The Russians complained about poor service in expensive hotels: “Poppy instead of champagne”

The greed of hoteliers is stronger than all the rules and standards

From July 1, 2023, the national standard of hotels operating on the All Inclusive system comes into force in Russia. Now every hotel and every tourist will be able to make sure that everything – swimming pools, food, leisure activities, area of ​​​​the territory and all the amenities in the rooms (hairdryer, iron, etc.) – will meet the standard. True, there is a flaw here: this standard is a wish, not a requirement: the hotel may not issue its services as “all inclusive”. Well, discerning tourists who had a chance to try “all inclusive in Russian” are still skeptical: hotels still grow and grow to the desired level “like in Turkey”!

The new Russian GOST answers all the questions that tourists may have when choosing a hotel for their vacation: the number and regularity of animation programs, children’s entertainment, water programs (some kind of water aerobics), the presence of a large heated pool, the opening hours of cafes and restaurants, an assortment of Swedish tables, additional meals (ice cream, snacks, coffee between meals), available sports. Ideally, a tourist should understand exactly what he will receive by booking accommodation.

Experts emphasize that all this is relevant not only for seaside hotels in the Crimea or the Krasnodar Territory – an all-inclusive hotel can even work in the Moscow region. The universal phrase for such hotels is: “Like in Turkey.” It is no secret that this country is considered the unofficial leader of the all-inclusive system, and the leader is so successful that some tourists believe that only this type of holiday exists in Turkey (and are very surprised to learn that one can relax in this country without rampant absorption buffet food).

However, the devil is in the details. Many Russians who have chosen domestic tourism for themselves and went to one of the Russian all-inclusive hotels say with chagrin that everything could be fine if the desire of hoteliers to save money was not so conspicuous.

“My husband and I went to a spa hotel near Moscow. Expensive – for the weekend we paid 26 thousand rubles. It seems that everything was really included: food, ice cream, drinks … However, the diet is meager, only 2-3 hot dishes (yes, you can’t compare with Turkey!). Most of all, we were outraged by alcohol. First we tasted the wine and realized that it was diluted. Refusal. We decided that it would be better to drink champagne – there is no way to dilute it. We looked at the bottle and it turned out that it was some kind of “fruit wine drink” with a degree. In other words, bullshit. I am shocked: now there is a lot of inexpensive champagne, even Russian, literally at 300 rubles per bottle. Is it really possible to disrespect your customers so much at such prices for accommodation? ”, – a Muscovite named Olga shared her indignation.

Another interlocutor of MK, Leonid from St. Petersburg, spoke about the same example of unacceptable greed of hoteliers in Sochi.

“We arrived at the hotel, five-star, check in. There is a bar not far from the reception desk, there are some goodies there. I see a picture – a boy is approaching the buns, already reaching for them, when suddenly an aunt flies out from around the corner and yells, that’s it yells: “Baking after 17:00 !!!”. The child jumped up. It’s like an all inclusive hotel. So I don’t understand: you either take out these rolls strictly after 17:00, or give them at any time. What is it – a pear is hanging, you can’t eat it?

The question of the so-called intermediate nutrition is indeed very relevant. The all-inclusive system does stipulate that between the main meals, guests should be able to intercept something. Somewhere they limit themselves to snacks, somewhere they cook pizza, burgers or even barbecue, somewhere they give out sweets to children. However, the mode of operation of such power stations is entirely on the conscience of the hotel, and this is where ugly situations arise.

“Five star hotel, all inclusive, ice cream fridge on the beach. Free ice cream is given only from 16:00 to 18:00, and only for children – in front of my eyes they refused a teenage girl of sixteen years old, it was very unpleasant. The rest of the time, exactly the same ice cream can be bought for money. Well, now guess: how long is the tail lined up behind this free ice cream and how many children are able to gracefully wait for the right hour and not beg for ice cream from their parents earlier? Such pettiness is simply discouraging, ”says a Muscovite named Natalya.