Sunseeker2 maybe nobody has replied because two of your posts were quite rude all the people who have posted on this thread will automatically get an email its up to them if they reply back luci was doing you a favour by merging them if you do decide to go to sunpalace a review would be nice has im off in may have a nice day

there is nothing rude or abusive said or intended in my post, only fact.

now i am back from holiday can we please keep on the original subject of this thread, and please keep it friendly

yasus
wizard

there is nothing rude or abusive said or intended in my post, only fact.

Well you are obviously the only person who thinks it isn't rude.

There are a couple of new reviews of this hotel HERE

luci

Thanks luci

Can anyone tell me if they have hair dryers in the rooms an whether towels are provided for round the pool - did email hotel but not heard bk an we fly out at 7.00 tomorrow morning lol - dont want to take hairdryers if they have them.

Many thanks Carol x

Sorry, don't know but hope you have a great holiday.

hi Carol. most hotels do not supply towels for the pool.If you dont want to pack towels , buy In Faliraki @ 4 euros. Unless you have long hair u wont need a hair drier. Just go outside. Its very very hot @ the moment. i know cos we live in Faliraki.

how many drinks could you get at bar when you go,went to mar amantis in san antonio ibiza this year and you could only get 2 drinks at a time which meant having to go twice so i could get drinks for kids too

Hope u got the answers u wanted on the other forum

Hi Laurensdad,
my son was here in the summer. I just asked him for you and he said it was supposed to be two but they weren't that strict. Quite a few people had more.

Personally I can never understand why anyone would go to an AI hotel. When I go to a bar and PAY for drinks, I can have all I want. To even have to ask this question is ridiculous.

RodosRon when i go to the bar and PAY for drinks, i can have all i want too, do you think i liked going to the bar and get 2 drinks take them to table then go and stand in the cue at the bar for another 10 minutes so i could get drinks for my kids , so do you think me asking the question is ridiculous

Yes I do think it is ridiculous or at least short-sighted or ill-informed or naive. You are talking about an AI hotel. It is standard procedure at most AI hotels all over the world to limit the number and size of drinks you get. It is also standard to understaff the bar so that a queue becomes necessary, thus discouraging people from getting more drinks. Are you not aware of that?

If you don't like the way AI hotels work then perhaps you should consider not going to AI hotels. The food is also quite mediocre at best usually. In other words you don't get more than you paid for. I understand the attraction to some people of knowing up front the total cost of their vacation but in fact I think they then have unrealistic expectations of what they will get in return for paying up front for everything. Think about it, you've already paid, where is the incentive to make you happy after you've paid? Don't think it is to get you to return. The average tourist doesn't return and anyone working in tourism knows that.

In reality it is not that difficult to figure out how much money you will need for food and drinks if you buy them separately. A few posts on forums like this one or the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree will get you the price of an average meal or drink. Multiply by the number of meals and drinks you are likely to buy and you have your answer. The big advantage of doing that is the flexibility to eat and drink wherever you want. Tying yourself to your hotel for all your food and drink in my opinion is ridiculous.

This 'all inclusive' idea started in N. America and it is now nearly impossible to book a package trip to places like Mexico or the Caribbean that is not 'all inclusive'. That is not in the best interest of travellers. It isn't even in the best interest of the hotels. It is ONLY in the best interest of the package holiday companies. They are the ones who make the most money from it.

I lived on Rhodes for 7 years and you can't live there without becoming very familiar with how the tourism industry works. Believe me I know who is making the money and it isn't the hotel. The more the tour company can get you to pay them for up front, the more profit for the tour company and the less money the local business gets paid. Why do you think a tour company has a 'welcome party'? Do they do it to welcome you and familiarize you with what the area has to see and do? I think not, they do it to sell you day trips. Their 'Tour Representative' is not their to represent you, s/he is there to sell you day trips and in fact if they don't sell enough they are reprimanded or even fired.

I'm not having a go at you laurensdad, I'm having a go at the general naivity of the average package tourist. Let me give you one small example of exactly how this profit for the tour company and to heck with the tourist or the local busines thing works to your disadvantage.

When I first arrived on the island in 1993, every hotel had sun beds and towels by their pool and they were provided free of charge for guests to use. Rhodes unfortunately has more hotel rooms than they need. (That's another subject) As a result, the tour companies go to a hotel and say, 'this year we will pay you X per bed/night. Take it or leave it, we can go to the hotel next door.' This has led to hotels having such tight margins that many can't make a profit. So one bright penny had the idea, 'well if we can't make money on the room, why not rent the sunbeds? They do it on the beaches.' So that is what one hotel did. Well, it didn't take long for the other hotels to see that they could do this also. The next thing you know the tourist arrives and what is the reaction? 'What do you mean I have to pay for a sunbed by the pool. This HOTEL is ripping me off.' In fact it isn't the hotel ripping you off, it is the Tour Company who is actually ripping you off. The hotel is just trying to make a living. But the average tourist doesn't figure that out, all they want is a cheap package holiday.

All Inclusive packages are just another way for tour companies to get more of your money. Blame them for any shortcoming of that package you find. Better yet, vote with your feet. Book your flight separtely from your hotel and book your hotel directly with the hotel itself. Yes, you might pay a bit more but guess what, you'll be treated like a guest should be treated, not like cattle.

Well said RhodosRon. We live near Faliraki & have seen the effect A / I is having on the local economy. A lot of A / I guests dont even leave the hotel. So they dont shop or even use a taxi.So Tavernas & shops close down.
Only yesterday on another forum I read of someone paying £2500 for an A / I holiday here & they are not even sure if the hotel is finished yet . To my mind £2500 is an obscene amount to pay for a holiday anywhere.

Whilst I agree with a lot of the points made regarding AI, Laurensdad posed a sensible question regarding the drinks in this particular hotel. If he knew the answer, he obviously wouldn't have asked. I think you should cut the man some slack. By all means discuss the pros and cons of AI but that's for another thread.

Well said Shirley!
Why people cant just answer the question the OP asked is beyond me!

Why people cant just answer the question the OP asked is beyond me!
/quote]

Often the question people ask may appear simple Jay Trip, but the underlying reasons and background are far from simple. If someone asks for directions to a cliff edge, do you just give them the directions? I'm not suggesting this question was a life or death question but the principle is the same.

In this case laurensdad asked about drinks at an AI hotel. That means to me that he is questioning whether this AI hotel will suit his needs. The drinks question is therefore only part of the topic. I chose to expand on the topic to what I believe is relevant to know about AI hotels and tour operators. If what I wrote is not of interest to the OP, he can ignore it. On the other hand, the OP is not the only person who may read this thread. Someone who is thinking of booking an AI package may be encouraged to think twice and that I believe would be a good thing.

So if that is 'beyond you' Jay Trip, so be it. As for cutting laurensdad some slack, I did not say anything detrimental about laurensdad, I said the question was ridiculous. Since laurensdad has indicated he already has experience with AI hotels, he should know there is a price to be paid for this 'one size fits all' package deal. You don't get things the way you want them, you get what they give you. I think I did cut laurensdad some slack. When someone writes, "do you think i liked going to the bar and get 2 drinks take them to table then go and stand in the cue at the bar for another 10 minutes so i could get drinks for my kids", I could respond with, then why are you doing it? It's ridiculous to book an AI package and then want to have things your way.

What seems obvious to me if not you Jay Trip, is that the question is being directed at what the hotel does and the blame will also be mis-directd at the hotel when the answer is not to the writer's satisfaction. AI packages are NOT in the best interest of the tourist. That is the point I wished to get across. How many drinks you get is really rather irrelevant to the bigger picture. Hopefully, rather than seeing my comments as a pesonal attack on himself, laurensdad (and others) will be encouraged to think again before booking something that is not meant to suit their needs, but rather is meant to maximinze the tour operator's profits.