all inclusive-where's actually good??

wallbash

brand8 wrote: »

I hated turkey we went ai last year would never go back, the hotel was clean but food horried and cold and everyone who we spoke too on the bus home (all in diff hotels said same) the place was horried the people rude. Believe me i have had many holidays to many diff places before and sure you get some bad hotels but you would go back to the place but turkey never again.

Turkey is a large country , many many hotels , you are making some very sweeping statements.
I have been there a number of times , never had problems

wallbash

We loved that hotel, however the area around it is so so boring.

This is true of many Ai hotels , wonderful hotels , but dire outside, thats why they try and do everything on site.

Better Ai will include a number of restaurants , with different themes.

mummyyummy_2

Zoetoes wrote: »

I second the San Miguel, been twice and would go again.

Also loved the Egypt Holiday Village.

Hated the Club Mac complex in Majorca.

I have been seriously looking at club mac in majorca....why did you hate it Zoe?? thanks

mummyyummy_2

needaholiday wrote: »

Just got back from San Miguel Hotel and Beach club in Puerto San Miguel Ibiza for our fourth year running. Had another fab holiday. Great fun for families. I celebrated my 50th birthday whilst there and that was great too. Restaurant let us reserve a table for 24 of us and barman made me fabulous jugs of Champagne Sangria and no one forced me onto the stage (my biggest dread!) We meet with families who return year after year and make new friends every year as it's such a friendly place. Animation team are lovely people and work extremely hard and hotel staff (especially the bar staff) are great. hotel can only be booked with thomson,booking.com (comes under Hotel Club Cartago) or direct with hotel. PM me if you want any more info.

the 'partying' scene kinda puts me off Ibiza as we got young kids, unless Im totally wrong?

mummyyummy_2

mick_vandick wrote: »

Okay...
Holiday Palace or Polynesia in Benalmadena, Costa del Sol
Villa Marina Club in Salou, Costa Dorada
Paraiso de Albuferia, Albufeira, Portugal
Hotel Calypso, Salou, Costa Dorada
El Paso, PortAventura, Costa Dorada
H10 Mediterranean Village, Cap Salou, Costa Dorada (only self catering or half board though)
Benalmadena Palace, Benalmadena, Costa del Sol

hi, is the Benalmadena area itself good? thanks

mummyyummy_2

scotsman4th wrote: »

Neighbour loves Lanzarote Gardens but upgrades to AI once they get there as it's cheaper than booking the AI over here.

They say the kids clubs are excellent with something for kids of all ages (3 seperate ones).

We've done Hotel Caledonia in Tenerefe (ok, nothing special though and very hilly but right next to the water park) and Coba/Akumal/forgot the third one in Mexico (this was probably my favorite holiday ever).

hi, i didnt know you could do that...book s/c and upgrade to AI once there...how do I find out which hotels do this and prices to upgrade? thankyou

mummyyummy_2

wallbash wrote: »

Unlikely, two weeks ago I was in the South and the temp never topped 38 .

Check the temp yourself , its now between 30 and 36 ( google it)

Of course it could easily be nearer to the 50 , in the bright sun , but weather temp is recorded in the shade ( and out of the wind)

High temp is easy to cope with , sitting by the pool , under an umbrella with a cold drink .
Its the humidity that makes life uncomfortable.

all i know is sis-in-law was there beg of July and in-laws there now and they both say its 50odd on the hottest days... anyway, its still very very hot!

needaholiday

Puerto San Miguel is a very family friendly resort far away from the clubbing scene. I think its a great place for kids of all ages. My daughter was 8 the first time we went there and says it's got the best kids clubs she's been to (thomson run) and she loves the hotel animation team who are also great with the kids. I think there are lots of lovely family friendly resorts in Ibiza e.g. Portinax,Es cana,Santa Eulalia but would avoid San Antonio and Playa Den Bossa. I was looking at Lanzarote Gardens and think it looks lovely and I could do with a change but my 12 year old is mortified and is pleading to go back to San Miguel next year!

mummyyummy_2

needaholiday wrote: »

Puerto San Miguel is a very family friendly resort far away from the clubbing scene. I think its a great place for kids of all ages. My daughter was 8 the first time we went there and says it's got the best kids clubs she's been to (thomson run) and she loves the hotel animation team who are also great with the kids. I think there are lots of lovely family friendly resorts in Ibiza e.g. Portinax,Es cana,Santa Eulalia but would avoid San Antonio and Playa Den Bossa. I was looking at Lanzarote Gardens and think it looks lovely and I could do with a change but my 12 year old is mortified and is pleading to go back to San Miguel next year!

i see theres 2 hotels, SM Hotel and SM Beach Club...whats the diff?

Zoetoes

mummyyummy wrote: »

I have been seriously looking at club mac in majorca....why did you hate it Zoe?? thanks

If there's quite a few of you you might enjoy it, you will probably enjoy wherever you go if you're altogether.

Good points - the food in the Saturno restaurant (where we stayed) was pretty good. Themed nights - Chinese, Italian etc and one night was a kids party style, little butties, crisps etc, popcorn, candy floss, as well as normal food for the adults. The breakfasts weren't bad either. What you'd expect for 3 star. After complaints about the lunches and snack bar they opened another lunch bar in the Marte which was much better too.

Bad points - stayed in Saturno on 10th floor & there are 3 tiny lifts for everyone to use so a bit of a pain, but I can cope with that.

The 'balcony' has no table & chairs to sit out, but that's because they won't fit, you can literally stand out there, no more than 2 people.

The bed smelt and one of the legs was bent right under. The blankets were in the wardrobe if we wanted to use them, I was cold but wouldn't use them because they stank too! Everything smelt very musty.

The bathroom door didn't have a lock & had a big gap between the door & the fram so you could be seen in the shower. One morning someone walked in while I was on the loo & the kids were in bed, probably the maid.

The lunches were either in the Jupiter hotel or the burger bar outside - we could only eat the fries from the burger bar. The Jupiter lunch was practically inedible, and I'm not that fussy! I got boiled rice & I couldn't even eat that, it was appalling. The Jupiter is also where the late tea option is, same disgusting stuff & also they put towels over the drinks machines so you can't get a drink with your late tea.

The hotel staff are useless, anything I reported they never rectified, apart from one day the maid hadn't left loo roll or towels & they eventually brought some. Myself & my son burnt our hands on a dodgy toaster when the rack got stuck, we were trying to get it out before it went on fire - wish we'd have let it as we got no thanks, went to reception & they didn't give a toss & were reluctant to log it. We found a chemist & bought burn cream. The toaster was removed 2 days later.

I didn't get a drink of a night because the queues are so big, this was the beginning of June.

You look and think it'll be great for the kids, loads to do, but be warned if you go it will cost you a fortune! It was supposed to be a cheap break for me to take the kids away & it was cheaper the year before staying in Egypt in a decent place & loads for kids to do. This place charges for everything! And they lock the tennis court and play park at 7pm but have all the paying stuff open till all hours. It's a big rip off.

Also, I booked the Saturno because the waterpark was included, but when I went to start the little one in kid's club I was told I had to pay because we already got the waterpark free. We only used the waterpark one day because you have to pay for everything in there, including a sun lounger.

I had read the reviews before I went but was swayed by it being cheap (it was just over £1000 for the 3 of us) & thought it'd be ok for us & some people are just snobby, but never again! I have written to First Choice to complain.