All inclusive holidays

Has anyone been on an all inclusive holiday?

We were thinking of booking one this summer fo Cuba. About 1200 for one week all in. Although 2 weeks is not much cheaper?

Is it good value? bad value?

Do you get tired of eating in hotel all the time.

Did you end up spending much there?

Would you recommend it? not recommend it?

one week or two weeks?


Thanks

Wouldn't be my cup of tea really - paying to be a prisoner in your own hotel though I'm sure others may differ .. no personal experience of this type of deal but a few thoughts -

You'd want to be sure the Hotel was very (and I mean very) nice and had a choice of restaurants ... especially for 2 weeks you'd get mighty bored eating at the same buffet every night.

It's unlikely you'd be sipping Dom Perignon and XO Cognac for the 2 weeks .. normally these AI deals would specify local drinks only .. which would I guess in Cuba would mean beer and local spirits (i'm sure the rum would be good but the rest of it ?)

What's the premium you are paying for AI ... lets say 7 nights there @ 1200 as you say and you could get B&B for 950 .. if there's 2 of you then that means you're paying €500 extra for AI .. which essentially means dinner for a week and a few drinks .. that's +/- $100 a night .. it's hard to imagine you couldn't do better (and have more fun) spending your own $100 - Cuba is supposed to be pretty reasonably priced unlike the rest of the Carribean (where AI deals might be better value?)

Depends on what you're after but not my cup of tea anyway

My mother wend on one of these all inclusive holidays in Varadero (can't remember which specific hotel off-hand) a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Mind you she was travelling onward from Canada at the time so the cost was well below what she would have paid from Ireland! All food and drinks (with few restrictions as far as I know - although she doesn't really drink but still enjoyed the odd Mojito! ) were included. She didn't really need any spending money other than for trips (e.g. Hanvana) and tips in the hotel (technically the ban on US$s was reinstituted but it may well still be the de facto standard currency for tourists - check before you go). As before it may not be everybody's cup of tea to go on a full board or all inclusive holiday but if that's the sort of thing that suits you then Cuba could be a good choice.

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yes we went on one nearly two years ago to lanzarote suited us down to ground, the food was plentiful and of good quality as was the drink, in particular it suited my two children who were 12 and 14 at the time, they normally cost us a fortune on drinks, ice cream and snacks during the day, these were all included and it was great, i have no complaints and would go all inclusive again, but i would do research on the particular hotel you are proposing to stay in first.

Moffy,

Hope you don't mind me asking but where exactly in Lanzarote did you go that did that package?

Thanks,

Sueellen.

Dec, I went on one to Jamaica just over 12 months ago to Beaches Boscobel . We were there for six days before I had to touch the money in the safe and that was to go golfing (free) but we had to pay the caddy. Apart from the golf and buying pressies. There were five restaurants four bars ( all food and drinks were free) with drink and food available almost 24hrs. There were ice-cream machines , slush puppie machines and cold drinks available at many points around the complex...all free. I would definitely reccommend it.

Hope you don't mind me asking but where exactly in Lanzarote did you go that did that package?

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suellen,
booked through ebookers and the hotel was the los zocos (they have a website)
would recommend it - worked out well for us, and my cousin went last august and enjoyed it too

leatherarse.

do you mind me asking how much that cost you?

no i dont mind - it was about €2050 for 1 week - sounds expensive - but in theory we didnt have to put our hands in our pockets after that

Moffy,

Thanks for info.

€2050 for 1 week :eek was that per person or for 2?

thats what it cost for the 4 of us

Would not recommend Varadero full stop!!
The all inclusive deals are not really worth it, well in Cuba anyway.
Standards are not like here and a 5 star hotel in Cuba would be similar to a 3 star here.
We stayed in the Sandals resort.....was not very impressed, I would advise you to go to the Bahamas/Mexico and take a three day trip to Havana from there. There is nothing in Varadero, but if you are into lying on a beach and not doing much else, it would probably suit you.
Sorry to be so pessimistic, Cuba is certainly different but Varadero is like anywhere else without the shops.
also if you do go to Cuba ,make sure you bring plenty of reading material, no newspapers or books (bar Cuban maifestos) on sale.

"thats what it cost for the 4 of us "

Not so bad so. Have heard of some of the all-ins costing a lot more.

I sent the parents off on a all inclusive safari holiday to Kenya. 1 week Safari and 1 Week in Mombasa all inclusive. The brochure said that all drinks were included and water on safari.
I spoke to them on the phone today and they told me that everywhere they had to pay for their drinks and while on safari they had to pay for everything. Even one of the hotels was b&b only. This sounds far from all inclusive to me. Considering the amount of money paid out (€6K) they feel aggrieved.

Would they have any recourse against the travel agents due to mis selling, misrepresentation etc?

Went with gf a few years ago on half board to mallorca from england...300£ for one week for the two of us. That was flights,accomadation and buffet brek and evening buffet.Drinks cost extra.....the hotel waiters charged for drinks with ev. meal even water. Over all very good value.
In 2004 went on a weeks holiday alone to costa del sol from london.Booked over the phone and had intended to get self catering but the all inclusive was only 25£ dearer so went a.i. for 200£... was in april.
The buffet food was fine, plenty of local beer and local spirits,ice cream and buffets were 3 times a day with drink and snacks .ice cream available all day. This would be fine for someone with kids and people with big appetites.The problem is people are inclined to eat too much as its all there and free.Also there is an inclination to hang around the hotel and be back for the next meal.One needs discipline not to overindulge and also not to let a.i. divert one from ones itinerary...visiting local towns...eating out in a nice restaurant now and then etc.
The food of course depends on the hotel and what you paid....for me it was perfectly adequate.....but for someone who sneaked into high class hotel buffets, where rich german tourists were having their brek buffet , i can confirm that it`s not quite in the luxury category.
Good god ,the thrill of downing those delicious freshly baked pastries and freshly ground coffee,bratwursts etc etc brings it all back......

Went to the Fortina Spa Hotel in Malta a couple of years ago and have their current advert in front of me now.

Five star accommodation, six a la carte restaurants, mega spa facilities and just over the harbour from Valetta.

Highly recommended.

check out [broken link removed] Resort.com

Prices from England for seven nights range from £599 to £999 depending on when you travel.

I would not go to Cuba for a 2 week holiday in Varadero. The whole reason for going to Cuba in my opinion is for the culture, architecture and history, none of which you will even remotely experience in Varadero. It is sort of separated from the rest of the country both physically and culturally. You don't get to experience the real Cuba. As a previous poster mentioned, there is nothing there other than the beach and the food generally is quite poor (this is the case throughout the whole country). If you are staying in Varadero, All Inclusive is the only real way to go though.

You would be far better off spending time in other parts of Cuba (and I am not talking about day trips) particularly Havana, Vinales and Trinidad and by all means keep 3 or 4 days over for spending on the beach like in Varadero.

If you want a Caribbean beach holiday, you would be far better off going to somewhere else e.g. Bahamas or Jamaica.

Went to Cuba two years ago did three nights in Havanna and then spent a week in Varadero all inclusive and then back to Havana for three nights

I must say I loved it, the freedom of not having to carry your wallet etc with you everywhere was brilliant. There was no restrictions on the type of drinks ie Smirnoff instead of local vodka and they gave you as much as you want as often as you want. The beaches down there are the nicest I have ever been on and as the 'beach' part of the trip was in the middle of the holiday it was a nice break from Havana's humidity

I would advise that you split the holiday - spice it up - everyone goes away to exprience the culture (Havana) and enjoy the relaxation of Cuba fine beaches. The hotel we stayed in had three different restaurants, a pool bar that served pizza and burgers etc and also had an all day all you can eat buffet. After Havana the food there was heaven as I did not rate the food in Havana - had to pay well to get a decent meal. The people over there are very nice and friendly and there is a good night life.

Whatever you decide you should get there before Castro makes a split for it as it doesn't have all the usual Micke D's and Four Seasons American exports.

Enjoy the mojitos!!

Was in the Fortina in Malta last year, all inclusive, booked it from ad in paper, they are still advertising almost every week in Mail on Sunday & Ryanair fly there. It was excellent, fantastic value, 5 restaurants to choose from, small admittedly but it felt like you were eating out every night. Had to pay for nothing, snacks at pool bar at 11 & 4 as well just in case you were hungry between meals. Would really recommend it for stress free quiet break