by For Antonella Lazzeri, 58, a writer based in Bournemouth, a recent experience at a five-star resort in Abu Dhabi made her think twice about booking a hotel in 2024 without doing detailed research first. The hotel’s cabana-like beach club, she recalls, was “spectacular: roaring hot tubs and barefoot restaurants on the beach”.
But it was, she says, “absolutely inundated” with 18- to 20-year-olds accessing the resort facilities on £26 day passes. “They were drinking drunk,” Lazzeri says of the young people, who bombed into the pool, shouting and singing out of tune. She says she “stopped” when one of the bellicose group started singing racist rap lyrics in front of a family with young children in tow. “There was a bit of a lull after the storm, and the manager offered me a free drink,” says Lazzeri, “but they weren’t thrown away and my stay was ruined.”
Hawick-based event planner Sian Downes, 34, has an equally dim view of a cohort you might see on your travels this summer, known in American hotel circles as “passers”. On a family vacation in Key West, Florida last month, she said she couldn’t find a sunbed by her hotel’s pool because of the hotel’s unrestricted sale of day passes through booking site ResortPass, which has more than 1,500 luxury hotels signed by him. , including luxury brands such as Waldorf-Astoria, JW Marriott and Hilton.
“We had no choice but to go to the beach, despite paying $300 (£232) a night for our room, which was very annoying.
“I’ll check to see if there are any fancy hotels I’m booking on ResortPass in the future and avoid them if there are,” she says.
Pool passes have long been a feature in regions that combine luxury hotel and backpacker scenes, such as Goa in India and parts of Thailand.
Now passes that give access to a range of amenities including poolside lounges, business centers and air-conditioned lobbies (and, in some cases, day access to a hotel room) are becoming significantly less than the cost of an overnight stay. as a global norm. .
It’s no wonder hotels are trying to bridge the gap between penny-pinching travelers and expensive room rates. According to aggregated data from luxury travel company Virtuoso, top-end room rates for July are 85 per cent higher than in the same month in 2019, and the purchasing power of British travelers has fallen by 26 per cent since before the pandemic.
US-based ResortPass claims a 95 per cent share of the day guest trade and offers access to hotels in 27 countries from $25 (£19) a day. However, it is not the only third-party player on the scene.
Dayuse.co.uk, based in France, offers access from a few hours to a roster of hotels across Europe, costing from £42; The app highlights their favorite fly and flop spots such as Bali, Tenerife and Bodrum.
Elsewhere, daybreakhotels.com sells day access to amenities including hotel spas and swimming pools alongside day use of hotel rooms across 15 countries, including the UK, UAE, Italy and Spain, from £30 , with an emphasis on spa lovers and business travelers keen to “WFH” (work from the hotel).
resort specialized.com targets cruise passengers, offering access to swimming pools and beaches near popular cruise ports. In July it offers a deal on a holiday pool and beach access, with drinks and snacks in Cozumel, the Caribbean cruise port, from $65 (£50). Meanwhile, brands including Accor and W Hotels allow direct day bookings.
For hoteliers, the appeal of people spending the day in their hotels is obvious. ResortPass said Travel Telegraph that the typical day pass customer buys all-day access at a cost of around $165 (£128) from its site, and these customers often splurge more on poolside or other hotel amenities than overnight guests.
Will Ashworth, founder of the chic Cornish resort Watergate Bay, started offering day passes in 2012. He says a stream of visitors are paying from £65 a day to access Watergate Bay’s Atlantic view infinity pool, the sauna of Finland and hot tub cliff terrace allows the. choose to keep his staff during the winter months.
“It works really well for us, allowing locals and non-resident guests to experience the hotel as if they were a guest,” explains Ashworth, adding that day pass guests, in his experience, “ as polite” as overnight people. Ashworth limits the number of day passes in the tens a day, according to Ashworth, “to maintain the guest experience”.
Mirah Marhaendra, director at Raffles Doha, a luxury retreat with attractions including an “urban water deck” and an “acoustic music penthouse”, says access from £58 per day (12pm-8pm) booked direct , that a day of juggling goes side by side overnight. Reservations require “careful registration” on the part of the hotels.
Raffles closes day passes during peak season and in some pool areas. Other deals of the day are expressly aimed at locals: the “all-inclusive day” at Rixos The Palm Dubai Hotel & Suites (with unlimited house alcoholic beverages, swimming pool, beach gym and access to the kids’ club, from £84) affording the city’s expat population “the opportunity to spend the day unwinding in a great environment, perhaps with visiting family,” says Ali Ozbay, the hotel’s vice president of marketing.
Jenna Brown, 34, a food safety expert from Kent, is a regular day pass customer. Brown has spent $100 (£77) on holiday access for her family at a hotel a short drive from Miami airport for the day they embark on a week-long cruise on a Royal Caribbean liner through the Bahamas and the Florida Keys. Booking a day pass made no sense”, says Brown. “It was stuck with a four- and nine-year-old with our bags for a whole day at the airport, or book a resort with a pool on ResortPass and hopefully relax a bit,” she explains.
What is the experience of using a day pass for those of us who have more to achieve than paddling around in fluffy slippers, or tucking into the covers with churros by the pool? Well, your correspondent is writing this from the Diptyque-scented lobby of the Londoner in Leicester Square, fueled by the second flush of Assam tea and surrounded by a morning melée of business meetings and well-groomed women sipping champagne before lunch. I’m here on a dayuse.com room day pass 10am to 6pm, which costs £340 (a 35 per cent discount on the overnight rate) and includes access to a corner suite with a king-size bed, use of the residential lounge Space, and access on the Londoner’s underground spa and gym.
Pros so far include excellent people-watching and crisp aircon; with downsides including the real risk of shelling out £150 for a few flutes of Dom Pérignon Brut (standard day-use deals include limited guest drinks and nibbles). Still, in today’s tough climate for hotels and hoteliers alike, the day pass revolution is a democratic innovation that many will embrace.
Six of the best hotel day passes
Wet Deck Day Pass, W Ibiza
The W’s Wet Deck Day Pass includes access to the W’s pool, a sunbed, a complimentary glass of champagne and a €100 credit to spend on food and drinks at the Wet Deck, where an international roster of DJs spin tunes, as well as 20 first. discount on Away Spa massages, and free parking.
Details: From €85 per person; marriott.com
A ‘leisurely Londoner’ day pack at the Londoner
With a swimming pool, hot tub, steam room and sauna access, as well as the key card to a corner suite with a king-size bed, the London day pass is no snip, but a very attractive option for the well-heeled or who are working hard. to escape the hustle and bustle of Soho. Day use bookings are available elsewhere in London from £42.
Details: £340; can be booked through dayuse.co.uk
Summer day membership at Swimming Club, Watergate Bay Hotel, New Quay
Access to the boutique’s 25m sea view pool, cliff terrace hot tub and Finnish sauna, with complimentary drinks, a meal at seafood specialist Zacry’s and a 60-minute spa treatment, all for the bargain price of £120. Or get day access to swimming and dining for £65 per person.
Details: From £65 per day; watergatebay.co.uk
Day pass, Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa, in Costa Rica
This luxury spa resort offers visitors a limited number of day passes each day to experience its “natural river fed by volcanic springs and tropical rainforest minerals” with 18 pools, as well as an outdoor hydromassage experience pool and restaurants and bars from 10am to 10pm.
Details: From £68; tabacon.com
Day Pass, Hilton Orlando
A classic ResortPass offering, this pass gives you 10am to 11pm access to a series of resort pools, including a zero-entry pool with a winding waterslide, a 2,500-square-foot pool deck and lazy river, and an 892-foot winding river ” with free inner tubes, waterfalls, fountains and water cannons”. Poolside food and beverage service is included.
Details: From £30 per adult and £17 per child; booked through resortpass.com
Club Med Bodrum Classic Day Pass
The Classic Day Pass at Club Med Bodrum is ideal for those who want an all-inclusive piece of action in Bodrum. The pass comes with access to the private pool and beach, buffet lunch and all-inclusive drinks.
Details: From £90 per adult and £20 per child; reserved through DayPass
