I used Mexico as an example of the very finest AI I have had, I have also been AI to Ibiza and Menorca many times and the food was certainly as good as any restaurant back home or in resort.

By the way Cancun certainly does not have any water/rat borne diseases nor gun toting yardies!! The many restaurants and bars outside these hotels seem to do just fine. They make going to these establishments an event so tourists do come out of their AI hotels to experience them. So the restaurants/bars either do this, making them so different/unique that you want to pay the extra or they bring their prices down so the majority of people can afford them.

By the way 6 euros for a drink is very expensive in my book!! You may pay more for a one off very special meal but not every night of a f'nights holiday!! If you can you should be holidaying on Necker Island with Richard Branson (ha-ha)

How often has this "freshly cooked" food been cooked to order,not as often as some people believe,you'd have to wait ages if it was all freshly cooked.More likely "freshly reheated" is the "norm".

i'm unsure why people think i'm implying that people who go on ai are second class citizens. i've never once mentioned people who prefer it. i said (and i paraphrase) ai food and drink is not as good as in restaurants and bars. i don't have to be gordon ramsay to know that a meal prepared for 400 to people all to be consumed in two hours is not as good as a meal prepared for 2 in a restaurant.

btw i normally pay 4 euros in my nearest bar for a rum and coke.

sdII

**removed***
Come back down to earth and get real, A/I are here to stay and growing year by year. They offer good value for money, even for us second class citizens who by the way can now afford to holiday 2 or 3 times a year because of the value they offer.

Spotty dog

I think you need to read your first post again! It seems the majority have read and taken it as I have done

Not many of us like to be told that we are eating second class food,drinking second class drinks therefore going on second class holidays,please tell me what else we should think you are implying!!!

OK everybody that is enough.

Please familiarise yourself with the T & C of the site, in particular number 3 :

3. Show respect and courtesy to all other users
Do not allow yourself to be drawn into conflict with another user. We will not accept personal attacks from one user toward another and this will be dealt with very severely.

The AI debate regularly happens and always ends up with the topic having to be locked. Can we all just agree that there are people who like AI and are very happy to go on an AI style holiday for whatever reason and to whatever hotel in whatever country and there are other travelers who don't want to go to an AI hotel and would rather eat out so they go SC or B&B etc.

Neither group is right or wrong END OFF STORY and as Glynis say's 'each to their own'.

Hi,
I have just read on another website that the major German tour operators are calling for more All Inclusive hotels especially in Ibiza.Not only that but they are wanting Hoteliers to negotiate deals with local bars and restaurants so the holidaymaker can visit these places to eat and drink without paying any extra.This has been condemed by the local business leaders but I myself think this is a fantastic idea as it would allow holidaymakers to get out of the hotel and also give a bit of business to the struggling bar owners.What does everyone else think.

In an attempt to get back on track I've copied the original post.
My opinion- I can see some advantages. Personally I don't go AI anymore as I like to go out and about( and I have no children to worry about ) This idea would give more options. However, a lot of AIs won't be able to afford to negotiate deals with restaurants/bars and depend upon the fact that many of their guests will eat and drink somewhere else at times.

I don't think many people who go AI stay in their hotel all the time anyway,I for one like to get out and about and am quite prepared to pay to eat away from the hotel occasionally.We usually have several days out and buy food and drink wherever we go.I think it would be very difficult to put the idea into practice,too.

we are having a family holiday, this year is AI, this is our daughter choice, as she will not have to worry about the little one wanting/needing drinks , ice cream, etc [and kids club to entertain her] daughter and hubby will probably NOT leave the hotel all week, thats her choice.. OH and myself will go out every day, find a traditional local Taverna away from the resort to have our midday drinks [and snack if we fancy one] the other member of our party we don't expect to see from breakfast till dinner as he likes to go exploring, this means although 3 of us have paid a little more than normal we all get to do our own thing and still holiday as a family group,

i've reread my original post

tourism - an industry
tourist - a person.

so, indeed, i've never once mentioned anyone personally.

i think you all need to stop being so defensive. the original question was if we thought aiaa was a good thing. i don't and my reason is that standards are lower. ask yourselves this, if you won the pools tomorrow, would you go AI?

sdII

This will be the end of my thread!

The answer from the poverty stricken east german (in disguise obviously!!) would be yes, I would just go a lot more often!

I would probably go more often too,as a previous poster lives in Ibiza he or she may have a vested interest as to how we tourists wish to spend our money.

ok, here it is.

Say you are a family with 3 kids aged 12, 10 and 8. Now you are in your Half Board hotel and you're on your sunbed around the pool, this is what you'll hear every 30 minutes or so. 'Mom can I have an Ice Cream, Mom can I have a drink, Dad can I have a burger, Can I have, Can I have, Can I have?????'
Dad: No son cus we're going to the beach/ round the shops.
Son: Oh but Dad all our new friend are here in the pool and we want to spend all day in the pool.
Dad: I wish we'd gone All inclusive now!!!

Therefor All Inclusive is absolutley perfect for the above family!

Many families just want to get away from England and spend two weeks getting a tan whilst their kids have fun in the pool. What's wrong with that?

Personally it is 100% not for me or my family as we enjoy eating out and going on the beach and having a wander round. Yet if I can see the benefits of AI then why not anyone else?
I just love getting up in the morning in my own time and sitting on the balcony with a coffee watching the world go by. Then maybe a trip to the beach, a couple of cans of San Miguel whilst lying their making sandcastles with my daughter (who's now 14 and just wants to read so I'm left on my own digging a giant hole), maybe a little swim in the sea and a 'wow' to myself because of all the topless ladies ( come on guys you know it's true)!!! Then back for a shower and a tiny little Estrella Damm (or two) on the balcony whilst my wife and daughter get ready to go out.
Then it's off for a walk around town and a nice meal in a local bar and a couple of beers, maybe a cocktail or two or a litre of Sangria and then maybe play a few games of rummy or poker with my wife and daughter (who swears she doesn't know what she's doing and then produces a Royal Flush from nowhere), then back to the appartment for a Jack and coke whilst on the balcony watching all the AI crowd go inside as it's now 12 and the AI has stopped running!
At the end of the day your holiday is whatever you want it to be and how anyone else can moan about it I don't know! And besides, let em' moan, who gives a damn! Just enjoy yourselves! As long as you're doing no harm to others why should it bother anyone!

In my opinion it would only be the bars and restaurants that are struggling to stay in business who would be willing to participate in providing an extended AI for the hotels.The ones that provide a really good service at a realistic price will still get customers willing to pay.

All-inclusive Rejected

http://www.theibizasun.com/31_03_2010/ibiza_news.html

I've never been on an AI holiday, half board quite a few times but I just love visiting different restaurants, Spanish, Greek, Chinese, Indian, any. My wife, daughter and g/daughter visited Menorca last year on an AI (first time for the wife and she really enjoyed it), so I booked Majorca in May AI to try out. We'll still, no doubt, eat out as well and it will be another AI in September with daughter (been ill so a little pick me up for what she's gone/going through) and g/daughter, two in one year hope it's okay or there'll be murder.