doepsmc wrote:

Egypt is a bit easier as once the pool boys work out where you like to lay of a morning, towels start to magically appear for you in your fav spot, in the hope you may tip them.

Yep!

When we go to the Conrad we tip the beach guys on the first day then for the rest of the holiday our beds, in the best position, are saved for us!

Some may frown upon us tipping for beds but my conscience is clear

It's not what you know but WHO you know!

LOL Pippy. We didnt even have to tip. But I guess it was because it was only B & B not AI and the same guy who sorts out your beds and towels tend to be the ones who bring you menus and drinks from the pool bar all day. so obviously you tip them then.

They are so attentive I swear he would have stood behind DD and turned the pages of her book if we had wanted.

I love the idea of you on your 'bed run' Lyn you sound like a professional, could have done with you at Lykia last year. When we were at the Belcekic Beach we were always on the grass, never once got a sunbed round the pool, just cant get out of bed in time lol

Doe
Edit: Nice photo Pippy, is that the camera that is no more ?

Can I be controversial here and say that I don't think kids should have their own sunbeds if they have gone on the holiday on a free child place?

doepsmc wrote:

LOL Pippy. We didnt even have to tip.

I've no doubt they'd have saved the beds for us anyway even without the tip

Remarkably, they remembered us last time after a two year absence! Very next day, four sunbeds in the best position on the beach were towelled up and ready for us by 6.30am!

We took the time to stand and chat with them all for quite some time every day rather than just saying 'Hello' and I'm sure this helped!

Mine never did. However as a lot of people will say there is no such thing as a free child place, they normally just hike up the adult price in a hotel or underoccupancy in apartments to compensate. Really until mine were teens when you have to pay for them they didn't need a bed as they were always in the pool, but now they are mini adults who sit and read paperbacks the same as the rest of us, so i dont see why they shouldn't have a bed.

A child who actually uses a bed is more entitled than an adult who sticks a towel on a bed at 9am and then goes to the beach till 4pm, free child place or not ! Especially if they need to keep out of the sun. Skin cancer in later life is more prevelant in children overexposed to sun at a young age than those who aren't.

Edit: Nice photo Pippy, is that the camera that is no more ?

No, that's it's predecessor actually!

I've just looked at all my Conrad pics and I want to be back there with all those lovely people!

I've always kept a bed for my son whether I pay for him or not,a "free childs place" is a perk for booking early,he always uses it too!!!!That's like saying he should have his dinner last cos we haven't paid for that either,maybe he should sit on the wing of the plane,I haven't paid for his seat,be fair,those who get last minute holidays pay less than most of us,should they have to take a back seat too!!!

Hey Lyn So does anyone ever beat you to it? Or don't they dare?

Not if i can help it but yes loads do Nik

Fab piccie Pips

Chris . That poor egypian pool guy is proably still standing there waiting for your tip

lynwestie wrote:

Chris . That poor egypian pool guy is proably still standing there waiting for your tip :rofl

We did tip him loads when he brought us our drinks and lunches. and help him move the sunbeds when the sun shifted. They were the wooden sunbeds that you can't lift on your own.

Bagging the right beds is an art form you know!! Having got the right formula, you do need those same beds everyday. For us, not too close to the activities where we'll get splashed, don't want to have to walk too far to get the drinks, especially if carrying them back for the whole family and you need to be in the right spot to supervise the kids wherever they want to be. Also for the incapable like me, being near a set of steps to get in and out the pool is always good!! That's before you've even considered where the sun/shade might fall.

Pam

If I didn't have a kind OH I would be sat on a chair all day, he is an early riser though owing to being up for work before 5am.
When we were in Tenerife a few years ago I thought I would give him a ly- in (I have done it a few times) because I woke really early and went down when it was still dark!,( people were about having a chat) only to find so many others had already got their towels on the beds, that was the worst hotel I have ever been to for reserving sunbeds before the crack of dawn, it was one of the Princess hotels.
So yes I plead guilty.

I knew that would cause some ruffled feathers.

So far as sunbed issues go - well I tend to go to small and friendly places anyway so it's not an issue. I remember it from my teenage years on family holidays though (no child places back then - adults after age of 12!).

SandC wrote:

I knew that would cause some ruffled feathers.

LOL Sandra We wouldn't want a boring forum though with no controversy,

I quite like the idea of being down on the sunbeds with the early risers. On the few times my DH does it he says its a lovely part of the day, one day I will make it down there at 6.30 am, I will, I will.................

Holidays for us are for at least a bit of a sleep in, can't think of anything worse than getting up early when we're away.

I'm the exact opposite. I can't think of anything worse than lying in on holidays. I haven't spent my hard earned cash to lie on bed when I could have stayed home to do that. I tend to use every minute of my 2 week hol to it's best advantage, which for me is getting up early and enjoying the early morning sights and sounds (even if it's only the pool man cleaning the pool area) Each to their own- If it was a case of getting to bed by midnight to get up early or drinking to the early hours and a like in, I know which I'd pick every time.

As Pam said, finding the right sunbed is an art. We tend to pick the best spot for us at the start and then nowhere else will do Close to the pool but not too close to be splashed; where the sun hits for most of the day; where we can people watch; where there's a little table to play cards and last but not least close to the bar/restaurant.

As sad as it is you kinda get used to the same families around you too and it's always nice for an afternoon chat over your coffee and cake

We used to get up early and q for the beds when our children were small because we wanted to sit next to the small pool so we could keep and eye on them all the time (whilst having the odd sit down) Now they are older and good swimmers as long as I can see the pool to watch them Ill sit anywhere. Maybe if the hotels had enough sun beds for everyone there would not be such a problem.

We dont normally do the sunbed run. Havent felt the need and mostly, we would head to the beach if there were no free beds.

Having a daughter that doesnt like the beach has changed this and on our last holiday things were very different. At the start of of it, we didnt reserve beds and always managed to get two or three beds together with no problem. It started getting busier after a few days and there was one family of around 8 adults and 6 kids who used to come out really early in the morning and reserve that amount of beds (more often than not they werent actually used until after lunch except for the kids) so I must admit that we took it in turns to come down early to get our prime spot. I never actually left them unattended though and would read my book in the peace and quiet. I quite enjoyed that. We actually picked the part of the pool that was shady in the mornings because noone wanted that side, but come afternoon, it got the most sun and was perfect .

I think the bigger problem is the umbrellas. Why do they not have enough? It seems that for every 6-8 beds there is only 1 umbrella. There were fights over umbrellas. We ended up buying one and sticking it in an empty base or if no base, the mud around the outside of the pool area.

I have to say that I will get a bed for my daughter if one is free. I do make her sit with us for drinks and lunch and especially during the middle of the day for a sun break under the shade and she quite likes sitting down for a bit anyway.

Sarah

On the few days we sat round the pool last year we always tried to get close to the baby pool as my 3 year old liked to spend most of her day in it. There was one couple however, whose children were much older and they didn't watch anyway, who insisted on getting a spot there each day too, and then spent the day tutting each time they got splashed. On the subject of loungers for the children - I usually get 1 between the 2 of mine unless there's plenty spare. I did, however, on one occasion let the aforementioned couple have the one bed I'd got for the children as there were none left. There wasn't much space between these beds and they then insisted on 'turning' the bed as the sun moved throughout the day so I spent most of my time with some blokes horrible hairy toes within a couple of inches of my head - YUK! Needless to say I didn't offer again. To be honest, we found the best time to go around the pool was from about 4.30 until about 6.30 after a day out, much less hectic and cramped.