Oh dear,

As a Scot can i plead not to get involved in this ongoing German - 'British' dispute (let's face it, German - English dispute)

You can't moan about the Germans stereotyping the 'British' when a lot of English people have the worst habit in the world for stereotyping other nations, even those they share a Union with (just ask jock, paddy, and taffy and the way they are regularly portrayed in national press and tv)

My apologies to the decent people of England who rise above this nonsense

On the subject of compensation, and whether we accept poorer accomodations, etc? Yep, i'm sure we do, but we do have a habit of just grinning and bearing things rather than complaining. If you aren't happy, then let someone know about it - nationality shouldn't come into it!

I think the reason the Germans get better hotels , rooms with a sea view etc, is simple ,they pay more.
Most German holiday brochures state the languages spoken in the hotels, British holiday makers take it for granted that English will be spoken, as it usually is. After this example I
hope the British tour operators , will make this clear before people book.
I live in Germany
x lassi

Germans are nice people, they're very similar to us - they like their football and their good beer, and because it rains a bit at home, they like their sunshine.
I have to admit, I don't like being in places where I feel "in the minority" (Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria is a good example of this) but most Germans I have encountered are polite and friendly and they are not afraid to complain if they're not happy with the hotel, which ultimately leads to higher standards for everyone. We are "too British" to complain, we just whisper and whinge when we get back home and so nothing gets done.
As for the old towels-on-sunbeds debate, yes, I get up early if I have to, but so do lots of other people from other countries - we are all as bad as each other (apart from the Spanish, who just go to the beach all day).

As a Scot can i plead not to get involved in this ongoing German - 'British' dispute (let's face it, German - English dispute)

I don't think it's a particularly German - English - I've seen Scottish people joining in the banter for the sunbeds early hours of the morning as well.

You can't moan about the Germans stereotyping the 'British' when a lot of English people have the worst habit in the world for stereotyping other nations, even those they share a Union with (just ask jock, paddy, and taffy and the way they are regularly portrayed in national press and tv)

The English people also call each other Geordie, Scouse, Brummie, Cockney as well. I've seen many a Scot in the airport with their ginger wigs and tartan hats wearing 'Jocks on Tour' T shirts.

I have some good German friends that we've met over the years both on holidays and also through business.

Both sets of friends bemoan that fact that "we" Brits are terrible at stereotyping Germans by the Germans we meet on holiday. They use the analogy of "would you like all British holiday makers to be tarred with the same brush as some of the Brits encountered on holidays in large resort hotels ? " This is what they say we do and beg us not to judge based on these small percentage of German holidaymakers just as we wouldn't want to be tarred with the whole Brits abroad, 18-30 type holidaymakers from the UK.

I thought they had a good point personally.

Having stayed in both the cheap end of the market on holiday to the 5* luxury resort you do encounter different types of German holidaymaker dependent on where your staying. It has to be said that is true of UK holidaymakers too IMO.

As for the Scottish.....try being a Geordie and being told by every single "Jock" you meet that we're just Scots with our brains bashed out It gets a tad boring after a while......but I live with it and enter into the banter as is expected.

I saw this reported last week (I think it may have been on the BBC site) and discussed it with a German and an English friend. We thought that the travel firm should have noted in the brochure that the majority of the hotel guests would be German (as Lassigirl mentioned) German tour operators usually do these days if the situation is reversed.
I live in Germany and I don't know anyone with the intelligence of more than a banana who reads the Bild it's just another member of the gutter press and I would take any stereotyping of the British with a pinch of salt, next week it could be the Dutch that they are taking the p... out of.
I will relate though something that happened to me some years ago in Tenerife. I was in conversation with a German couple who were also staying in the same hotel, it appeared that they were the only Germans in the hotel and were most upset, because as it was full of British people and they didn't speak any English they felt very isolated. They actually asked their rep if they could change hotels but weren't successfull, they did tell me they would try to get a refund when they returned to Germany. Anyhow every morning a lot of the sunbeds in the hotel were covered with towels, we British always blame the Germans in the sunbed wars but this couple would have had to be very busy to cover all the beds by 0800hrs.

When we used to frequent Spain, the Germans were really bad for reserving the sunbeds - infact we used to see them going to the pool area on our way in of an evening.
But not having been to Spain in over ten years now, I can't really comment on what it's like nowadays.

BUT one particuar place we used to stay in in Portugal only had one German family there (they owned half of the place) and they NEVER put towels on the beds to reserve them.

But the Brit's did - totally ridiculous!

One woman used to go down at 7.30am (we used to watch her from our balcony) and make THREE (yes, three, I kid you not) trips armed with towels to reserve the beds for her *mob* (there were LOADS of them!) Then she would curl uo and go to sleep on one of them, whilst her *mob* drifted down in dribs and drabs from about 10am to as late as 3pm
It really used to do my head in.

And that's how it starts isn't it?
People only have to see one person/family/mob doing that and then they panic they won't get any beds, and so they do the same, and then someone else sees.....and so it goes on and on....

Thankfully this *practice* doesn't seem to occur where we stay nowadays.

I guess the germans maybe had a reputation for the sunbed thing way back, but the brits have taken that over good and proper. I no longer stay in large hotels so it isn't a problem.

I've spent time in Germany and met many on holidays and have always got along fabulously with them.

So far as the newspaper article is concerned, this chap and his family are from my area and so it's been in the local rag too. Basically it's this:

On Thursday, David Barnish, of Madeley, was awarded £750 damages following a holiday on the Greek island of Kos. A judge, at Stoke-on-Trent County Court, found tour operator Thomson's brochure did not make clear that the hotel's entertainment was in German

Which is fair enough - he wasn't asking for a fortune. Good for him, I say, but shame that tabloids have taken it up and caused problems between Brits and Germans.

Have to agree with Milly here:-

And that's how it starts isn't it?
People only have to see one person/family/mob doing that and then they panic they won't get any beds, and so they do the same, and then someone else sees.....and so it goes on and on....

I've even seen holidaymakers mark their 'spot' the night before with their own towel when the hotel have locked the sunbeds up for the night - pure crazy.

We don't stay in large hotels or complex's now either, we book private accommodation - just can't stand the hassle.

Having access to French, German and English holiday brochures, I would like to make a couple of points.

Certain resorts are specifically marketed to different nationalities - for example in Mallorca ...... you will not find hotels in German brochures for Magalluf or Palma Nova, but for Peguera and Arenal.

In French brochures, you will find mostly hotels or 'resorts' specifically run by French companies for example in Crete, and many more options for Tunisia than in British brochures, and hardly any in German brochures.

If you have misgivings about multinational resorts and hotels, you might care to do more research before you leave, for example looking at TUI's German website and their subsidiary companies such as Bucher Reisen and Neckermann Reisen. Unfortunately FRAM (French major TO) don't allow individuals access to their internet details ...... but Marmara Tours do.

I am in the fortunate position that I can book with either French or German operators, and would state categorically that the German products are often superior to their UK and French counterparts, but that's not just based on price. I find that German holidays are cheaper than UK and French ones because the quoted price is the final price ......... no supplements for different airports, inflight meals, pre-allocated seating etc. But I will concede that the increased flying distance and the price of Avgas might have some bearing .........

I am in the fortunate position that I can book with either French or German operators, and would state categorically that the German products are often superior to their UK and French counterparts, but that's not just based on price. I find that German holidays are cheaper than UK and French ones because the quoted price is the final price ......... no supplements for different airports, inflight meals, pre-allocated seating etc. But I will concede that the increased flying distance and the price of Avgas might have some bearing .........

I agree Alsa...I did a price comparison a while back for a different thread and while the prices were only a "guide-line" because of the different prices that can occur even within the regional airports of the UK, the prices for flying the same distance from Germany to Spain, UK to Spain, same hotel and same dates revealed that the Germans are not paying through the nose for the same hotel, the prices are similiar and in some cases less than the British are paying.

But, there is no doubt that they receive better service for their money, than the British trading arm of the company .

Sanji

I've even seen holidaymakers mark their 'spot' the night before with their own towel when the hotel have locked the sunbeds up for the night - pure crazy.

I gave up the practise of fighting for a sun-bed many years ago, but really I should say my hubby did because he point blankly refused to get up on "dawn patrol" anymore, and earlier than he did for work at home.

As far as it being a German -English thing, I think most "foreigners" assume that if you hold a British passport and speak English, then you are an English man/woman and some are still quite uneducated or ignorant to the fact of the different regions.

The last time I stayed in a hotel where the majority of the guests were German was many years ago in Roquetas de Mar (Costa Almeria) in the hotel Sabinal and those Germans came armed with all the gear each night, which must have been packed and pre-thoughts given into the reason why anyone would pack a specific length of thick rope into their cases when going on holiday.

They methodically tied 2 beds together, looped the rope around a couple of plastic chairs, then through the metal hoop in the base of the parasol and finally through a plastic table for drinks"¦.finished off with a knot that Houdini would have had problems untying"¦.and they were fighting amongst themselves for their little bit of the hotel grounds, which they thought they had the right to for the entire length of their stay, and the laughable thing about it was, that the beach is a few yards away across the promenade.
So when I hear about the Brits giving them a taste of their own medicine, I find it highly amusing TBH.

The same thing will happen next week at my hotel and being an international hotel my comments are not specifically aimed at any nation, but they'll be there at the crack of dawn to buy their mattress for the sun-bed for a euro and the beach is a few yards away where there are hundreds of the dam things"¦..the difference being, 2 beds/mattress's will cost 2 euros, on the beach it will be 9 euros.

I wonder how long it will be before someone goes to Spain for a holiday and then complains that they speak Spanish? it makes me laugh when posters come out with phrases like" there were a lot of Spanish in the hotel and the entertainment was geared towards the Spanish"

Yeh, so what.? I thought that was the point of going to different countries and experiencing their culture"¦.you decide to go there, nobody twists your arm and forces you to go and it's not their fault if you can't speak their language.

English is taught as the second language in many European countries, and some people would do well to remember that having English spoken is a bonus, not compulsory.
When you've got the giants like Thomson herding the British into specific hotels which they have acquired a monopoly on, and they are calling the shots, then the staff have to accomodate and speak English.

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiii

We go to small hotels, usually just as the English schools are going back after the summer holidays, so we don't get the 'fight for the sunbeds' thing. If we did, I would just pop along to the beach as I don't like crowds anyway. Having said that, looking at my avatar (thanks, Sanji and Glynis) , would you take me on in a fight!!

There is only one thing responsible for the sunbed goings on and that is the fact that hotels DONT take towels off reserved beds like they should do and like their signs say they will do!
If all hotels took towels off beds, when people were not on them and were not in the pool, then it would all stop!

We've been on quite a few holidays over the years, and the morning ritual is hilarious I am an early riser and enjoy an hour on the balcony with my coffee and fags (excuse that swear word all you non-smokers!) people watching. In general it's the hubbys that are down at the crack of dawn with the towels, anything between 2 and 6 per arm. They select their spot and its towels to the ready, some thrown on the seat , some over the back, and some one between two. When they chain and lock beds together never mind, all the men seem to make quite a few friends while waiting for the grand opening, and then the 'Keyman' arrives.... thats when they all seem to become enemies, as they grab their needed quanties from the pile.
I must say I've never noticed any Germans doing this, they tend to get up early when beds are all set out with their towels, that's if they haven't put them there on their way home the night before.
Some resorts remove any towels that are not being used before 8am and take them to reception (not a bad idea)but that can cause a problem when the towel owner makes an appearance and finds 'someone else' on their bed. I've seen towels out early only to be remove by the cleaners who have to disinfect the loughers, they just collect all the towells and put (throw) them in a pile (heap) either on a fence if there is one or on the umberellas, sort that lot out!!
If I ever go down with the towel brigade, it's because I am ready to stay out and enjoy the early morning chill out, you know the one, just before the sun comes over the top of the hotel or mountain, yet it's still warm enough to have your cozy on
Anyway, we're off in a few weeks, and I'm sure I'll see something I've never seen before at the break of dawn from my balcony....with my coffee....and my fag

Anyway everyone enjoy
I know we will

gussiebaby

Yeh, so what.? I thought that was the point of going to different countries and experiencing their culture"¦.you decide to go there, nobody twists your arm and forces you t's not their fault if you can't speak their language

.

Exactly Sanji. I love being in a hotel where there aren't hoards of Brits- It makes it feel more of a holiday somehow, listening to the different languages and judging the different fashions

shirley h wrote:

Yeh, so what.? I thought that was the point of going to different countries and experiencing their culture"¦.you decide to go there, nobody twists your arm and forces you t's not their fault if you can't speak their language

.

Exactly Sanji. I love being in a hotel where there aren't hoards of Brits- It makes it feel more of a holiday somehow, listening to the different languages and judging the different fashions ;)

I agree with that. If I was at the hotel pool for an hour it would really "do my head in" (in other words - really get bored).

I rather get up and go here, there and everywhere visiting various places in whichever country I'm in. And watch from the balcony all these people do the "lets get our sunbeds by the pool". For me, I say, "Get a life, there's more to life than lying by the pool". And most of them probably won;t show up til late in the day anyhow.

Ooh Misshighlander, I do enjoy relaxing by the pool but I'd rather not hear loads of Brits around me. Nothing wrong with us Brits, but variety is the spice of life and all that!

I stayed at the Capo Bay hotel, Cyprus, and the sunbed and umbrella were yours for the length of your stay. Very civilized......