One of the proposed economic measures of the Greek government is a restriction on the number of all-inclusive hotels.

The Spanish government is also curbing the spread of all-inclusives. Both suspect they are detrimental to neighbouring restaurants and bars.

Nevertheless it's easy to see the attraction of all-inclusive breaks. Paying up front avoids July's spend on Santa Ponca appearing on the same credit card statement as December's spend on Santa Claus.

However, if you're considering an all-inclusive for the first time, remember that you get what you pay for. A two week, all-in holiday, including flight, for £700 may be a holiday to remember for all the wrong reasons. For example, the food and drink may fall short of your expectations. Your hotel's margins will be so tight that you will see the same food in a variety of guises throughout your stay. Today's grilled chicken will reprise as fricassee, curry and, as an encore, soup of the day.

The bar will almost certainly serve "local drinks". Essentially this means that the neighbouring chemical works has found an outlet for its by-products. Don't be surprised if you see the hotel handyman cleaning his paintbrush in something that looks suspiciously like last night's vodka. If your hotel has a mix of all-inclusive and paying guests, don't worry that the bar and waiting staff will treat you as second-class citizens. They will treat you as a third or even fourth-class citizens.

Most hotels charge extra for sea-view rooms. Yes, it's a rip-off but the alternative is often euphemistically described as a "garden view". The garden may well be home to the hotel's septic tank and that is not ozone you are sniffing.

All-inclusive hotels are particularly attractive to an older clientele. It's cheaper than switching on the heating at home. However, it's an immutable natural law that people get ruder and more inconsiderate as they get older. Their elbows also get sharper. The older the guests the earlier they gather, pawing the carpet waiting for the dining room to open. They are the rationing generation and are not going to miss out again. Do not under any circumstances get in the way of the Black Friday stampede that precedes the feeding frenzy.

Are these holidays good or bad value? I don't know, I'm still inconclusive about all-inclusive.