All-Inclusive: The Holiday I Thought I’d Hate

Let me tell you a secret.

I used to think all-inclusive holidays were a bit… naff.

Not in a snobbish way. I just had visions of repetitive buffets, watery cocktails and spending an entire week inside a resort because we’ve paid for it, so we’re eating there.

Then I actually booked one.

And now I’m that person who keeps banging on about them.

Not because I suddenly stopped wanting to explore, eat in local restaurants or wander around little towns. I still do all of those things.

I just realised I’d completely misunderstood what a good all-inclusive holiday actually gives you.

It’s Not About Never Leaving the Hotel

This is probably the biggest misconception.

Booking all-inclusive doesn’t mean you’ve signed a legally binding agreement with the buffet.

Think of the hotel as your paid-for base, not your cage.

Have breakfast before you head out. Spend the afternoon exploring. Eat at that little restaurant by the harbour because it looks gorgeous. Have cocktails somewhere completely different.

Then come back to your hotel later knowing that if somebody suddenly announces they’re starving - and if you have children, somebody absolutely will - you’re covered.

That’s the sweet spot for me.

You get the freedom to explore and the security of knowing the basics have already been paid for.

The Money Bit

This is usually where all-inclusive starts making much more sense.

When people compare an all-inclusive holiday with self-catering or room-only, they often compare the booking price.

But that’s not really the cost of the holiday.

With self-catering or room-only, you’ve still got breakfast, lunch and dinner to think about. Then there are coffees, water, soft drinks, cocktails, snacks and approximately 4,732 ice creams if you’re travelling with children.

Individually, none of those purchases feels enormous.

Collectively? They can demolish a holiday budget.

A family meal out in a resort can easily become a sizeable bill once you’ve added drinks. Do that every evening, add lunches and everything consumed around the pool during the day, and suddenly the cheaper board basis doesn’t necessarily look quite so cheap.

With all-inclusive, a huge part of that spending is known before you even leave home.

And there is something wonderfully relaxing about not mentally calculating the price every time your child asks for another ice cream.

But Is All-Inclusive Actually Cheaper?

Sometimes.

And sometimes it absolutely isn’t.

This is where I don’t subscribe to the idea that all-inclusive is automatically better value.

If you’re the kind of traveller who has a coffee for breakfast, spends every day away from the hotel and loves eating out twice a day, paying a significant premium for all-inclusive probably makes very little sense.

But for a family who will use the pools, eat breakfast and lunch at the hotel, have drinks throughout the day, snack by the pool and use the entertainment and facilities?

The maths can look very different.

The only useful comparison is:

What will this holiday actually cost us by the time we come home?

Not simply:

Which hotel price is cheaper today?

WORTH KNOWING

All-inclusive doesn’t mean the same thing at every hotel.

One resort might include international branded drinks, à la carte restaurants, snacks throughout the day, ice creams and activities. Another may include local drinks, buffet meals and very little else.

Always check exactly what’s included — particularly à la carte restaurants, premium drinks, minibar refills, snacks, activities and the hours the all-inclusive package operates.

Two hotels both labelled “all-inclusive” can offer completely different holidays.

The Food Is Better Than You Think

Ah yes. The buffet.

This was one of my biggest reservations too.

And let’s be clear: bad all-inclusive hotels exist. There are absolutely resorts where the buffet becomes repetitive and the drinks aren’t exactly something you’d rush home to recommend.

But that’s a hotel problem, not an all-inclusive problem.

The better resorts have moved miles beyond the endless buffet stereotype.

Depending on the hotel, you might have several restaurants, proper à la carte dining, speciality restaurants, snack bars, patisseries, coffee shops and food available at different points throughout the day.

Some have genuinely excellent food.

The trick isn’t simply finding an all-inclusive hotel.

It’s finding a good all-inclusive hotel.

And You Can Still Eat Local

Please do.

One of my favourite things about travelling is food, and I have absolutely no intention of giving that up because I’m wearing an all-inclusive wristband.

If there’s a gorgeous little taverna in the village, go.

If somebody recommends an incredible seafood restaurant, book it.

If you wander past somewhere at lunchtime and it smells amazing, sit down.

You haven’t somehow “wasted” your all-inclusive because you bought dinner elsewhere.

You’ve simply chosen to spend money on an experience you actually wanted, rather than having to spend money every single time somebody needed feeding.

That’s a very different thing.

The Bit Families Really Notice

For families, I think some of the biggest benefits aren’t even financial.

It’s the lack of friction.

Hungry child? Go and get something.

Didn’t like what they chose? Try something else.

Want an ice cream? Fine.

Need a bottle of water? Grab one.

Fancy going on the waterslides for the fifteenth time? Off you go.

Nobody needs to find a supermarket on arrival. Nobody has to decide where five people are going to eat three times a day. Nobody is checking the banking app every evening wondering how you’ve somehow spent another £137.

And when you’re travelling with children, removing a hundred tiny decisions from every day can make a surprisingly big difference.

All-Inclusive Isn’t Just for Families

Families are an obvious fit, but they’re certainly not the only ones.

A good adults-only all-inclusive can be brilliant for couples who genuinely want to switch off.

Groups can benefit from having most of the spending sorted upfront rather than negotiating restaurants and splitting bills every five minutes.

And there are some spectacular luxury all-inclusive resorts where the experience looks nothing like the old stereotype at all.

Even destinations such as the Maldives increasingly offer all-inclusive options - and when you’re on a tiny island where you’re unlikely to wander down the road for dinner anyway, the board basis becomes a particularly important part of choosing the right resort.

Where All-Inclusive Works Particularly Well

Turkey does all-inclusive exceptionally well. The Antalya coast in particular has enormous resorts with waterparks, multiple restaurants, entertainment and facilities that can make the hotel a destination in itself.

The Canary Islands are another strong option, particularly for families and winter sun. There’s a huge range of resorts at different price points and plenty where you can combine hotel days with exploring.

Majorca and Menorca work beautifully if you want the security of all-inclusive but still want towns, beaches and restaurants nearby.

And at the luxury end, the Maldives can be exactly where paying more for the right meal plan makes sense. Once you’re on an island resort, food and drink costs can mount quickly, so knowing exactly what your package includes matters enormously.

But I wouldn’t choose a destination purely because it’s “good for all-inclusive”.

I’d choose the right hotel for the people travelling.

What Should You Look For?

This is where the star rating alone doesn’t tell you enough.

Before booking, I want to know what the food reviews are actually saying. How many restaurants are included? Do à la carte restaurants require reservations? Are branded drinks included? What’s available between meals? Is there somewhere children can grab food without sitting through another formal meal?

For families, I’d also look closely at room configurations, kids’ clubs, pool setup, waterparks, evening entertainment and how easy it is to leave the resort if you want to.

A beautiful hotel isn’t much use if five of you are expected to sleep in one room with two camp beds wedged beside the wardrobe.

The details matter.

The Raia Take

Would I recommend all-inclusive to everybody?

No.

Would I keep booking it for my own family?

Absolutely.

I’ve stayed in budget, mid-range and more premium resorts, and when you get the right one, the combination of convenience, facilities and predictable spending is very hard to beat.

But that’s the important bit:

the right one.

All-inclusive isn’t automatically good value because there’s a wristband involved. And self-catering isn’t automatically cheaper because the initial price is lower.

The best option is the one that fits how you actually holiday.

If you want to disappear from the hotel every morning and come back at bedtime, I’ll happily tell you not to waste your money on all-inclusive.

If your perfect week involves slow breakfasts, pool days, children appearing every twenty minutes asking for food, a few trips out, a couple of lovely local dinners and absolutely no desire to perform mental arithmetic every time someone orders a Coke?

Now we’re talking.

Tell me how your family actually likes to holiday, and I’ll help you find the board basis — and the resort — that makes sense for you.