Spill the beans... on how to max all-inclusive holidays

Former_MSE_Penelope

Spill the beans... on how to max all-inclusive holidays[IMGRIGHT]http://images.moneysavingexpert.com/images/spillthebeans2.gif[/IMGRIGHT]

All-inclusive holidays can be huge value for money but how do you get the most for your all-inclusive cash? What are the tips to getting a mega-value deal? What should you avoid?

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HXDave

Really, what are you expecing as an answer on this? The best way to get the most value out of an All Inclusive holiday is to eat as much as you can, and drink as much as you can? but then again, do that, and you will probably end up poorly, and end up missing part of your holiday.

the way to look at an All Inclusive holiday is to know that most things are paid for, and that it is much easier (normally) to budget. take things steady, dont go silly (not like i did the first time), and enjoy yourself.

HXDave

richardw

Are they "huge value for money"?

needaholiday

I have been to the same all inclusive hotel in Ibiza for the past 4 years. The complex consists of 3 hotels and you can use any of the bars or restaurants. I find the variety stops me getting bored and wanting to go out to eat and drink unlike other places i've been where it can become very boring and too tempting to wander and spend. We usually just go out twice now as a treat to eat but do tend to go to a few bars for drinks when our all inclusive ends as it always seems like a good idea at the time but then I usually end up missing my all inclusive breakfast!

Tojo_Ralph

I may be proved wrong but this has the potential to the daftest thread of this ilk to date.

As already noted, other than staying onsite, gorging on the food, binging on the drink and joining in on as many of the free activities as possible, what else can a tourist do to get the maximum value out of an all inclusive holiday?

Smuggle food and drink out and sell it to the locals?

It's going to be interesting to see what folk suggest.

WishI'dReadSooner

Personally I'd avoid all inclusive holidays like the plague.

There are too many people who think an all inclusive holiday is just to throw as much alcohol down their throats as possible and stuff their faces at every opportunity. They daren't leave the complex as that means they are not getting their full value from the holiday. They could be anywhere in the world but many see nothing but inside the complex.

Apart from that many all inclusives are far away from the nearest resort so it costs an arm and a leg if you want to go elsewhere.

So often if the food is no good people are stuck with it as their budget does not include extra food.

Travel is supposed to broaden your horizons NOT to be stuck in one place for 1-2weeks. Get out there - meet the locals, eat where they eat and see the country.

You can, more often than not, eat better, stay at a better hotel and not have obnoxious drunks keeping you and yours up all night.

iamdsds

The best way to get value for money is to leave the hotel and visit the country you are holidaying in. You've paid enough money to go on holiday to an exciting country, the last thing you want to do is stay in the hotel complex, eating hotel food; you may as well stay at home if you're going to be doing that.

In fact, even cheaper is to just book flights and hotel independently and you don't have to pay for the "all inclusive food and drink" that you won't be using.

Get out, leave the hotel, meet the locals, drink with the locals, eat with the locals. Get out of your prison cell and have a good holiday!

Faefae

I suppose you have to make sure in advance that the deal is really what you think it is. Ok yes most all-inclusive holidays are all-inclusive across the whole hotel/resort now but how can you be entirely sure?
Some all inclusive has limits on what or how much you can eat or drink etc not all all-inclusives are equal!

A few years ago I went with my parents on what was advertised as an all-inclusive resort on Corfu with full bar and exclusive restaurant for all-inclusive customers. My parents had got a late deal through holiday tv in sky and it was basement price compared to our last brilliant all-inclusive.

Well, the bar and restaurant were the same thing on the far side of the hotel grounds and basically resembled a shack-like shelter over some patio furniture. some of the other holiday goers called it the Tenko shack it was so poorly provided. The bar consisted of a shelf behind a counter with open bottles of own brand cola & lemonade, pain stripper cheap gin and vodka and warm bottles of beer. The meals were lettuce and then something and chips every day. Plus all- inclusive guests were roomed in the outbuildings.
If we had not gone all-inclusive to the same place we could have had lovely rooms in the hotel, a nice indoor restaurant that served a range of Greek and English ( for those who can't eat different food) a bar area next to the pool with refridgerated drinks and decent quality of alcohol.

When my parents complained it was pointed out we do have an exclusive bar and restaurant because none of the paying guests are allowed to sit there- we pointed out no one wanted to, but we were firmly told if we wished to use the non-all inclusive parts of the resort we would have to pay and we should go away from reception or he would call his brothers to escort us to the airport. Some people would have said fine and gone but as my brother is autistic and would have not coped well we decided we would stay.

In the end we summoned up Blitz spirit and made the best of it teaming up with the three other families on our side of the resort and basically making the best of it though we did all end up going out on the last evening to a local restaurant for a proper meal of proper Greek food we thought we should experience (and it cost less than what it would to swap a meal at the hotel)

We couldnt do anything about it when we got home for various reasons, the hotel apparently changed hands the old owners disappeared and my dad was made redundant soon after which was more important to focus on.
Yes you can say we were ripped off and you would never have stood for it but it was a difficult decision to make in the middle of nowhere with a autistic teenager.

So basically if not booking through a known provider or returning to a known resort check where you are going is fully all inclusive and not some ramshackle attempt to get tourists money!! And since then we've avoided all inclusives altogether

megamezzosoprano

The advice is simply - check what is really included, and assess how much you will use/want/consume! For me, the great decider should be not the alcohol or food, but the facilities and location. An all-inclusive hotel located miles outside a town is great when everything is on site and free to use, but can rapidly become expensive as the kids want to try the watersports or scuba lessons or boat trips, most of which are extra. After all, an all-inclusive resort without a shuttle service to the local town (preferably free) is saying "You're stuck here - now open your wallet!" So, find one that includes a variety of activities, such as free dance lessons or pool activites, and has access to local public transport or towns if poolside sunshine is driving you crazy by day 5, and you'll burn off those extra calories from the buffet food in no time!

With apologies for bringing up the *cruise* word at this time, when comparing all-inclusive Nile cruises a few years back, I soon discovered that while there were cheap options, they didn't include excursions. By simply adding up the cost of the excursions, and then checking the deals across several companies, I got a great deal with a company I had previously considered 'too expensive'. On the cruise itself, our guide was so keen, he arranged extra free walking trips round the Luxor Museum and local markets at no extra cost. Another tip - local drinks like hibiscus tea (think pale Ribena) are usually free on board.

Finally, consider paying a bit more to get a lot more. We've just returned from a week in a 5* hotel in Koh Samui Thailand which cost us less than 4 nights in Australia (where we had been to a wedding). Although the Thai deal was not all-inclusive, the enormous breakfast kept you going to way beyond lunchtime, every time you sat down a glass of ice cold mineral water arrived at your elbow, and the fresh fruit bowl in the room (plus a half price cocktail) was more than enough to fuel us through to dinner. We ate the superb local dishes in the less pricey restaurant, each of which came with very generous free 'amuse bouche' beforehand, drank exotic fruit juices rather than overpriced wine, called home via Skype using the free wireless broadband, checked email on the free bar laptop, and made full use of the free coffee machine in the villa. You get the idea....

Moonchild

There used to be an all-inclusive in Bali that offered cigarettes as part of their package.. not sure if they still do!

Personal views aside (wouldn't touch them with a barge pole) it's worth recognising that for further flung destinations (many of which are incredibly cheap to eat and drink in) all inclusives can be extremely detrimental to local communities.

Many A/I hotels are owned by foreigners to start with, and typically local people / entrepreneurs are excluded from benefiting from the perks of tourism. Local bars / restaurants / operators will often not see a penny, and this can cause resentment amongst locals (many of you will have experiences from the Caribbean). Your a/i inclusive can often be primarily be benefitting shareholders in NY, Paris, London etc.

Tourism Concern is a UK charity that has highlighted many of the issues that all-inclusives can bring to countries (here's a snippet from Gambia: http://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/gambia.html).

I've found from the handful of Asian hotels (my main experiences) that have offered all-inclusive that food tends to re-heated Europeanised dirge supplemented with vast quantities of dire watered down beer.

Meanwhile, 5 minutes walk down the beach, you find a little local fisherman's restaurant where freshly caught BBQ fish, sides, an ice cold beer, table in sand with wonderful sunset views and lovely hospitable hosts will cost you less than £7 a head.

So to bring it around in circles, depending on where you are going, the best value is downgrading from a/i to B&B and eating out. Of course if you despair of the idea of meeting locals.....

SailorSam

I wonder why all inclusive has taken off over recent years and appears to be more and more popular and yet everybody who goes on them, like most of the posters above think they could have had a better holiday by having to pay but getting more choice.