyway showed them the hotel and neither of them seemed particularly bothered. The eldest said they’d rather go somewhere near an actual town where they can wander round shops and go out for food, and the younger one has now decided it’ll be boring sitting round a pool all week. They’re not refusing to go or being horrible about it, just very underwhelmed which has made me wonder if I’ve picked something they’ll hate.

I thought they’d like having a pool, snacks and food there whenever they wanted it, without me having to keep saying no because everything costs money. We’ve had holidays before where I’ve spent the whole time adding things up in my head and worrying about what we’ve got left for the rest of the week. I really wanted one where I could relax a bit as well.

I know they’re teenagers now and don’t want the same things they did when they were little. The older one especially wants a bit more freedom and I do understand that, but I also don’t want to spend a fortune on a holiday where we’re all off doing our own thing and barely see each other.

The booking isn’t refundable without losing money and I couldn’t afford to book something else on top. I’m now wondering if we’d have been better off with a cheap apartment somewhere with restaurants and shops nearby, although then I’m back to sorting meals and paying for everything separately.

For those who’ve been all inclusive with teenagers, did they enjoy it or did they get bored? Is it actually worth it when they’re older or would you go somewhere you can get out and about more? Feel like I’ve booked what I wanted rather than what they’d want but I honestly thought we’d all enjoy it.

I think that you might need to
accept that they’ll probably have a good enough time but are likely to sit with their head in a phone for the duration of the holiday. At that age AI doesn’t have much to offer - too old for kids clubs but too young to realise the value of a book and cocktail. I learnt this the hard and expensive way.

You need to explain to them what you’ve explained to us. They’re old enough to understand why you’ve booked AI and what a difference it will make for you as well as them. It might also give them a reality check about money not growing on trees and what adults have to think about.

DD is a teen , loves an AI holiday and is rarely on her phone during them.

We did AI with ours when they were 15. They absolutely loved it. They could do whatever they wanted activity wise around the hotel and beach and get food / ice creams whenever.
Was quite funny watching the whole posse of them descend on the icecream bar as soon as it opened.

One of the things DD absolutely loves is the food and regular times and all the snacks. Which is hilarious, because she’s extremely fussy and barely eats … but the fact that it’s there and we can have a wonder and a look is amazing. 😂😂

By mid week she’’s like a baby wondering about food every 2 hours. Even if it’s mostly watermelon.

I Insist on one AI holiday every year because it’s a break for me too. This year we did a couple of trips out to local towns or went for a cycle on the hotel bikes in the morning and teen DD read her book by the pool sipping a mocktail in the afternoons. We all had a great time. I’m sure they will embrace it when you are there and they realise what’s on offer.

Its booked now. Your kids can always do a bit of both.
Breakfast at hotel then down the beach
Dinner at hotel then out at night.

I would not expect my kids to be happy just hanging around a hotel - teens or younger. We actually have a house in Spain with a pool but we go out every day to visit the shops, the sea, a different café, or a market in the surrounding towns. I couldn’t stand just being by the pool all day myself.
We don’t have TV or WiFi so evenings are spent playing scrabble or similar, though when younger we would download a movie or a few episodes of whatever tv show at a café with WiFi and watch it back at the house after dinner. My kids also got creative with cooking, especially with all the amazing fresh fish on offer!
I agree that self catering can be the same chores just in a different location, but I’d go for a regular hotel in a buzzy part of town for my sanity as much as my kids’!

My kids have loved similar. Especially when they're served booze at the bar. My 14 yr old discovered he could order beer on the day we checked out of an all inclusive stay. Would have been challenging if that had happened all week.

Just back from a week with my 14 year old son, our first all inclusive and now we don’t want anything else! We had the beach and the pool, Wi-Fi was great, he ate everything going and tried new things, we did 2 excursion days to break
up the week but only missed the AI lunch those days. The pool wasn’t even that warm in October and the entertainment wasn’t every night near the end of the season and he still
had an amazing time as an only child with his old mum! Surely they could entertain themselves with a sibling too! It was absolutely brilliant honestly.

Talk to them, explain your reasons, explore the surrounding areas and make plans that will fit within your budget, talk about the plans for the rest of the holidays and allow them some budget constrained input. Tell them you will make it a family decision next year, but one that will also meet your needs not to be shopping and cooking the whole holiday.

My kids have very different holiday wishes to me. We have come to the agreement that we do talk about wishes and try to balance the needs of everyone within the budget. Sometimes that means day trips from home for activities, short city trips for shopping, breaking up long journeys and a mix of self catering and meals out. I have come to the conclusion that I also only have a few years left and my perfect holiday may have to wait. My youngest it pretty good at leading the way when it is something he wants to do and my middle child is pretty good at showing interest if it's an activity I have chosen and all three of them are good at finding low cost things to do.. we play board games and cards a lot and share music so everyone is not behind their headphones all the time. We have had 'resort' breaks where I got what I needed by hiring a bike to explore and beach holidays where we also went to different places some days. Mine are also very capable of helping with food.

A walk each day out of the hotel and say a stop for a cuppa or soft drink may go a long way here.

Teenagers not having everything as they would choose is a good life lesson.

I o my travel AI with the kids/teens. We still go out and about byt I am not panicking every time they say they are hungry or thirsty. I take a set amount of spends and when it's gone its gone, we then eat and drink at the hotel. I don't have to worry about making it last or we don't eat.

It’s because it’s different, they are used to self catering and going Into local areas, they will love it, they just can’t comprehend it yet,

We always do all inclusive with our teens. Surely you can still go out and explore?
Food and drink wise its brilliant for teens..just to be able to grab soft drinks, ice cream etc without having the faff and expense of paying.

They will be fine , they can help themselves to drinks and snacks , you could maybe take them out 1 night for dinner, there is nothing stopping you all going out and about, the teens are just moaning because it is something new and it is your holiday too you deserve a break where you are not thinking what to.eat 3 times a day.

Try not to worry op, it's a teenager's job to be professionally underwhelmed by absolutely everything!

They're old enough for a quick chat explaining that booking AI takes a huge amount of stress away from you and adventure can still be had without having to worry about mounting food and drink costs.

My DD went on an all inclusive last year aged 14. It was the first one since she was about 5, we'd been on lodge and caravan holidays in between which she found boring the last couple of years. She absolutely loved the all inclusive, helping herself to drinks and ice creams, a nice big selection of food to chose from at meal times and she enjoyed being in the sun and in and out of the pool all day, it was her favourite holiday.

Depends if they're sporty.
At 16/17 mine loved all the water polo and other competitive joining in.

One of mine would have liked it so long as there were plenty of activities but the other hated organised activities and always want to be out sightseeing. Both dislike beaches and lost interest in pools by about age 10. So it wouldn't have worked very well for us unless it was somewhere with lots of sightseeing opportunities on the doorstep. I think it was possibly a mistake to book without running it past them then you could have discussed the pros and cons of various countries/resorts while making it clear SC was not an option for this year. Hopefully they will enjoy it once they get there though and it is just the change that's a problem.

My teenagers have been unenthusiastic about every single holiday I’ve ever taken them on and we’ve been to the most amazing countries. I think lack of enthusiasm is just a teenage trait. They always love it when there though.

And don’t feel guilty for one second about booking a holiday that suits you. When they’re old enough to pay for their own holidays, they can book one that suits them!

Teenagers are very immediate creatures. The holiday is a while away. They just won’t be thinking about it properly yet.
All I would say is, if it’s meant to be more relaxing for you then make sure it is. So they are not up for breakfast? Who cares. Get down and start your day with a refreshing cocktail. You’ve got AI, they can eat what they want when they want. They’ll bloody love it. And if they don’t? Make sure you do.

Not just money but cooking, shopping and washing up.

If they want to self cater then all the work is shared between the three of you so everyone gets uninterrupted relaxation. They also need to take part in managing the budget, so if it runs out before the end of the week it's plain pasta and other basic food with water to drink.

I bet come next year you’ll be back on here saying you’re alone on your holiday as they’re been away all day/evening doing stuff with the other teenagers they meet. I bet you’ll have a lovely peaceful holiday and they’ll enjoy every minute of it.
You’ll all have a great time, don’t let them spoil your excitement about it

if the have a Dad they see offer them to stay behind instead and you’ll take friends with you!