Travel blogger Alexandra Konovalova has criticised the habits of tourists at all-inclusive hotels, describing how guests chased waiters and hoarded buffet food.
Writing on her personal blog on the Russian content platform Dzen, Konovalova complained that some holidaymakers view the all-inclusive system as a competition to see who can eat, drink, or carry home the most items.
Dzen is a major Russian blogging and content recommendation service where creators frequently share personal travel reviews and advice. The all-inclusive package model, which bundles accommodation, meals, snacks, and unlimited drinks into a single upfront rate, is a dominant feature of resort tourism across major holiday destinations.
Buffet behaviour and hotel incidents
Konovalova recalled several specific incidents she witnessed while staying at resort hotels and traveling on cruise ships.
On one cruise ship buffet, she observed vacationers from Kazakhstan filling pre-prepared plastic containers and bags with nuts taken directly from the food counters. Kazakhstan, a landlocked Central Asian country, sends large numbers of holidaymakers abroad annually to popular sea and resort destinations. Open buffets on cruise ships generally offer self-service dining, though taking food off the premises in private containers is often discouraged.
During another stay at a hotel in Turkey, tourists descended on a bowl of fresh peaches before the waiter could even set it down on the serving counter. Turkey is one of the world's leading holiday destinations, famed for its Mediterranean coastal resorts where large buffet arrangements cater to thousands of international guests daily.
Konovalova stated that she did not manage to eat a single peach during her stay because there were simply not enough available and guests cleared the bowl within two minutes. She added that she would not have dared to approach the counter when staff brought out the fruit because holidaymakers near it were almost fighting over the bowl.
Bar service and excursion booking errors
In another hotel, the travel writer observed a male guest who spent almost his entire stay standing near the resort bar demanding drinks.
She shared that while no employee refused to serve the man or attempted to limit his alcohol consumption, the bartender physically could not keep up with preparing cocktails at the rapid speed the guest required. Open bars serving unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are a key selling point for all-inclusive packages, though high demand during peak hours can strain bar staff.
The report follows previous advice from another Russian traveler who outlined common mistakes made by holidaymakers after spending 50 years in all-inclusive hotels.
She noted that tourists frequently purchase excursions directly from hotel guides immediately upon arrival without comparing prices at different sales points, causing them to overpay significantly. Representatives working inside resort hotels regularly hold welcome orientation sessions to sell local tours, whereas independent local travel agencies located outside hotel grounds frequently offer identical excursions at lower rates.
