All-inclusive hotel deals

All-inclusive normally covers the room, breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks through the day and local-brand drinks, all paid up front. Premium spirits, à la carte restaurants, spa treatments and excursions usually sit outside it. Every deal page lists the board type, so you can see what is covered before you book.

Local-brand beer, wine and spirits are included at most all-inclusive resorts, served at set bars during set hours. Imported spirits, cocktails from a premium list, bottled wine at dinner and minibar restocks are the common exceptions, and a few properties limit how many drinks are covered. The hotel description spells out which bars are included.

It depends how you plan to eat. If you want three meals a day plus drinks at the hotel, all-inclusive nearly always wins. If you intend to eat out most evenings, half board or bed and breakfast usually costs less. Add up a realistic day of food and drink for your group, then compare the two rates.

Full board covers three meals a day and little else. All-inclusive adds snacks between meals and drinks, and often a second restaurant or a poolside bar. Full board turns up in city and countryside hotels; all-inclusive is mostly a resort arrangement on the coast.

Yes. Everything on this page is hotel-only, so you book the all-inclusive stay and arrange travel separately, which is often cheaper than a package if you already have flights or are driving. The rate you see covers the room and the board shown, with no flight bundled in.

Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria and mainland Greece consistently sit at the affordable end for all-inclusive, with Spain and the Canaries a step up. The Best destinations block above shows which countries currently have all-inclusive deals on the site and how many, so you can compare live options rather than averages.

Often, yes. A typical resort includes the main buffet and either charges a supplement for its speciality restaurants or gives you one free visit per stay, bookable on arrival. If eating somewhere other than the buffet matters, check that detail before booking rather than at check-in.

They suit families because the daily cost is fixed and children can eat when they are hungry rather than when a restaurant opens. Look for a shallow pool, a children's menu and family rooms in the facilities list rather than assuming every all-inclusive resort has them.