I have been to a number of AIs in the Caribbean but never in the Med. Has anyone been to both who can compare the two with regard to food, service etc? I am particularly worried about the only food being available in the Med as burger, chips and pizza! Also, if anyone can recommend any good AI's in the Med it would be much appreciated (2 non-partying adult females around 40!).
Many thanks
Hannah
We have done both and have stayed AI in Turkey and Spain in the med, then DR, Cuba and Mexico.
We always check reviews after our first foray which saw us heading to the supposedly original Turkish Holiday from Hell. We actually had an excellent time but a couple of weeks later I saw a report that said over half the guests ended up on drips in hospital, never found out if it was true. Both our Turkish stays were the same Turkish based food which we liked, but it does get repetitive, lots of rice based dishes and Chicken, with vegetables crossed with meat. Wide selection of salads and cakes and fruit for puddings.
Spain had more European style food but we had a meal in a sister hotel and while the food looked the same as in our hotel, it had been cooked for the predominantly German market and we found it greasy and inedible.
Wherever we are we only take a small portion as a taster in case we don't like it, being AI one just goes back for more of what you like.
Drink wise the spirits were local but whereas in the Caribbean most of the locals brands are better than what we call branded, some of the local copies on the European side were not up to scratch.
There are always loads of complaints about the lower end Med AIs but when you check the reviews you do see people mentioning that the food is recycled from one meal to the next and they had to eat out everyday etc.etc which does give a good clue.
It is all swings and roundabouts, at our Turkish hotels, we ate in everyday and ate well, but other members of our party "couldn't take any more" and ate out in local cafes more often than not.
On the other hand in the GBP resort in Mexico, they have a one week holiday cycle, everything is the same each week. In the buffets the "hot" food was hardly ever hot and I was not impressed with the selections. In the DR they cooked with a strange tasting oil and that was jarring by the end of the second week.
The Caribbean AI hotels have been very impressive with service and facilities, but a friend of mine went to a real "5 star" in Side for the eclipse and what he reported back was easily on a par, but it was a more expensive hotel.
Not much further away are the AIs in Sharm, the best ones are breathtaking and some of the beachside ones have the bonus of a jetty with instant access to the Coral allowing you to snorkel in what is effectively a large tropical fish tank! Again you have to check the reviews, we have stayed at the Conrad which was excellent and people there with us told us that they used to go to the great barrier reef every year until they stayed at the Conrad where the snorkelling of the jetty is better! They now go to the Conrad every year instead. The other hotel we stayed at was the LTI Grand Azure which is a better hotel for facilities but the jetty is nearly half a mile long or feels it, and then you still have to risk life and limb to get into the deep water unless they have changed it now.
Just recently we were tempted with a £245 week's AI in Turkey but on checking the hotel reviews decided that it was not worth the risk. We prefer to pay slightly extra and get a better holiday experience. trying to find a good one we can actually afford is most of the fun!
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