never realized all-inclusive snobbery was such a thing

[Anonymous]

I hate, hate, hate the DCUM snobbery and travel focus of UMC people.

That said, I jump sides and agree with the AI snobbery. Spouse and I simply can’t bring ourselves to do it. Same goes for cruises, although we’ve come close to booking a Ritz Carlton cruise.

Yes, off the beaten path or a more bespoke trip with younger kids can be harder and/or more expensive, but we’ve always signed up for that.

[Anonymous]

We do it 1 every 2 years. I am a single mom and I relish that week when I dont have tk cook every meal! The other vacations we do our wild and off beat and guess you can do both!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 pages in and we still don't know what resort? Please name it, OP. We are looking at doing a multigenerational family vacation next year and for a variety of reasons it pretty much has to be an AI or a cruise.

Nice thing about a cruise is that the ship can avoid bad weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people like a very corporate, catered experience when they “travel”, and that is fine.

+1

If people like that, good for them! I enjoy chance encounters with locals in grocery stores and on the train, especially if I’m trying to speak their language. Other people would hate that, and that’s fine.

Oh FFS. I guarantee they don't enjoy it.

How do you know that, oh, great expert?

Because virtually no one is going to enjoy that. If you don't understand that, you need help with your (lack of) social skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 pages in and we still don't know what resort? Please name it, OP. We are looking at doing a multigenerational family vacation next year and for a variety of reasons it pretty much has to be an AI or a cruise.

I don't think they are going to. This might have been trolling.

[Anonymous]

OP here: Just checking in and amazed at the number of responses. The resort is the JOIA Grand Paraiso, part of the Iberostar complex. All of the resorts looked lovely and we saw many, many families with happy kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Just checking in and amazed at the number of responses. The resort is the JOIA Grand Paraiso, part of the Iberostar complex. All of the resorts looked lovely and we saw many, many families with happy kids.

This explains a lot. I'm glad there were lots of happy families, but happy families don't tend to be all that discriminating about food and do tend to label crap buffets as "good."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Just checking in and amazed at the number of responses. The resort is the JOIA Grand Paraiso, part of the Iberostar complex. All of the resorts looked lovely and we saw many, many families with happy kids.

This explains a lot. I'm glad there were lots of happy families, but happy families don't tend to be all that discriminating about food and do tend to label crap buffets as "good."

Of course the insults begin as soon as the resort is named. Can't win here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Just checking in and amazed at the number of responses. The resort is the JOIA Grand Paraiso, part of the Iberostar complex. All of the resorts looked lovely and we saw many, many families with happy kids.

This explains a lot. I'm glad there were lots of happy families, but happy families don't tend to be all that discriminating about food and do tend to label crap buffets as "good."

Of course the insults begin as soon as the resort is named. Can't win here.

That wasn't an insult, it was an observation. If you are taking it as such, that reflects on you. Most couples traveling with toddlers aren't looking for Michelin stars. They are looking for the convenience of chicken nuggets and cut up fruit on a buffet. This is just how it is.

[Anonymous]

I’m a picky eater and something of a foodie. But over the years I’ve also just come to the conclusion that a vacation is not all about my food preferences. I’ve had crappy meals in lots of beautiful unique places because the truth is that, in many places, eating like the locals do (or worse yet, eating near the popular tourist places that you might actually want to see) is not going to result in a great meal. I’m now at a place where I try to pick the best restaurant I can without dragging my family to someplace they don’t want to go just because someplace is supposed to have the most authentic whatever. Sometimes we get really lucky and happen into someplace great but other times it’s just whatever and that’s fine. I find the same thing with AIs and Disney and cruises (all of which I’ve done)—much of the food is whatever, some of it is bad and sometimes you get a surprisingly amazing dish (I’m thinking of you. Sandals jerk chicken fresh off the grill). If my family is having fun with the location, then I think it’s a good vacation. I’ve definitely had worse food in some gorgeous national parks, random pubs in England or Ireland, small towns in South America, or eating in some people’s homes in Eastern Europe.

Anyway, I hate the snobbery, but I do find it amusing! At least this thread has not yet reached chicken bus status—that was the worst!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a picky eater and something of a foodie. But over the years I’ve also just come to the conclusion that a vacation is not all about my food preferences. I’ve had crappy meals in lots of beautiful unique places because the truth is that, in many places, eating like the locals do (or worse yet, eating near the popular tourist places that you might actually want to see) is not going to result in a great meal. I’m now at a place where I try to pick the best restaurant I can without dragging my family to someplace they don’t want to go just because someplace is supposed to have the most authentic whatever. Sometimes we get really lucky and happen into someplace great but other times it’s just whatever and that’s fine. I find the same thing with AIs and Disney and cruises (all of which I’ve done)—much of the food is whatever, some of it is bad and sometimes you get a surprisingly amazing dish (I’m thinking of you. Sandals jerk chicken fresh off the grill). If my family is having fun with the location, then I think it’s a good vacation. I’ve definitely had worse food in some gorgeous national parks, random pubs in England or Ireland, small towns in South America, or eating in some people’s homes in Eastern Europe.

Anyway, I hate the snobbery, but I do find it amusing! At least this thread has not yet reached chicken bus status—that was the worst!

You can't be a picky eater and a foodie. It is one or the other.

[Anonymous]

We stayed in a couple of these places when we had young kids, including this Iberostar. It is good for times when you are absolutely exhausted and just need a break. The food was better than I expected (and certainly much better than the chicken nuggets cited above - genuinely good Mexican food), although the drinks were not.

Honestly, it is not my preferred vacation of choice. It is still quite cruise-like in that you are jammed in in an enclosed space and limited options. The quality in an all-inclusive is never really as good as you can get in good boutique hotels and restaurants, where you can also have more interesting, if not necessarily more authentic, experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a picky eater and something of a foodie. But over the years I’ve also just come to the conclusion that a vacation is not all about my food preferences. I’ve had crappy meals in lots of beautiful unique places because the truth is that, in many places, eating like the locals do (or worse yet, eating near the popular tourist places that you might actually want to see) is not going to result in a great meal. I’m now at a place where I try to pick the best restaurant I can without dragging my family to someplace they don’t want to go just because someplace is supposed to have the most authentic whatever. Sometimes we get really lucky and happen into someplace great but other times it’s just whatever and that’s fine. I find the same thing with AIs and Disney and cruises (all of which I’ve done)—much of the food is whatever, some of it is bad and sometimes you get a surprisingly amazing dish (I’m thinking of you. Sandals jerk chicken fresh off the grill). If my family is having fun with the location, then I think it’s a good vacation. I’ve definitely had worse food in some gorgeous national parks, random pubs in England or Ireland, small towns in South America, or eating in some people’s homes in Eastern Europe.

Anyway, I hate the snobbery, but I do find it amusing! At least this thread has not yet reached chicken bus status—that was the worst!

You can't be a picky eater and a foodie. It is one or the other.

It depends how you define picky.. I won’t eat any meat that’s been mocrowaved. I won’t eat any food on a plane or in a cafeteria. I won’t eat most food that’s been sitting out on a buffet (exceptions for some food that sits well, like bread pudding). I won’t eat eggs unless they are fresh made. I won’t eat fruit unless it’s very fresh and won’t eat overcooked vegetables. I won’t eat French fries unless they are very crisp and straight from frier (exception for small McDonald’s fries if on a road trip). I won’t eat donuts umless tjeh ate hot and only frkm certain places. I generally won’t eat fast food (exception for McDonald’s fries on a road trip). I won’t eat iceberg or romaine lettuce. My spouse considers me extremely picky!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate, hate, hate the DCUM snobbery and travel focus of UMC people.

That said, I jump sides and agree with the AI snobbery. Spouse and I simply can’t bring ourselves to do it. Same goes for cruises, although we’ve come close to booking a Ritz Carlton cruise.

Yes, off the beaten path or a more bespoke trip with younger kids can be harder and/or more expensive, but we’ve always signed up for that.

I find that it is generally cheaper to go off the beaten path.

[Anonymous]

Some of the snobs don't realize there are tiers to AIs. I went to a tiny, boutique, adults-only resort for a wedding once. No buffets, food was quite good, service was good.

So I thought I liked AI's and went to another one and yeah, I get the snobbery. It was a whole different thing.