Is allinclusive worth the money?

swizzle_2

We are a family of 2, 2 adults and 2 children looking for our first med holiday.

The children will be 6 and 8 at the time of travel.

We want a family hotel with things going on but not too big or busy, probably in a tradtional spanish resort, don`t want turkey or bulgaria.

Have looked at a few on portland/directholidays web site and doesn`t seem that much more than 1/2 board.

Will be looking at main 6 weeks hols, although we would travel a few days before if price was right.

Cheap and cheraful is fine, i do not expect the earth if it`s budget price-but it does need to be clean,safe and food fit to eat, chips with everything would be ok as it`s holidays! although I have 1 child who will not eat chips!

We will not be leaving the hotel much, so if in middle of no where it`s ok.

Thanks

Becles

Add up all the "mam, can I have an ice cream?", "mam can I have some pop?", "mam I'm hungry, can I have a snack?" and similar phrases. If the value of that comes to more than the difference between half board and all inclusive, I'd say it's worth it

We've found Spanish all inclusives to be good value for money. Some do theme nights such as a Chinese or Italian style buffet for a change. The main courses were usually really nice, but the Spanish don't seem to do desserts. Most days it was fresh fruit or ice cream or sponge cake with lurid coloured jelly on the top!

Mark7799

I felt all inclusive was great when our kids were that age - it meant they were able to go and get their own ice creams and drinks without bothering us and they could do it all day. For adults, it really depends upon the quality of the entertainment provided by the place you're staying at - these have been hit or miss affairs. We did an all inclusive in Benidorm which was really a waste as it was so cheap to eat out in other places.

beautifulgorgeous_2

We first went ai when ds was 7. It really helped him to make friends so improved our holiday. It also means that the hotel stays busy in the evening. thop hotels let you use all there ai otels along the Barcelona coast. Get a cheap flight and book a hotel and you moght even save money. Yhey seem to average out at about £100 a night for a family of 4.

Liz19

We think all-inclusive is excellent and our kids are 14 and 11. As Becles said it is great when the kids want a drink or a snack and you don't have to carry any money around with you. We went to a wonderful one in Ibiza (The San Miguel Hotel in Puerto San Miguel) and it was so good we are going again this summer. The food was very good, the entertainment was excellent, it has its own beach and is in a very quiet resort ie. little in the way of shops and there really is something for all ages. I could enthuse about it for ages. Roll on July!

fishhawks

All Inclusive is ideal for families, but do read the small print and know what exactly is included in the deal, the last place we went to they only served ice cream betweek 5pm and 6pm which was fine as we knew in advance. Also read the review sites - holidays uncovered, holiday truths to find out the quality of the food and the variety

Ems!

This may seem like a ridiculous point but for some1 like me who drinks gallons of water it was quite a factor! - A lot of AI's don't include bottled water in the free drinks. If you're happy with coke etc and buying the odd bottle of water thats fine, but i easily get through 2- 3 litres of bottled water a day ( whilst at work), so on holiday when its hot i gt through even more. We've been ai twice, and made sure bottled water was included!, would definately recommend it, but then we aren't fussy eaters so weren't bothered if the food wasn't perfect. We read somereally bad reviews of the hotel we stayed at in greece, saying no variety of food, only get chips every other night, etc etc but we really enjoyed the food while we were there.

spursman

i have only been AI in the Caribbean, we have a 10yo & she has been away every year since she was 8months old, the joy of AI is it gives children there independence, last year in Tobago our daughter made plenty of friends & would go to lunch & dinner with these friends leaving us parents to have a more relaxing & adult holiday(its ok they werent allowed to roam free & upset other guest 1 or more parents kept a discreet eye on them) the downside of AI is it makes people lazy, people wont leave the hotel because they have paid for "3 square meals + snacks in between + all the drink you can handle" they may as well be in butlins at Bognor because thats as much of the Caribbean they see. last year we caught local buses all over the island(tobago is only 8 miles by 14 miles i believe) on Friday Nights we went into town where they had a "friday nite jump" which is like a street party with steel bands/local music/etc, etc in fact a couple of times we took some of our daughters friends because their parents couldnt drag themselves away from the hotel. the response we always got on our return was "why go outside & pay when everything is free in here"
on the whole i would reccommend AI to anyone with kids but please also try to see a little of the culture outside your hotel
all the best
Spursman

davidjohndean

YES YES YES - I would recommend All Inclusive 100%.

We went on one last year and really ate and drunk like Kings (pardon the expression!) The food was fantastic and although Burger and Chips was on the menu, there was also many other options such as local cusine, themed nights (Spanish, Itailian, American, French etc etc.). Which was practically served 7am - midnight - although I did never actually see 7am!

Drinks were fantastic too - limitless bottled water, soft drinks, local beers and spirits. Again practically avalible until midnight.

One thing I would say is that All Inclusive does vary from place to place and there is a possiblility that you could end up in a place that serves all the food you hate - that I surpose is the luck of the draw (and also where researching your hotel on the internet comes in handy!)

spursman

In reply to Ems most hotels we have been to are only too willing to fill water bottles from the soft drinks gun or even their own fresh water supply(depending on where you go make sure its not tap water) we always take our water bottles(cyclists type water bottles) on holiday with us & get these filled by the staff we have never had to buy bottled water at an AI resort. this of course may be different outside the Caribbean.
1 tip on your last day get your water bottle filled & put it your freezer compartment on your room fridge(if you dont have one staff are willing to put it into the bar freezer)
take it out an hour before you leave for the airport, in the heat it will slowly melt giving you cold water for 3/4 hours just right for those delays at the airport

sarymclary

OK, I'm totally sold on the AI option. I'm planning to take my brood of 4 boys (5 - 14 yrs) away, and think somewhere in the Med would be ideal (not too long a flight). I'll be on my own with the boys, so the chance of them being independent thrills me!! What I'd like to know, from those of you with experience of these holidays, is where should I start looking first? Brochures, internet? What are the 'catches' other than a 1hr ice-cream limit? Any other specific hotels/resorts that you can recommend?

I'm flexible on travelling - late summer, perhaps, but prefer not to take the boys out of school for more than a few days where possible (tag onto start/end of summer hols/is Oct. 1/2 term too late?).