The truth about all-inclusive resorts

I thought all-inclusive resorts were purely about endless buffets and bottomless booze. Then I stayed in one, and realised how wrong I was.

Ask the average person what the main benefit of an all-inclusive resort is, and I bet most would say, “free booze, and lots of it”.

To be honest, that’s exactly what I would have said as well … until recently.

I was lucky enough to stay at two all-inclusive resorts in the French Alps (I know, very la-di-da) and it quickly became clear to me the main benefit of all-inclusives can be summed up in one simple word … ease.

Allow me to explain.

If you’re anything like me, when you go on holidays you spend half your time planning.

What activity am I going to do today? Which operator runs that activity the best? How much is it going to cost? How am I going to get there? What am I going to have for lunch and for dinner? What are those restaurants rated?

But when you stay at an all-inclusive, such as the two Club Med resorts I stayed in, the majority, if not all of those decisions are made for you.

For example, there’s no need to scroll through hundreds of restaurant reviews because you simply have two to choose from.

These resorts have a main buffet-style restaurant and a specialty restaurant (both are included in the cost of your stay), which serves a smaller menu consisting of dishes local to the country you’re in.

The view from the buffet restaurant in Club Med La Rosiere.

As for activities, these are once again taken care of by the resort, and the best thing is they’re free to try.

I stayed at La Rosiere and Grand-Massif, two of Club Med’s 15 resorts located within the French Alps, where not surprisingly the main activity is skiing.

Now I don’t know if you’ve done many skiing holidays, but apparently they can be a faff to organise on your own.

Club Med, however, makes things faff-free (is that even a term? It is now).

Skiing lessons are included.

Lift passes are included.

Transport to and from the slopes? Not an issue because both resorts are ski in, ski out, meaning you can get from your room to the slopes in less than five minutes.

In fact, the only thing that isn’t covered by the resort is the ski gear, which you can hire from a shop within the resort, once again, making everything faff-free.

You’re not just limited to skiing either. There are other activities that are also included in the cost of your stay, such as snow hiking and daily exercise classes.

Skiing lessons are included when you stay at a Club Med snow resort.

My experience

Let me tell you a little about my stay at La Rosiere (about a 2.5-hour drive from Geneva airport) and Grand-Massif (a 70-minute drive from Geneva airport).

They were both fantastic, but La Rosiere was my favourite of the two.

Walking around the resort, I honestly felt like I was in a Hallmark Christmas movie.

There are floor-to-ceiling windows throughout, meaning you can always see the stunning snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The rooms are warm, cosy and have a huge amount of storage, a must for a skiing holiday.

A room at Club Med La Rosiere in the French Alps.

In terms of the food, I ate most of my meals in the buffet restaurants.

I know what you’re thinking … buffets can be a tad dodgy …

Trust me, that certainly isn’t the case at La Rosiere and Grand-Massif which boast the best buffets I have ever experienced (sorry Sizzler).

The food is fresh with several chefs on hand to cater to any requests.

And the dessert bar, my word, there were so many tempting sweet treats on offer that I felt like I was in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

I made it my mission to try every single dessert (purely for journalism purposes, I swear), and I’m happy to report I achieved that goal, so much so that I started the holiday looking like Charlie Bucket and came out looking more like Augustus Gloop!

The first course, of many.

Look at those cakes!

I also tried the specialty restaurants in each of the Club Med’s, and while I enjoyed them both, I found it tough having to pick from a simple menu after so many days of unfiltered access to the buffet (I’m really coming across like a glutton here, aren’t I?).

In terms of activities, the main point of staying in the French Alps is to ski.

Confession – I had never skied before this trip. I had never even seen real snow, let alone hurled myself down a mountain with two matchsticks strapped to my feet.

But as I mentioned, the resorts make the skiing experience completely hassle free, and I thoroughly enjoyed the free lessons on offer with the incredibly patient instructors who gently pushed me throughout the week to attempt harder and harder slopes.

One of the best things is that when you sign up for lessons, you’re put in a group with other guests of a similar ability and you stay in that group each day, meaning you get to form friendships with people from around the world during your stay.

The ski fields near Grand-Massif.

There were a lot of stacks in the beginners class.

Which brings me to another bonus of staying at Club Med … the social factor.

It’s clear the resorts have worked hard to create an environment where you get to mingle with other guests.

After a long day of skiing, you typically gather for apres-ski drinks in the main bar (alcohol is included in the cost of your stay) where you catch up with those from your lessons.

At meal times, there’s no room service on offer, a deliberate move by the resorts to encourage you to dine in the common areas with other guests.

And then there’s nightly entertainment which again encourages you to socialise.

I loved this aspect of my stay at Club Med, and I found I got to meet way more people than if I had stayed at a normal hotel.

An external view of Club Med La Rosiere in the French Alps.

The only downside

If you put a gun to my head (please don’t) and asked me to find something negative about all-inclusives, there’s only one thing I can think of.

Everything, and I mean everything, is available right there in the resort, and therefore there’s little motivation to leave and explore the outside world.

Personally, some of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had is when I’ve been out wandering aimlessly around a new city, trying different restaurants, and interacting with the locals.

But I found I didn’t do that too much during my week in the alps because the resorts were so bloody comfortable and kept me entertained all day/night long.

In conclusion, all-inclusive resorts are all about making life easy for you and if you want a hassle-free holiday you should 100 per cent consider staying at one.

And if you decide to give one a go, I thoroughly recommend you try a Club Med, after all they were the ones who pioneered premium all-inclusive resorts more than 60 years ago.

They have 70 locations around the word, so regardless if you want a snow holiday or a beach stay, they’ve got you covered.

This writer was a guest of Club Med