Is an all-inclusive holiday really worth it?

All-inclusive holidays have always had a huge fanbase, but it seems to have gotten even more popular in the last few years.

The appeal is obvious: we’ve a shared desire to switch off, fly away and just do nothing for a week or more. Plus, with growing costs both at home and abroad, knowing you’ve paid for pretty much everything in advance for your trip can also take the pressure off your budget.

Of course, the non-stop food and unlimited drinks come at an additional upfront cost. But the question is: is the initial price worth it?

I’ve gone all in to discover whether an all-inclusive holiday can be good value for money – or if you’re better paying for it all yourself instead.

What’s an all-inclusive holiday?

For the uninitiated, an all-inclusive holiday includes everything from your flight and hotel to your food, drink and activities, all in one upfront cost.

There can be some variation in what your package includes – for example, there may be extra fees for towel rental, spa access and premium booze – but the general understanding is that you could turn up without spending a penny more.

Is an all-inclusive holiday cheaper than paying as you go?

All-inclusive can be great value for money. But is it actually cheaper than paying as you go? At the end of February, I decided to find out.

The test was simple: a copycat challenge to see how much it would cost someone with B&B board to match everything included with all-inclusive.

The deal, which I found on TravelSupermarket, was for five nights at the five-star H10 Rubicon Palace in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote. Subtracting the cost of the flight (£58 return – what a bargain!), here’s how much a day away would cost.

That’s a £36.40 difference per day. And over 24 hours, my travel companion, James, had to match everything I ate, drank and did to see just how much it would cost.

The all-inclusive vs pay-as-you-go challenge

Morning

The breakfast buffet was, fortunately for James, included in both of our rates, so the day’s first spend was £2.89 for a cappuccino at Mike’s Coffee.

But we couldn’t resist the lure of the sunbeds – and a delicious pint of lemon beer for our next beverage – so that was another £4.13 for James.

Midday

After some chilling in the sunshine, we stumbled across the hotel’s ‘Sangria Party’, which to my immense dissatisfaction, was free for all guests – whether they were all-inclusive or not! A win for James there.

It was short-lived, however, when the lunch buffet cost a whopping £28.89 when paid for individually. This didn’t include drinks, which meant James had to add an extra £2.89 for a bottle of Estrella as well.

After lunch, we played some mini golf (another free activity), before heading to the pool bar to sample a couple of piña colada, which cost £7.43 each.

Afternoon

Feeling peckish, we hit up the food truck for gelato – £3.14 for James – then back to the pool for a dip and another cocktail, which also cost James another £7.43.

Evening

My all-inclusive package included dinner at the buffet (which would have cost £33.72) but for every five nights you stay, you’re allowed a meal at one of their à la carte restaurants.

Therefore, we headed to their Italian option for a starter of pesto pasta for £10.32 and a main of chicken and chips, which cost £15.85 – a total that was cheaper than the buffet anyway.

To round out the night, we enjoyed a £2.89 coffee, two cocktails (£7.43 each) and a Havana rum and ginger ale (£10.40) at the beautiful piano bar.

The total costs

After totting James’s spend, the total cost for paying as you go was £118.53. Once you take away the difference in our daily costs – £36.40 – he spent £82.13 more than I did. That’s a huge difference!

The verdict: Are all-inclusive holidays worth it?

I think it’s clear from the results that all-inclusive packages can hold a lot of value.

Going into this, I had wondered if there would be some caveats, such as ‘as long as you stay at the hotel all day’ but even if you did choose to spend the afternoon somewhere else, I think you’d easily bank plenty of value even just thanks to a meal and some drinks of an evening!

Of course, the amount of value you can get will differ from hotel to hotel but thanks to online menus and guests posting pictures of menus on things like Tripadvisor, it’s become a lot easier for us to research which board option is best for us before booking our holiday.

What else should you consider before booking an all-inclusive holiday?

All-inclusive holidays weren’t all created equal and it’s worth digging into the fine print to see exactly what you’ll get for your money. Look for any inclusions and exclusions such as:

• The restaurants – and if there are time limits on access to food and drink
• Whether snacks, such as ice cream, are included in the cost
• If premium alcohol brands cost more
• Activities, such as kids’ clubs and waterparks
• Extras charges for things such as wi-fi, towel hire and sunbeds
• Post-checkout resort access, which is especially important if you have a later flight
• If transfers and baggage included in your package

I was surprised to find that many package deals do not include a transfer from the airport. Fortunately, TravelSupermarket makes it easy to see the price difference, though it’s likely that included transfers and baggage will have a natural increase in the price of the package.

By checking how much travel extras like airport transfers and car hire were on their own, I was able to make sure I was always getting the best deal possible.