Couple use 'scientific method' to check if all-inclusive is watering down drinks

14 February 2024 , 14:50

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Chelsea and James tested the strength of the drinks (Image: @cheapholidayexpert/TikTok)

A British couple discovered the true strength of their drinks at an all-inclusive resort using a scientific implement.

Chelsea Dickensen recently headed on an all-inclusive holiday with her partner James and wanted to find out whether she was getting good bang for her buck.

The bargain break professional - who runs the TikTok account @cheapholidayexpert - posted a video in which she is wielding an alcohol measurer. The couple tested gin and vodka drinks, and discovered that the readers were lower than had been advertised.

"This is an alcohol measurer because lots of you said that they water down booze at cheap all-inclusive hotels. We don't believe it do we, James?" Chelsea says in the video. "We did think we should conduct a scientific experiment just to prove to you that they are legitimate."

James uses a pipette to drop some of the drinks into the refractometer one-by-one, and discovers both the gin and vodka are 33% ABV - weaker than the 37.5% advertised.

'I stopped drinking booze on dates and it made life much more exciting'

At first glance this may seem like hard and fast evidence of what many all-inclusive holidaymakers have long suspected - that the drinks included in holiday packages are weaker than those bought 'a la carte'. However, the refractometer is not fool proof.

The instrument is sensitive to temperature changes and is better suited to measuring sugar content in drinks. It is only when its results are combined with that of a hydrometer that it becomes accurate.

"We have literally seen them break the seal on brand new bottles so I'm going to go ahead and say that this place is not watering down," Chelsea said of the bar staff at the Turkey hotel where they were saying.

The cheap travel expert told the Mirror: "After this ‘highly scientific experiment’ in our pop up laboratory, we came to the conclusion that our budget all inclusive was not doing us the dirty by watering down our drinks. However, this is just one hotel of many and so who knows, perhaps we’ll need to take our very highly trained skills to another all inclusive resort in the near future…"

Although the jury may be out about the particular all-inclusive they stayed at, the idea of scrutinising drinks was met with enthusiasm by those in the comments. "Need someone to do this at a Spoons!" one person joked, while another said: "A new item I need to pack in my suitcase!"

A third commenter pointed out that being at an all-inclusive resort meant going back for another drink if you don't feel satiated is not a big problem.

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Milo Boyd