If you are going AI does it really matter where you go? Benidorm, Lloret, Corfu??

fair comment parrgaluva, don't get me wrong, if I was in europe I wouldn't go A.L, as we love going to different restraunts , bars etc and like to feel that we are helping the independant restrauntuers and bar owners out ( not much, but every little helps for them I suppose ) but when it comes to the carribean, I would still feel that I was helping the islands economy out by having my holiday there.
Don't really agree that you could be 'anywhere' as all things carribean are definately not european ,
I understand why you would say this , as most hotels are complexed based, but, given the euro rate and the price of the holidays I've looked at , if I can get a 4 star hotel all inclusive with a kids paradise in the way of activities for our 7 yr old as opposed to 3star self catering with nowt going on for her, for more or less the same price, well, yeah, i could be anywhere, but I'd rather it was the carribean !!!!

To me my Caribbean holidays are all about relaxing, we might do the odd excursion or hire a taxi to take us somewhere for the day (its very cheap) but mostly its about curling up in the sun with a good book and as many drinks as I want and not have to worry about a thing. Having said that there are plenty of things to do if you want to. Most AI hotels have language and dancing lessons, some organised sports and various competitions during the day. You can often take out a small sailing boat or a kayak or snorkel in the beautiful warm Caribbean. There is often shooting or archery and a gym. The children in the clubs seem to have a good time, with various activities for them and a good mix of other nationalities to try to make friends with. The general pace of life is very slow in the Caribbean.
What you won't find is lots of British bars selling sausage, egg and chips or loud drunks making you ashamed to be English.
Most of the Caribbean is not at all like some of the popular European resorts and you can see in an instant from reviews that some people did little research on what to expect. In the Dominican Republic you will see quite shocking poverty in places, Cuba isn't a wealthy country either but once in the resorts you wouldn't know it and tourism is slowly making things better out of them.

My European holidays are more about sightseeing, somewhat less relaxing, I have to think about what I'm doing tomorrow if that makes sense. While I love parts of Europe, I never come back feeling as relaxed and rested as I do from the Caribbean.

So to sum up, if you want to go somewhere warm, with a beautiful beach, eat foreign food (there's always pasta and chips) and spend quality time just being together the Caribbean is excellent value. If you would rather be more active with sightseeing or visiting different bars and restaurants eating English food, then you are probably better off staying closer to home in Europe.