All Inclusive Holidays

Discussions relating to all inclusive style holidays
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That was a good read Jim . I am a dedicated member of the A/i club and have done many but only 1 in spain , Ibiza actually , oh and 1 in lanzarote if that counts.

whilst we have experienced much better in turkey,. (tables are usually laid and you can expect waiter service for drinks in many there)I would say that was a fairly accurate account of the average you are likely to encounter over spain and her various islands . There will be many better as Im sure there will be many worse. the only point I will add to that is the great importance of reading reviews for A/Is before you book . Never ever take a chance ;)

lyn
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My experience of AI in a smallish hotel in Turkey was that there is a Turkish breakfast buffet, including hardboiled eggs, olives, cheese, tomatoes and cucumber plus bread and jam.

Lunch and dinner are virtually interchangable with salad items like for breakfast plus various mixed salads, cooked meat dishes and fruit, ice cream and local pastries for dessert.

Our AI offered soup at 23H00 - perhaps to induce folk to stop drinking and go to bed!

On the drinks front, it was LOCALLY produced drinks only - raki, red and white wine (definitely not for connoisseurs) and a soda fountain.

But it was adequate, different from what I was used to ............ and what we would consider to be hot food was served lukewarm because that's how the Turks tend to eat their food. We tended to go out for kebabs, steak and lamb chops.
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I agree with all of the above. Ive just returned from Hotel Sorra D'or in Malgrat, Costa Brava. The food wasn't fantastic but adequate and we didnt go hungry. I was on a budget so knew I didnt have to pay money out in a restaurant every night and buy drinks all day.

I also agree that some people do drink ALL day and at night time the noise was terrible when I was trying to sleep! Thing is when you have paid for drinks etc up front, you're not going to go down the road and pay again.
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i agree with that picture of all inclusive,we have just returned from the san miguel hotel in ibiza and it was actually better than that so that was a bonus.we tipped the day before we left (10 euros) to one barman and 10 in the pot for the others and we did get excellent service,but we had anyway,we did get a drink after the ai had finished and you were supposed to pay,but they didnt charge us.i think the staff at that hotel had been trained to give good service even though you had already paid,where some dont.
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Obviously still a good hotel for AI then, we went to the San Miguel 10 years ago on our first AI. Our eldest was still under 2 so it was always early back to our room, but they had no objections to our nightly trip to the restaurant for hot dogs and drinks. One of us went to fetch them and take them back and we were never stopped. We've been hooked on AI ever since, although granted, some are better than others- didn't rate the Jupiter/Saturno complex in Alcudia.

Pam :)
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I really think that there is no place for AI holidays in Spain. Spain is a modern member of the EU, not some third world island of the coast of South America.
There may be a need for it where there is no infrastructure but if you step out of most hotels in Spain you will find well equipped resorts with all the amenities required for a good holiday
Anyone who pays for an AI holiday should be aware that frankly,hardly any of your money makes it's way to the local economy.
This results in job losses and will certainly lead to a cutback in quality offered in your AI hotel.
AI is killing the tourist industry in Spain. Be warned.
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you can go to htop hotels for all inclusive because normal hotel dont have all inclusive so you are best going in HTOP
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Mike in Ibiza wrote:
I really think that there is no place for AI holidays in Spain. Spain is a modern member of the EU, not some third world island of the coast of South America.
There may be a need for it where there is no infrastructure but if you step out of most hotels in Spain you will find well equipped resorts with all the amenities required for a good holiday
Anyone who pays for an AI holiday should be aware that frankly,hardly any of your money makes it's way to the local economy.
This results in job losses and will certainly lead to a cutback in quality offered in your AI hotel.
AI is killing the tourist industry in Spain. Be warned.


To be honest we dont owe Spain a living anymore than we owe any other Country a living.

I am sure the average Spaniard doesn't give two hoots about the British economy (unless it affects their tourist trade) and yet we often get posts like this which are a kind of emotional blackmail on a lot of families who if it wasn't for AI coudn't have two weeks in the sun.

I had a week in a villa in Spain this summer and the cost of food in the supermarket was extortinate - no I didnt buy Heniz baked beans and shed loads of booze and yes I know the pound it poor against the Euro - but so what ? you can't say "will you take a bit less at the till as the exchange rate is carp at the mo?"

Normally people who make posts like this have a vested interest in the tourist industry rather than any intention of helping holiday makers on Holiday Truths.

I think if I go back I will have to look for a minimum of half board.

I think you post was a very good read Jim and really explains how AI works, I think the moaners have totally unrealistic expectations of what they can expect for their money, however most people would rather this that not be able to afford to holiday.

Also although people moan, nine out of ten book either the same or something very similar the following year. ;) I do agree with Lyn though there is nowt like a bit of research on the AI you are staying in.

Doe :wave
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Jim. I agree with nearly everything you said. How astute you are!

The reason a lot of hotels are a.i is because of the location - too far out from the resorts so they would not get many bookings for b & b or half board as a lot of people like to stroll out to the bars and shops.

We used to go to several a/i hotels in the Costas 3 and 4 star and they were exactly how you said.
After a few days, we would get a bit bored with the same restaurant serving similar food each day but the entertainment made up for it - the days participating in the games and the nights watching really good shows - therefore meeting like minded people who were there to enjoy themselves.

But a few years ago we started to visit 4.5 star a.i hotels in the Canaries - there was no comparison to the Costa hotels - we drink out of glasses (unless poolside) tables are re-laid, waiting staff dress accordingly for the theme of the evening, choice of restaurants, variety every mealtime, hygeine very important to all the staff, Mangement visible during day and night, pool areas washed down daily (went to one in mainland Spain where the pool area wasn't cleaned for the week we were there and people wonder why they 'pick something up' when there is food and drink hanging about?)

Another thing - although we go a.i. if the service is good we do tip on a daily basis as do others so probably the staff make more money in tips than barstaff/maids/staff working in a b&b or half board hotel, especially now drinks are so expensive and the measures(!) have got smaller!

Never been to Turkey/Egypt - do you think they have similar standards to the Canaries?
Haven't been on a long haul either but would expect it to be even better then the Canaries (if that is possible?)
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