All-inclusive breaks cater for budget and luxury clients, and they don’t have to fly far to find them, reports Katie McGonagle
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Some travellers seek adventure, some want culture and cuisine, but others – probably more than the rest put together – just want to sit back and soak up sun for a week or two.
All-inclusive holidays offer relaxation in abundance, with no need to lift a finger to find a restaurant, dig out change for ice cream or work out how to keep the kids entertained. Keep it short-haul and they won’t even have to gear up for a lengthy flight.
But how can you tailor all-inclusive holidays to fit different budgets? The bargain break that offers families a much-needed summer escape won’t suit luxury-seeking couples who want a hassle-free holiday in a high-end resort.
SAVE: BARGAIN HUNT
January’s early booking offers might have come and gone, but there are still bargains for those who look hard enough.
Jet2holidays’ Beach Holidays brochure features more free child places and extras such as Experience More packages with free water park and theme park tickets, and All-inclusive Plus for international-brand drinks and extra dining choices.
Instead of free places, Red Sea Holidays opts for a fixed child price of £439 for any date and duration of stay, which can offer serious savings on longer holidays. A week’s all-inclusive at the five-star Grand Makadi Hotel in Hurghada costs £675 per adult and £439 per child for May departures from Birmingham or Gatwick, including flights, transfers, luggage and a late check-out.
Bookings before February 28 also get £200 off (for travel from May 1 to October 31) and the operator is already enticing winter sun-seekers with £100 discount on winter 2014-15.
Bagging a budget break need not mean settling for less: the Sirenis Cala Llonga in Ibiza has just undergone an upgrade, with new-look rooms available from this summer and live cooking stations added to the buffet restaurant. Week-long holidays start at £719 per adult, £470 for the first child and £555 for the second with First Choice, based on four sharing departing July 21, including Stansted flights and transfers.
Families aren’t the only ones watching the pennies: from cash-strapped couples to clubbers, adults need value for money too. Jet2holidays’ On Tour collection includes two to five-star accommodation across clubbing capitals such as Ibiza and Majorca, plus Prague, Barcelona, and rising star Croatia, with discounts for groups of 10 or more. A week at three-star Ibiza Rocks Hotel in San Antonio costs from £553 based on three adults sharing, departing East Midlands on May 26.
Look out for deals such as Thomson’s free all-inclusive upgrade from half-board at the five-star Olympia Riviera Thalasso resort in Greece (£689 based on two sharing, including May 29 flights from Gatwick).
Picking the right time of year also offers substantial savings: seven-night stays at the four-star Seabank Resort & Spa in Malta start at £866 in July with Kuoni, but are slashed to £490 in November. Likewise, Malta’s four-star Qawra Palace offers great springtime savings, costing £539 for a March 22 departure with Belleair Holidays, for a week in a balcony room, flights, transfers and entrance to a Malta attraction.
It’s also worth offering different travel options; Shearings’ 10-day all-inclusive tour to the Italian & French Riviera, with excursions and coach travel, starts at £539 May-September.
SPEND: GIVE ME MORE
Every holidaymaker wants a good deal, so emphasising how much is included will help close a sale.
The five-star Titanic Deluxe in Belek, Turkey, for example, combines buffet dining with a night at each of the five à la carte restaurants, imported drinks at the bar, an open-air nightclub, live music and cinema, plus lessons in yoga and pilates, surfing, catamaran cruises and use of the spa including Turkish bath, sauna and snow room. Pack it all into a week from £835 courtesy of Sovereign Luxury Travel, including Gatwick flights, airport lounge access and private transfers departing April 1.
One of Olympic Holidays’ top picks, Anavadia Hotel in Kolymbia, Rhodes, is a four-star off-the-beaten-track boutique hotel with just 40 rooms. Each features a large balcony or terrace, and hydro-massage baths, making for a more luxurious stay than might be expected from its £675-a-week price tag (departing July 29 with easyJet from Gatwick).
More exotic locations can be accommodated even in this mid-range price bracket. The four-star Sheraton Gambia, the first international-brand hotel in this West African destination, has an enviable seafront location between giant baobab trees.
It’s at its best in shoulder seasons, starting at £749 with Gatwick flights and transfers for travel on March 7 with The Gambia Experience.
Sister brand The Cape Verde Experience also combines the spirit of adventure with the desire to do as little as possible: Iberostar Club Boa Vista resort has some of the best views on the island, overlooking Praia des Chaves beach, with on-site sports facilities such as tennis, gym and archery included, or windsurfing and other watersports available on the beach.
A seven-night stay departing March 3 with a flight from Gatwick costs £868, including a visit to the hotel’s gourmet restaurant, transfers, visa, and most hotel-based activities from the daily programme. Flights are also available from Manchester or Birmingham.
Even within mid-priced resorts, try upselling guests who want something a bit special to higher room categories – and top up your commission in the process.
Michelangelo Resort & Spa in Aghios Fokas, Kos, has three room grades plus 21 junior suites dotted around its 45-acre site, including two infinity pools and terraces with panoramic views. Stay in a sea-view junior suite for a week from September 2 for £1,043 from Olympic Holidays, including flights from Manchester and shared taxi transfers.
The extra earning potential can also be seen at the five-star Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel in Hurghada. All-inclusive packages include introductory diving, windsurfing and golfing lessons, plus unlimited rounds on the golf course and some watersports. Classic Collection Holidays offers a week in a junior suite from £1,397, or a sea-view spa suite from £1,656, including flights and private transfers in May.
For a family alternative, Western & Oriental has added Gloria Golf Resort in Turkey, which has a large kids’ programme. Half-board and all-inclusive are available, although over the summer, family suites are automatically booked on an all-inclusive basis, costing £1,390 per adult and £420 per child (two to 12), with flights and private transfers.
SPLURGE: SPLASH OUT
Who said all-inclusive holidays were about buffet dining and cheap local drinks? The wave of high-quality all-inclusive packages continues to surge as demand remains strong.
Nicky Shafe of Prestige Holidays recommends the five-star Asimina Suites Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus. She says: “This is perfect for couples wanting a relaxing, upmarket all-inclusive experience. This all-suite boutique hotel has fabulous facilities including two outdoor freshwater connected pools and an indoor pool, a floodlit tennis court and a gym. There are four restaurants, including two à la carte, and instead of wristbands, guests are given a card to use throughout their stay.”
A week in an inland-view junior suite during April starts at £1,368 including Gatwick flights and taxi transfers, including a discount for holidays booked by April 30.
Sticking to Cyprus, the ever-popular InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort has a varied all-inclusive offering, with a choice of restaurants for lunch, buffet or set menu at dinner, and snacks including waffles by the pool or afternoon tea and cake. Seven nights in a deluxe room in May starts at £1,467 with Kuoni.
One of the criticisms of all-inclusive is guests’ lack of contribution to the local area, which is why Oceania Club in Halkidiki offers its Dine-Out concept. All-inclusive guests can choose between the hotel’s four restaurants, or a meal out at one of the beachfront restaurants in Nea Moudania, plus they get discounts at local shops.
Also injecting local character into all-inclusive, Marbella Beach Hotel in Corfu includes a Night in Greece event each week, where dancers in local costumes offer complimentary lessons; that’s on top of daytime activities such as tennis, basketball, aerobics and use of the sauna and hammam.
Turkey’s high-end resorts have certainly been upgrading the country’s image over recent years, and it doesn’t get much classier than champagne, Turkish delight and chocolate-covered strawberries on arrival at the Maxx Royal Belek Golf & Spa.
The resort also features two cinemas, six restaurants and 14 bars serving premium brands, but sit at the beach and staff will serve the drinks there, and clean guests’ sunglasses while they’re at it, although there’s also pilates, paintball, yoga, air rifle shooting and cookery lessons for those who want to get up and about.
Classic Collection Holidays offers a week in the one-bedroom Royal Suite with flights and private transfers from £3,646 in August
