No wristbands or alcohol in public? How Maui is ruining its own tourism

Aaron Gonzalez4 said:Even Hladno Pivo wrote a song about that exact vibe... just showing off to your friends, saying "oh, we were here, then here, then over there..."

That whole crowd is peak hypocrisy. They pay for an all-inclusive package in some tropical paradise, watch staff get treated like dirt under the palm trees, and then just hop onto whatever pre-packaged tour they're sold... it's all a massive racket. And then they turn around and throw stones at the locals back home who are just trying to sell a boat trip around the Elafiti Islands for $25 or $30...

I mean, sure, Malta is great.😉

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head 🤣

so they package these little excursions together... just a bunch of cheap stuff... and then people start throwing shade at the locals on our coast who are just trying to sell boat trips to Martha's Vineyard or the Elafiti islands for $20 or $30...

You still aren't grasping that it isn't about the price tag, it’s about the value you get for what you paid 🤣
It’s not an issue taking someone's money for a service; the issue is when that person makes you feel like you're a jerk for actually paying them for it 😁

Malta is actually great 😉

Hard to say 🤷

wearytrucker22 said:I've stayed in those all-inclusive resorts exactly three times, and it’ll never happen again. The first time wasn't even that bad, except for how they treated us like cattle, tagging us with those plastic wristbands.
By the end of a fifteen-day trip, though, you realize what a total joke the whole thing is and it just gets under your skin. They don't actually serve a bottle of wine at your table; instead, everyone has to line up at the bar like animals just to have some bartender pour out a tiny splash of wine. In a supposed five-star all-inclusive hotel, actual service doesn't exist—unless you count the people clearing away the plastic cups.
Basically, the service isn't zero stars; it's non-existent. The food is like a cafeteria; you have to wait in line to scoop your own food onto your plate, basically serving yourself and your wife. You go on vacation to relax, but by the end, you feel like you're working as a waiter. Everything seems fine until you're in a group and decide you want a drink. When it comes to what you can drink, they dole out tiny portions. Eventually, our group of guys ended up having to "borrow" some glasses from some German tourists just so we could actually drink properly—we were swapping two-ounce pours back and forth so one guy was always heading back to the bar. It wasn't that they banned us, it was just that they limited us to one glass in hand. The next time, we just took a 19 miles taxi and picked up twelve bottles of the cheapest wine and a crate of water for about $20. We gave the bartender $15 to "steal" some ice for us so we could chill the wine in a plastic bin we also bought. This was in Tunis.

In Turkey, they totally ripped me off. They advertised a golf resort but conveniently forgot to mention that the golf course is 20 miles 19 miles away from the hotel and you have to pay $15 for a taxi to get there. Honestly, maybe it's my fault; I thought the hotel was in a major hub like Atlanta, but it turned out to be way out in the sticks near Alanya. I figured it was just a typo in the brochure. And the prices outside the hotel in Turkey? Mind-blowing. A crappy coffee is $3, a beer is $5, and restaurant prices are pretty much the same as back home.

Greece, Spain, Sicily—now that's much better. You pick a hotel with breakfast, and usually, it's in an actual town where people live right next to the hotel. Prices are clearly marked, and you have everything from local eateries and pizzerias where lunch is $5 to high-end places where you can spend $5,000 if you feel like it.
Coffee goes from maybe $0.75 to $1.20, beer is $2-$3, and wine ranges from $3 to $1,000 depending on what you're after.

I don't know what kind of hotels you've stayed in, but where I was—they definitely weren't drinking out of plastic cups 🤣
And if you asked a server to bring you something, they did it without any hassle... and there was always a waiter or waitress nearby. There's no way someone wasn't available at any given moment 🙂

And honestly, that buffet setup is a lifesaver—you just grab whatever you want and try a little bit of everything...
It reminds me of my grandma; she nearly disowned me because I ordered catering for my grandfather's funeral. I just didn't have the time or the energy to mess around with prepping pork, lamb, salads, soups, and all that nonsense. She still hasn't quite forgiven me for it to this day 🤣

wearytrucker22 said:I've stayed in those all-inclusive resorts exactly three times, and it’ll never happen again. The first time wasn't even that bad, except for how they treated us like cattle, tagging us with those plastic wristbands.
By the end of a fifteen-day trip, though, you realize what a total joke the whole thing is and it just gets under your skin. They don't actually serve a bottle of wine at your table; instead, everyone has to line up at the bar like animals just to have some bartender pour out a tiny splash of wine. In a supposed five-star all-inclusive hotel, actual service doesn't exist—unless you count the people clearing away the plastic cups.
Basically, the service isn't zero stars; it's non-existent. The food is like a cafeteria; you have to wait in line to scoop your own food onto your plate, basically serving yourself and your wife. You go on vacation to relax, but by the end, you feel like you're working as a waiter. Everything seems fine until you're in a group and decide you want a drink. When it comes to what you can drink, they dole out tiny portions. Eventually, our group of guys ended up having to "borrow" some glasses from some German tourists just so we could actually drink properly—we were swapping two-ounce pours back and forth so one guy was always heading back to the bar. It wasn't that they banned us, it was just that they limited us to one glass in hand. The next time, we just took a 19 miles taxi and picked up twelve bottles of the cheapest wine and a crate of water for about $20. We gave the bartender $15 to "steal" some ice for us so we could chill the wine in a plastic bin we also bought. This was in Tunis.

In Turkey, they totally ripped me off. They advertised a golf resort but conveniently forgot to mention that the golf course is 20 miles 19 miles away from the hotel and you have to pay $15 for a taxi to get there. Honestly, maybe it's my fault; I thought the hotel was in a major hub like Atlanta, but it turned out to be way out in the sticks near Alanya. I figured it was just a typo in the brochure. And the prices outside the hotel in Turkey? Mind-blowing. A crappy coffee is $3, a beer is $5, and restaurant prices are pretty much the same as back home.

Greece, Spain, Sicily—now that's much better. You pick a hotel with breakfast, and usually, it's in an actual town where people live right next to the hotel. Prices are clearly marked, and you have everything from local eateries and pizzerias where lunch is $5 to high-end places where you can spend $5,000 if you feel like it.
Coffee goes from maybe $0.75 to $1.20, beer is $2-$3, and wine ranges from $3 to $1,000 depending on what you're after.

I might be clueless when it comes to solar panels, but you clearly haven't spent much time planning a trip before.😉

hollowmason64 said:Yeah, you hit the nail on the head 🤣

so they package these little excursions together... just a bunch of cheap stuff... and then people start throwing shade at the locals on our coast who are just trying to sell boat trips to Martha's Vineyard or the Elafiti islands for $20 or $30...

You still aren't grasping that it isn't about the price tag, it’s about the value you get for what you paid 🤣
It’s not an issue taking someone's money for a service; the issue is when that person makes you feel like you're a jerk for actually paying them for it 😁

Malta is actually great 😉

Hard to say 🤷

I don't know what kind of hotels you've stayed in, but where I was—they definitely weren't drinking out of plastic cups 🤣
And if you asked a server to bring you something, they did it without any hassle... and there was always a waiter or waitress nearby. There's no way someone wasn't available at any given moment 🙂

And honestly, that buffet setup is a lifesaver—you just grab whatever you want and try a little bit of everything...
It reminds me of my grandma; she nearly disowned me because I ordered catering for my grandfather's funeral. I just didn't have the time or the energy to mess around with prepping pork, lamb, salads, soups, and all that nonsense. She still hasn't quite forgiven me for it to this day 🤣

I knew you'd see yourself in this 😁

You still refuse to accept the fact that it’s not about the price tag—it’s about what you actually get for your money 🤣
It isn't an issue to take someone's cash for a service; the issue is when that person makes you feel like you've somehow robbed them just by paying 😁

Look, you're still missing the point: Americans hate it when people who speak their language come into their own backyard and act like they own the place—especially when they drop comments like "it's way cheaper back in my hometown."

And don't even get me started on those all-inclusive resorts. I've stayed at quite a few, and honestly? It feels straight out of Wall-E—a bleak vision of a future where humans just sit around, consuming everything in sight without a thought.
The next logical step is replacing those tacky little wristbands with a microchip shoved up your ass that works at every hotel in the chain. You wouldn't even need GPS to get lost because every single one of these places looks exactly the same... total pathetic overkill.

I can't stand being treated like an idiot, and frankly, I don't care what language they're using when they do it.
A few observations from around the neighborhood:

Aaron Gonzalez4 said:I knew you'd see yourself in this 😁

You still refuse to accept the fact that it’s not about the price tag—it’s about what you actually get for your money 🤣
It isn't an issue to take someone's cash for a service; the issue is when that person makes you feel like you've somehow robbed them just by paying 😁

Look, you're still missing the point: Americans hate it when people who speak their language come into their own backyard and act like they own the place—especially when they drop comments like "it's way cheaper back in my hometown."

And don't even get me started on those all-inclusive resorts. I've stayed at quite a few, and honestly? It feels straight out of Wall-E—a bleak vision of a future where humans just sit around, consuming everything in sight without a thought.
The next logical step is replacing those tacky little wristbands with a microchip shoved up your ass that works at every hotel in the chain. You wouldn't even need GPS to get lost because every single one of these places looks exactly the same... total pathetic overkill.

I honestly don't see what the problem is here. 🤣
If I read a description and look at some photos, and then decide to shell out my hard-earned cash based on that, I’m going to expect to actually get what was promised.

You still just won't accept the reality that people around here really don't appreciate it when someone comes in speaking their language and takes their money, especially when they follow it up with comments like, "Man, things are so much cheaper back in my hometown."

No, it's not that. It's just that I hate being squeezed for every cent and having someone try to sell me on some cliché line like "hey, just think about the ocean... it'll be worth it..."
Like, come on. You can't just promise me the beach and fresh air and then charge me an arm and a leg for it. 😁

... because most places are laid out pretty much the same way anyway... total melodrama.

Compared to the wide variety and actual excitement of options we have back home, 😁

hollowmason64 said:Well, maybe that’s true for you, since you’re clearly part of the "tourist attraction" crowd.
Personally, I couldn't care less who I spend my vacation money on—whether it's you, some kid down south, or someone like Jose... all I care about is who actually gives me the best 🤷
for what I'm paying. I haven't spent much time on the coast near Mexico, but I've stayed at plenty of other decent spots, and I can tell you honestly: what you get here for a certain price compared to what you get abroad is, if you'll excuse the language, absolute garbage.
When you travel abroad, there's a basic respect for the fact that you're there to spend your money, rather than just being an annoyance to locals or dealing with the constant chaos and noise caused by ☕
people.

I don't really have time for forum debates, so I'll just say this—I'm not involved in tourism, nor do any of my close associates intend to be.

I suppose subjectivity is always a factor here. For instance, designer clothing feels expensive to me, just as it does to most people, but you can't objectively claim it's overpriced; it's just that "it's expensive to me." I doubt Hugo Boss is going to drop their prices just because we think so; if sales are steady, they won't care. I guess the same logic applies to everything else. I'm not saying this covers the entirety of the American travel industry, but there are certainly those who fill their capacity at whatever price is asked. In those cases, there isn't much room to argue about objective costs when all we really have is our own subjective impression.

redtiger53 said:I don't really have time for forum debates, so I'll just say this—I'm not involved in tourism, nor do any of my close associates intend to be.

I suppose subjectivity is always a factor here. For instance, designer clothing feels expensive to me, just as it does to most people, but you can't objectively claim it's overpriced; it's just that "it's expensive to me." I doubt Hugo Boss is going to drop their prices just because we think so; if sales are steady, they won't care. I guess the same logic applies to everything else. I'm not saying this covers the entirety of the American travel industry, but there are certainly those who fill their capacity at whatever price is asked. In those cases, there isn't much room to argue about objective costs when all we really have is our own subjective impression.

I definitely agree that "expensive" is a pretty subjective thing. But since you brought up Hugo Boss—you're spot on. The distributors for the US market refused to lower prices, and look how that turned out for them a while back.😁

hollowmason64 said:I definitely agree that "expensive" is a pretty subjective thing. But since you brought up Hugo Boss—you're spot on. The distributors for the US market refused to lower prices, and look how that turned out for them a while back.😁

Sure, I watched profits tank like that back in 2010 too. Revenue hit $185.9 million in 2010, with $1.729 billion in turnover and an army of 9,940 employees.

There aren't many people who actually embody that Hugo Boss level of class
it’s way more common to find folks who just want to play the part
😉
and if we're being honest, Hugo Boss earned that reputation through actual quality and distinct style, not just because they decided to go gray like every other basic brand on the market

the world has shrunk so much since back in the day when a trip from Washington, D.C. to the coast was a twelve-hour haul, or when traveling from some other country meant being on the road for two full days

nowadays, you can be anywhere in the world within twenty-four hours, traveling in total comfort and safety, which means you get to decide exactly where your money goes—and exactly which people deserve a very enthusiastic middle finger instead

A colleague of mine just got back from the Dominican Republic. Two weeks of all-inclusive luxury plus a few island excursions, all for a pretty decent price.

When she finally touched down, I asked how it went. She just talked about the restaurants, the cocktails, lounging by the pool—she said the highlight was definitely the little pigs they roast on a spit. Apparently, it’s incredible.

That was basically her entire summary of a two-week trek to a Caribbean paradise. Honestly, most people come back with those exact same impressions, whether they're staying at an all-inclusive chain in Turkey, Tunis, Morocco, or somewhere similar.

As for me, I spent a single day on Long Island this year. I could go on for two hours about our experience, though I suspect Long Island isn't exactly the crown jewel of what America has to offer. (Sure, prices are a bit steeper than in Washington, D.C., but paying $5.75 cappuccino
didn't bother me one bit.

driftingfalcon57 said:A colleague of mine just got back from the Dominican Republic. Two weeks of all-inclusive luxury plus a few island excursions, all for a pretty decent price.

When she finally touched down, I asked how it went. She just talked about the restaurants, the cocktails, lounging by the pool—she said the highlight was definitely the little pigs they roast on a spit. Apparently, it’s incredible.

That was basically her entire summary of a two-week trek to a Caribbean paradise. Honestly, most people come back with those exact same impressions, whether they're staying at an all-inclusive chain in Turkey, Tunis, Morocco, or somewhere similar.

As for me, I spent a single day on Long Island this year. I could go on for two hours about our experience, though I suspect Long Island isn't exactly the crown jewel of what America has to offer. (Sure, prices are a bit steeper than in Washington, D.C., but paying $5.75 cappuccino
didn't bother me one bit.

What does the accommodation or whether it’s all-inclusive actually have to do with how you spend your time or what impresses you? 🤷 You could be camping under a tent with a bottle of bourbon and never even leave the site.☕
People just love talking about money and how much of a bargain they scored on their vacation.

Look, if your big plan was just gorging on pork belly, you probably shouldn't have left the house at all—maybe just a quick run to Walmart would've sufficed. Besides, everyone complains about how expensive America is, but does AI in other countries actually offer more bang for your buck? Not really. If you look at it from that angle, you aren't gaining much besides a sense of being "trapped" by the costs. It seems a bit pointless to commit to a whole trip just to end up unimpressed, lying by a pool eating crispy skin.

Then again, maybe I'm just wrong.

Honestly, you’d probably end up spending less on a pork dinner at a resort than if you tried to stock up at Walmart. 😁
Look, people go on vacation to actually relax...

wearytrucker22 said:Sure, I watched profits tank like that back in 2010 too. Revenue hit $185.9 million in 2010, with $1.729 billion in turnover and an army of 9,940 employees.

Reading comprehension is actually a pretty vital skill, you know?

driftingfalcon57 said:Look, if your big plan was just gorging on pork belly, you probably shouldn't have left the house at all—maybe just a quick run to Walmart would've sufficed. Besides, everyone complains about how expensive America is, but does AI in other countries actually offer more bang for your buck? Not really. If you look at it from that angle, you aren't gaining much besides a sense of being "trapped" by the costs. It seems a bit pointless to commit to a whole trip just to end up unimpressed, lying by a pool eating crispy skin.

Then again, maybe I'm just wrong.

Yeah, you are... because you basically built an entire reality based on one thing a friend told you. 🤣
Trust me, it’s just terrible—from the look of it to everything else. 😍

Charles Ramos7 said:Honestly, you’d probably end up spending less on a pork dinner at a resort than if you tried to stock up at Walmart. 😁
Look, people go on vacation to actually relax...

There's really nothing like that feeling of true relaxation—you know, when you're stretched out on a lounge chair, thinking to yourself how much you'd love a drink, "but man, it's too much work to walk to the bar...", especially when the bar is still like ten feet away from you. 🤣

driftingfalcon57 said:A colleague of mine just got back from the Dominican Republic. Two weeks of all-inclusive luxury plus a few island excursions, all for a pretty decent price.

When she finally touched down, I asked how it went. She just talked about the restaurants, the cocktails, lounging by the pool—she said the highlight was definitely the little pigs they roast on a spit. Apparently, it’s incredible.

That was basically her entire summary of a two-week trek to a Caribbean paradise. Honestly, most people come back with those exact same impressions, whether they're staying at an all-inclusive chain in Turkey, Tunis, Morocco, or somewhere similar.

As for me, I spent a single day on Long Island this year. I could go on for two hours about our experience, though I suspect Long Island isn't exactly the crown jewel of what America has to offer. (Sure, prices are a bit steeper than in Washington, D.C., but paying $5.75 cappuccino
didn't bother me one bit.

you can say that much...
but did this colleague actually spend days recounting the wonders and beauties of the coast, or was this Dominican Republic trip basically her first time ever leaving her hometown?

Every single flight to and from Tunis has been canceled.
But honestly, what can you do? The deals were too good to pass up. Screw it—life’s short, and as long as those trips were dirt cheap, I'll take the headache.

wearytrucker22 said:Every single flight to and from Tunis has been canceled.
But honestly, what can you do? The deals were too good to pass up. Screw it—life’s short, and as long as those trips were dirt cheap, I'll take the headache.

Where are you getting that from? 😕

By the way, why go to such extremes just to make a point? 🙂 We were just saying you can find budget trips in places like Greece too.

Charles Ramos7 said:Where are you getting that from? 😕

By the way, why go to such extremes just to make a point? 🙂 We were just saying you can find budget trips in places like Greece too.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...96O1CT20130725

wearytrucker22 said:http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...96O1CT20130725

I don't get why you're spreading panic based on things that aren't even true. It’s not an actual cancellation; it’s just a notice about a potential one, and it only affects one specific airline, not every single flight.

By the way, flights haven't been canceled—you can check FlightRadar24 yourself if you want.

When you book a package tour, you aren't flying entirely on your own, so bringing up life-or-death consequences feels pretty out of line.

I don't know what you want me to do with just a username, really, but if you're waiting for me to perform some kind of digital miracle based on a single handle, I hate to break it to you, but that isn't exactly how this works, is it? It’s like walking up to a stranger in a diner in Chicago, shouting a name at them, and then acting surprised when they just stare back at you over their coffee. If there was supposed to be a message attached to this, it seems to have vanished into thin air, which is just typical, honestly—everything modern tech does is designed to fail at the most inconvenient moment possible. So, unless you've got an actual thought or a question to pair with this, we're all just sitting here in silence. kaže:
Honestly, you’re probably better off just ordering the pork sliders at a high-end resort than trying to stock up on groceries at Walmart; by the time you factor everything in, the resort meal ends up being the cheaper bet. 😁
Look, I’m telling you, there’s something fundamentally broken about the way people approach their time off. You see it all the time—someone spends months obsessing over flight schedules, agonizing over which resort in Maui is actually worth the markup, and stressing out about packing lists, only to arrive at their destination and immediately start worrying about whether they're "making the most" of the trip. It’s a paradox, really. You go on vacation specifically to escape the grind, to finally stop thinking about work and responsibilities, yet most people just end up bringing the entire stress of their daily lives along for the ride, tucked neatly between their sunscreen and their sunglasses. They aren't relaxing; they're just performing relaxation. If you're working harder to enjoy your downtime than you were during the actual work week, you might want to rethink your entire philosophy on leisure.

Hmm, let's see what we have here...
So, I stumbled upon this beachside spot the other day—one of those places where you just sit there, listen to the waves, and realize you haven't eaten since breakfast. It’s running on that classic "all-you-can-eat" principle, which is basically an invitation to go into a food coma by sunset. They’ve got everything thrown into the mix: various soups, fresh fish, roasted pork, and honestly, a whole spread of stuff you didn't even know you needed to eat. For twenty-five bucks, you’re basically paying for the privilege of seeing how much one person can actually consume before they lose all dignity. It’s a solid deal if you aren't planning on moving for at least three hours after you finish.$15 If you take that and convert it into actual US dollars, you know, what we're actually dealing with here in the States...
😉