All-Inclusive Packages in Europe

[YourMother]

Hey guys,

I'm looking into some possible honeymoon ideas and I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with all-inclusives in Europe. I've seen that there appear to be some high rated places in Greece/Spain and such, but I've also been told they can differ greatly from the typical Mexico/Dominican all-inclusives. It'd be really neat to bum around Europe sight-seeing and such and then finish up at a nice resort. Anyone have any intel worth sharing? Thanks!

[FFR]

Grand Palladium have some which are similar to Mexico (they own some in Mexico as well). Same with Blue Bay - but Blue Bay isn't as high end. Your best bet might be Club Med - their all inclusives are the same everywhere and are awesome.

You could also consider a cruise - if you sail on Norwegian you get one free bonus choice and one of those can be alcoholic beverages (most cruises don't include them) - and then it's just like an all inclusive but with better food and more destinations!

[Table 5]

Instead of doing an all-inclusive type package, and considering you're still a young guy (an assumption based on you getting married), you may want to do something like a self-driving tour. In those instances your car and hotels are taken care off, but it allows you a ton of flexibility and customization if you wish. My wife and I have done a ton of self-drive trips to the point that we just organize it all ourselves now, but we did a pretty awesome self driving trip from europeandestinations.com back in our 20s.

Obviously if you are doing Greece, you probably want to cruise the islands, but Spain has a ton of amazing places on and off the beaten path that will make it more of an memory-making trip. Anything too organized (ie a typical cruise/bus tour) in Europe is going to be just packed with tourists.

[troutman]

Maybe for older travelers, but my in-laws like River Cruises:

Ex.
http://www.vikingrivercruisescanada....ope/index.html

My honeymoon was in Greece, and we just took ferries to random islands in the Cyclades.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Instead of doing an all-inclusive type package, and considering you're still a young guy (an assumption based on you getting married), you may want to do something like a self-driving tour. In those instances your car and hotels are taken care off, but it allows you a ton of flexibility and customization if you wish. My wife and I have done a ton of self-drive trips to the point that we just organize it all ourselves now, but we did a pretty awesome self driving trip from europeandestinations.com back in our 20s.

Depending on where you start and rent your car from, this can now be problematic. Most car rental agreements now prohibit driving to Eastern European countries (including Italy) due to very high theft rates in said countries.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Depending on where you start and rent your car from, this can now be problematic. Most car rental agreements now prohibit driving to Eastern European countries (including Italy) due to very high theft rates in said countries.

If he's looking at Spain, this is not going to be an issue. I've done several trips that went through Italy, and this has never had this come up (typically anything within EU countries is not going to be an issue). Eastern Europe can sometimes pose some challenges, but I dont think that's going to be a case here (driving from Spain to Greece would be a hell of a long trip).

[polak]

I stayed at an all inclusive in Ibiza three summers ago.

To be honest it was absolutely awful but it might have just been our hotel (it was 4 stars though I believe).

- Taps and shower were salt water

- It was directly under the landing path of flights so planes would fly maybe 100 meters over us every 10-15 minutes

- We had to pay 30 Euro for internet for the week we were there and it didn't work which was infuriating as it was the only way to communicate with the other people you'd meet out and about.

- The power went out for an entire night.

- Zero hospitality or customer service

- Food sucked


BUT and this is a big but...

They had beer taps beside all of the water fountains so you could fill up your beer pretty much anywhere. This should be the norm every where.

[Table 5]

Hotels and service in general in Europe is a total crapshoot. You can have the most amazing experience/food/service in one place, and the rudest/shadiest/cockroachiest one at the next one...all for the same price. That's why personally I don't like to gamble on one place for too long, unless I've been there before.

But that's the fun of Europe, the crazy mix of everything...experiences and expectations. It's definitely not like a Mexican resort where you know what you're getting, and it's the exact same experience for the whole week.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by polak

I stayed at an all inclusive in Ibiza three summers ago.

To be honest it was absolutely awful but it might have just been our hotel (it was 4 stars though I believe).

- Taps and shower were salt water

- It was directly under the landing path of flights so planes would fly maybe 100 meters over us every 10-15 minutes

- We had to pay 30 Euro for internet for the week we were there and it didn't work which was infuriating as it was the only way to communicate with the other people you'd meet out and about.

- The power went out for an entire night.

- Zero hospitality or customer service

- Food sucked


BUT and this is a big but...

They had beer taps beside all of the water fountains so you could fill up your beer pretty much anywhere. This should be the norm every where.

All of Ibiza is desalinated still for some reason. Gotta find some way to justify the 10 euro bottles of water at the clubs...

But the beer tap thing is pretty awesome. Was this in Playa d'en Bosse?

[polak]

Yup pretty much right across the street from SPACE.

I tried to look them up but it looks like they're not there anymore. It was a while ago but I think the place was called "Fiesta" something. There's only one "Fiesta" hotel on the same side of the island as Space and it's definitely not where I stayed (it's in the harbor) so I'm assuming they closed or rebranded. The place I stayed was right beside Ushuaia and it looks like that's a Hard Rock now. Good. That makes me happy.

But yes, the beer taps were great but going to an all-inclusive was a huge mistake. Completely missed out on the party during the day as it was all families. O'well, the buddy I travelled with on that trip wasn't much of a partier so probably for the best. He might have died.

EDIT: Yup, looking at the pics it looks like they renovated and rebranded as a Hard Rock. Wow that looks like a bad ass hotel. Big improvement.

[Addick]

I've never really done a Caribbean-style All-Inclusive in Europe but I think spending the last bit of your honeymoon in Santorini might be something similar to what you and your missus are looking for. The small hotels in Santorini won't provide you with nearly as many amenities, activities or beverage/food choices as a Caribbean All-Inclusive but the boutique hotels will definitely be able to provide you with high-quality beverages, food and facilities in an intimate and paradise-like setting.

Edit: Here are a few hotels recommended by the Telegraph.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by YourMother

Hey guys,

I'm looking into some possible honeymoon ideas and I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with all-inclusives in Europe. I've seen that there appear to be some high rated places in Greece/Spain and such, but I've also been told they can differ greatly from the typical Mexico/Dominican all-inclusives. It'd be really neat to bum around Europe sight-seeing and such and then finish up at a nice resort. Anyone have any intel worth sharing? Thanks!

I don't think they are very common in Europe, except maybe some of the islands. Spain has so many great hotels / restaurants / bars, I wouldn't want to be stuck at one.