do you have children, if so it gives them a little bit of inderpendance and stops them from asking for money for drinks every 5 minutes(if a hot country they will need plenty of fluids). if they are fussy eaters and you go to a restuart(sorry about spelling) if they dont like what they ordered they starve, in ai they can keep trying dif food until they like something.

As well as what Wizard mentioned most AI have Entertainment laid on and differant activities during the day. If you are heading off for the day (away from the Hotel) most AI will give you a packed lunch.
I am not a fussy eater at all but normally would not be very good at trying new things when I go AI I try foods I probably would not have before.
You dont have to bring money with you (if staying within the hotel)
If you do have kids they normally have a kids club.

Agree with wizard and C&S.
Tom thought it was great to go to the bar on his own for a drink and ice cream ( you get this all inclusive too) and they usually have a kids buffet.
We weighed up the total money spent on overall holiday last year ( including spends) and this years all inclusive and we saved just over £500 in all. We also got a packed lunch when we went to the beach or out for the day.
Most AI's serve breakfast snacks till midday so there's no rush to get up on a morning which is a godsend if you have children.
I'm all for AI.
CazzMicknTom

Sometimes if you go self catering you can be penalised for room supplements, if this is the case you may as well price up AI and weigh up all the odds.

drinks, food, treats for kiddies eg ice cream etc etc

Price up half, full board and all inclusive just so you can see the difference.

We sometimes find that you do drink elsewhere and not stay at the hotel, as you have not paid that much difference anyway than going self catering etc etc.

Good luck

kazee

I reckon it costs an average of £1000 pp per week for an adult whether you go SC B&B HB including spends most AIs including some very good ones will cost less than this you could spend nothing if you wished so it makes it cheaper and easier to budget. We always takes ome spends and go out of the complexes but at least you know you can enjoy your whole stay and not spend up in the first few days.

nick

my friend is going to turkey at the same time as us but we are ai and she is self catering.We have only paid £300 more than her,im sure we would spend this on ice cream alone for the kids

we always go AI.. it is great when you have kids as they can get drinks and ice creams etc whenever they want. We spend about the same amount of money on souveneirs trips out etc as we would if we were SC. On the last SC we had, we ate out every day anyway and spent a fortune on food and drink and it would have been cheaper for us to go AI..
AI can sometimes mean you are tied to the hotel, but that depends on what type of holiday you want..we usually have an explore anyway and don't always eat at the hotel even though it is paid for..and in some places, you always get those that over indulge just to make sure they get their monies worth so to speak. There are advantages and disadvantages in being AI, but this type of holiday suits us as a family

I've found that the standard of the hotels is far better than the self catering places. I'm not snobbish and can fall over with the best of 'em, but you get looked after in A/I's.
The rooms tend to be a lot cleaner, air con is supplied free in high season, and your linen is changed every day.
On the contra side the beer is weak, the spirits are weak,(except the Raki), and you can spend a lot of time queuing at the bar.
This year we spent 450, including a 3 day car hire.
Normally it's over a thousand, but the price for the holiday more than comes out in favour of A/I.

Apart from all that, we use a good tour operator who only uses good hotels.

Often because AI hotels are large they seem to have better swimming pool complexes and pool surrounds. When we have been on Self-catering/eating out type holidays the pools in the apartment blocks have been smaller and often only one of them. I know this wouldn't matter to everyone especially people who prefer the beach, but it's important to us as a family.

On the contra side this means the pool areas can be busy especially during the main school holidays. They are probably bliss in June and September tho. :D

Parky.. the standards are not necessarily better in AI places rather than SC... we had the misfortune to stay at Punta Jabillo in CT, Lanza and that was the saddest excuse for an AI have ever come across. Read the reviews of the place, there are more bad than good..on the other extreme, we stayed at Taurito Princess in Taurito, Gran Can and that was one of the classiest places we have stayed in. ..

We started going AI about 5 years ago, unsure of how it wouyld work out, but we found it suited us as a family. Our daughter gets a kick out of ordering her own drink, and we don't have to drag her out of the pool for meals
We don't stay by the pool 24/7, we do go out & about, but I don't feel we've wasted our money, as we always spend less than we used to when we went B&B or even HB.
It really is a matter of personal taste, but, personally, I would recommend it, particularly to those with kids.

I went AI for the first time last year and while my kids are travelling with me I am hooked.
Firstly as an adult travelling with 2 children I get hammered with under occupancy supplements - last year 2 weeks AI worked out £200 cheaper than self catering. This was money I could then spend in the resort - we ate out every other night (food was great in the hotel but we like to get out and about) and helped towards trips etc
Secondly my children like to eat at different times during the day so they could please themselves without the usual fuss.
Thirdly I was confident they were drinking enough as again they could help themselves at the dispensers or go to the bar - also the glasses were not to big so they would drink them down and no waste
Lastly - it was a real holiday for me!
I think you need to research, choose somewhere thats not isolated - we were two minutes walk away from the resort centre so never went stir crazy!
Lally

i think my only grumble is that as soon as a child reaches 12 you pay adult prices for them on AI, but they don't always get adult facilities..eg: being given a camp bed or a sofa bed..my lad was 14 yesterday and we expect to pay adult prices for him..i am not trying to get summat for nowt.. but the very least i expect for him is a decent bed....

You only get what you pay for in the end. If you pay a decent price then the standard of the hotel should be good. We've found the food can be awful and when you've paid for it beforehand, you begrudge going elswhere to eat - but sometimes you have to suffer the whole holiday surviving on omelttes and bread as that is the only thing that looks safe.
Drinks on AI are only the local drinks (usually) and so the choices can be limited. Its nice for the kids to wander around and get their icecreams or drinks when they want to but i dont like the thought of spending my holiday with a plastic wristband on announcing to everyone that I'm staying in an AI hotel - also it may give me a white strap mark!!!! very important consideration.

Residents dont like AI as they are killing the local businesses/bars

i would dissagree with enfermera about locals not likeing AI, also i have never been left with a white strap mark and ive been going AI for many years, i will agree you take a chance on the food(you get what you pay for), but have always found something to eat.

Last year I was at an AI in Crete and 25% of the clientel were Greek! So I would also disagree that locals don't like AI. These liked it so much they were joining the Brits, Germans and French on holidays.

I live and work in Alcudia in Mallorca (produce local guides). I speak to many people about AIs. I can tell you that they are universally disliked, and not only because of the loss of business. The strength of feeling has led at least one group in another part of the island to petition the King against AIs.

Local people staying in AIs is one thing. Local people in the community is another.

AIs have a lot of advantages, that's clear. But in terms of economic benefits to the local communities, I don't think so.

*Edit to remove advertising link. Pippy*

Sorry Andrew they cant be universally disliked or they would not be so popular and flourishing
I can imagine they are disliked by cafe and bar owners.

nick

I have been on a few AI holidays and find the remarks that Enfermera makes are nonsense.
All the places we have been to the food has been great, and as far as the drink it is okay.
There are also some AI where you can get branded drinks,grouse,Smirnoff,etc.

As for the locals not liking AI this is a load of tosh.
Just because people go AI dose not mean they do not go out and around the local establishments for nights out and spend money in local shops restaurants etc.

We do all the time.