I am unconvinced that this option represents good value unless one wants to drink gallons of cheap plonk and eat masses of heavilly-processed food. However, I am sure it damages the local economy, leading to reduced alternatives as nearby bars and restaurants struggle to compete.
It may be something to do with the uneven rating system used to indicate the standard of tourist hotels but in my limited experience half-board, full-board or all-inclusive deals only work well in top-notch hotels - I don't mean 4 or 5 'T's - I mean genuine 4 or 5 stars. For many of us with a family these are simply too expensive and unfortunately the standard of food in some - although not all - less expensive AI hotels can be pretty mundane if not downright dreadful. Fortunately there are great alternatives....
Why, for example, don't holidaymakers enjoy the experience of hunting down interesting local restaurants and bars? Many spanish-owned restaurants offer a 'menu del dia' for under 10 euros: three substantial courses with water, wine, olives and bread. This probably works out cheaper than the half-board option offered by the major tour operators.
Then there are tapas - great little bar snacks that can add up to a meal on their own. Away from the main resorts, these are often offered as a free accompaniment to a glass of wine or beer.
There are also many eateries aimed almost exclusively at tourists. Some of these serve indescribable tosh but others are surprisingly good. Sorting out the chaff from the wheat is all part of the fun and you will usually find other holday-makers keen to recommend places at which they've eaten well.
It would be interesting to read the experiences of people who've stayed in Mallorcan hotels on all inclusive packages. Did you bother going out for a change or think 'I've paid for it so might as well stick with it'? Was the service and food good? Did you have much variety? And so on....
There has been a good discussion on AIs in the thread Why All Inclusive in the All Inclusives forum, though much of the debate has referred to Greece. Nonetheless, much applies to Mallorca. There are often significant savings to be made by going AI, and this cannot be underestimated, but my experience in Alcudia is that AIs are viewed as the "devil's work" by most traders. They have impacted negatively on local trade while some of the AIs here have a lousy reputation. I know there are many who do go out for drinks or food rather than stay in the hotel all day and night but there are an awful lot who do not and who experience hardly anything of the resort and town.
That said, if the AI is of a genuinely good standard, and there are a couple or so here rather than those which suffer from ASBO cases, then the equation AI v. other forms of holiday is often a no-brainer in economic and family-budget terms. Convenience is another strong factor for many families: the kids can have what they want without having to be paying out constantly, and most AIs have reasonable entertainment set-ups.
Although Mallorca has become more expensive, I agree one can find plenty of cheap and good places to eat or drink, such as the menu of the day or tapas bar and others.
I can see both sides of this argument but I fear for the resort as a whole if the trend towards AI continues unabated.
That said, if the AI is of a genuinely good standard, and there are a couple or so here rather than those which suffer from ASBO cases, then the equation AI v. other forms of holiday is often a no-brainer in economic and family-budget terms. Convenience is another strong factor for many families: the kids can have what they want without having to be paying out constantly, and most AIs have reasonable entertainment set-ups.
Although Mallorca has become more expensive, I agree one can find plenty of cheap and good places to eat or drink, such as the menu of the day or tapas bar and others.
I can see both sides of this argument but I fear for the resort as a whole if the trend towards AI continues unabated.
Moved from Majorca by Biff
Personally i always look for all inclusive - i find that holidaying as a family -and generally on a budget this option means that the majority of our holiday is paid for in advance and we do not have to worry about too much spending money. Added to which, should ice creams get dropped, drinks get spilt or food not be to my daughters liking (all of which are often the case with children) we do not have to pay out 'again' for another meal / drink / ice cream.....just my personal opinion as to why i consider they are good value 
we go AI most of the time,but just because were ai dose not stop us eating out at other places.
We also hire a car as the hotel is just a base.
Ai are great value for money.
We like to have a social drink each night of the holidays.
We never drink gallons of cheap drink.
Thumbs up for AI.
We also hire a car as the hotel is just a base.
Ai are great value for money.
We like to have a social drink each night of the holidays.
We never drink gallons of cheap drink.
Thumbs up for AI.
Is this post about Ai's in general or just AI's in Mallorca?
I think one of the reasons ai works out cheaper is because self catering packages are not much cheaper than hotels...if not more when you take into account the under occupancy if you are going with 2 adults and 2 kids ......so it would still work out cheaper for me to go to a hotel and eat out every night....i think !!!....nicole
Quote
"may be something to do with the uneven rating system used to indicate the standard of tourist hotels but in my limited experience half-board, full-board or all-inclusive deals only work well in top-notch hotels - I don't mean 4 or 5 'T's - I mean genuine 4 or 5 stars. For many of us with a family these are simply too expensive and unfortunately the standard of food in some - although not all - less expensive AI hotels can be pretty mundane if not downright dreadful. Fortunately there are great alternatives.... "
Couldnt disagree more. Last year I stayed in a 4T hotel and this in a 5T hotel although they were both officially 4*'s. The quality of the food was superb both times.
With a family the stress of having to find restaurants for 14 nights on the trot, half of which may be iffy anyway (ie poor quality service and/or food, bad value) cos lets face it there are loads of indifferent restaurants out there as well as good ones.
At present for me there is no contest. You can still eat out on occasions, but have the 'safety net' of AI. There is no need to be hotel bound either, you can still hire cars, go on trips, spend days on the beach, snorkel, dive etc. You don't sign a pledge to stay in the hotel!
"may be something to do with the uneven rating system used to indicate the standard of tourist hotels but in my limited experience half-board, full-board or all-inclusive deals only work well in top-notch hotels - I don't mean 4 or 5 'T's - I mean genuine 4 or 5 stars. For many of us with a family these are simply too expensive and unfortunately the standard of food in some - although not all - less expensive AI hotels can be pretty mundane if not downright dreadful. Fortunately there are great alternatives.... "
Couldnt disagree more. Last year I stayed in a 4T hotel and this in a 5T hotel although they were both officially 4*'s. The quality of the food was superb both times.
With a family the stress of having to find restaurants for 14 nights on the trot, half of which may be iffy anyway (ie poor quality service and/or food, bad value) cos lets face it there are loads of indifferent restaurants out there as well as good ones.
At present for me there is no contest. You can still eat out on occasions, but have the 'safety net' of AI. There is no need to be hotel bound either, you can still hire cars, go on trips, spend days on the beach, snorkel, dive etc. You don't sign a pledge to stay in the hotel!
hi all.. ..i too agreed that a/i is ideal if you are like who take their grand kids on holiday.
i have a grandson who can drink coke for the great britain team.
........regards.........john-doe......
..i too agreed that a/i is ideal if you are like who take their grand kids on holiday.i have a grandson who can drink coke for the great britain team.
........regards.........john-doe......
We always do AI in the caribbean, but will do S/C in europe..
I think that it's important to read what's included... make sure that you are getting branded name drinks or international brands rather than local drinks which are invariably poor quality weaker substitutes...
You gets what you pays for...
ATB,J.
I think that it's important to read what's included... make sure that you are getting branded name drinks or international brands rather than local drinks which are invariably poor quality weaker substitutes...
You gets what you pays for...
ATB,J.
I never worry how strong the drinks are..in fact i want them to be weak..cos otherwise i will get drunk too quickly...i usually only drink wine in england so always worried what the wine will be like..luckily it has always been nice...nicole
Think you've got the wrong end of the stick, nicole...we don't spend 24/7 on the booze (although we often witness the effects on those who do) 
All I am saying is that if you want proper brands, be sure that they are included in the package... there's nothing worse than being served a crap substitute of your favourite tipple, or having to pay through the nose when you've already forked out a small fortune for all inclusive...
ATB,J.
All I am saying is that if you want proper brands, be sure that they are included in the package... there's nothing worse than being served a crap substitute of your favourite tipple, or having to pay through the nose when you've already forked out a small fortune for all inclusive...
ATB,J.
Yes i do know what you mean merseygull....if you drink spirits it can be awful to get a cheap replica but i have drunk gin on ai holidays it it did taste like gin...but couldnt drink them all nite as i would get too drunk...on hols last year they had a really nice sangria on tap that i could drink all night and not feel at all bad in the morning but this year it was just a very basic choice and i found that i did feel like i had had a drink in the morning which i dont like on hols as iut spoils it for me...nicole
i agree with merseybull. im not a big drinker and only really drink archers or baileys or something like that so unless i get international brands inc im drinking lemonade all holiday, i find that cheap vodka etc gives me terrible heart burn so i would rather do without. the best thing to do is read all the reviews ,theres no point in paying for an all inc if the food is so bad you have to eat out all the time and i can name a few of those all incs ive sadly been too grrr, we stayed in a 4-5 star all inc at easter and the food was diabolical even with good reviews, so i put it down to early opening at the beginning of the season, doing cheap deals and therefore cutting back on the food quality and selection, so thats another thing to take into consideration which he didnt expect, reading the reviews we didnt get half the things that the people staying in the summer got ,its a lottery
Im going AI and gona be on the booze as much as possible before going out to maga ! gona drink the bar dry !
We avoid all inclusive hotels like the plague!
We do not want to be surrounded by people whose sole attitude is "I've paid for it lets see how much I can eat and drink".
I also think that the quality of food in an all inclusive hotel is a little suspect. One only has to read reviews of many all inclusive hotels to realise that this is the case. Of course it could be argued that the reason there seems to be more cases of upset tums in all inclusive hotels is that people are probably eating and drinking far more than is good for them!
If going to a hotel we tend to go half board thus giving us opportunity to try out local places for coffee, lunch etc. We both also drink very little so AI would be a waste anyway.
Personally we like to self cater - not always eating out but making use of the local supermarkets etc.
I am sure that AI hotels affect the local economy - that is probably why in many resorts you can see closed bars, restaurants etc.
Pippa
We do not want to be surrounded by people whose sole attitude is "I've paid for it lets see how much I can eat and drink".
I also think that the quality of food in an all inclusive hotel is a little suspect. One only has to read reviews of many all inclusive hotels to realise that this is the case. Of course it could be argued that the reason there seems to be more cases of upset tums in all inclusive hotels is that people are probably eating and drinking far more than is good for them!
If going to a hotel we tend to go half board thus giving us opportunity to try out local places for coffee, lunch etc. We both also drink very little so AI would be a waste anyway.
Personally we like to self cater - not always eating out but making use of the local supermarkets etc.
I am sure that AI hotels affect the local economy - that is probably why in many resorts you can see closed bars, restaurants etc.
Pippa
dont see why u avoid em,
if i pay for all inclusive i will drink my moneys worth one way or the other !
youve paid for it you might aswell have it
if i pay for all inclusive i will drink my moneys worth one way or the other !
youve paid for it you might aswell have it
Im sorry but as far as im concerned its all inclusive every time for us.
Not because we like to "eat and drink as much as possible" but just because with 2 small children its the most cost effective option im not constantly finding the money for icecreams and drink and also as i think someone else has already said if they choose something from the buffet they don't like they can go and get something different - which also applies to my husband and myself - we try dishes that perhaps we would have avoided in a restaurant not wanting to pay for something we wouldnt eat.
I would also like to point out that alot of the time all inclusives are actually cheaper or equivalent price to book than half board or even self catering. Yes there are "dodgy" all incs. out there but that is what this website and others are for so you can research where to go and avoid the bad ones - personally we never book anywhere than is less than 4* just for the little extras like having a fridge in your room and unlimited bottled water.
Not because we like to "eat and drink as much as possible" but just because with 2 small children its the most cost effective option im not constantly finding the money for icecreams and drink and also as i think someone else has already said if they choose something from the buffet they don't like they can go and get something different - which also applies to my husband and myself - we try dishes that perhaps we would have avoided in a restaurant not wanting to pay for something we wouldnt eat.
I would also like to point out that alot of the time all inclusives are actually cheaper or equivalent price to book than half board or even self catering. Yes there are "dodgy" all incs. out there but that is what this website and others are for so you can research where to go and avoid the bad ones - personally we never book anywhere than is less than 4* just for the little extras like having a fridge in your room and unlimited bottled water.
why do we give you a bad name
its been paid for so why not drink dusk till dawn your on holiday after all
its been paid for so why not drink dusk till dawn your on holiday after all
That is sadly just the attitude that give the British a bad name and precisely why we avoid AI.
Pippa
Pippa
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