If you have never stayed at an all-inclusive resort, you might wonder if they’re genuinely all-inclusive, providing everything you need. So, do resorts provide guests with beach towels or do you need to bring your own?
Most resorts provide guests with beach towels to use at the beach or pool. You might need to pay a small deposit for a towel card or rent a beach towel. Smaller resorts often leave fresh beach towels in guests’ rooms every day, while large resorts have towel huts on the beach or pool.
In this article, I’ll tell you why you don’t need to bring your own beach towel to a resort. I’ll also explain if you can use your room towel at the pool and if waterparks provide beach towels for guests.
When you are done with the beach or pool, here are 5 tips for finding unique things to do on vacation.
How Do I Get a Beach Towel At a Resort?
When packing for a vacation, space in your suitcase is always limited. Beach towels take up significant space, so should you bring your own one if you’re going to a resort?
You can get a beach towel at a resort by using a towel card or from the towel huts near the beach or poolside. You might need to pay a small deposit for a towel card, or the resort might have a towel hut or leave a beach towel in your room every day.
Depending on your resort, here’s how they’ll provide beach towels:
- Towel card: Large resorts often give guests towel cards that allow them to receive one fresh beach towel per day. You might need to pay a small deposit to get the towel card, but you’ll receive your deposit back if you’ve returned your beach towels. You might not get the deposit back if you lose the towel or damage it.
- Towel huts on the beach or poolside: Some resorts have towel huts on the beach or next to the pool where guests can get clean beach towels. There’s sometimes a charge to rent the beach towels, and you’ll usually get 90% of the rental fee back after returning the towel.
- Beach towels in your room: Smaller resorts sometimes provide each guest with a fresh beach towel in their rooms every day.
Every resort has its own rules and unique ways of providing towels for guests.
If you’re unsure, it’s best to check with the resort before you arrive. If your resort doesn’t provide beach towels or you prefer to use your own, you could always bring them. You can optimize space in your bag by rolling it up tightly.
If your vacation is during the peak season, beach towels will be in demand, potentially with long lines at the towel hut, so it’s best to get your towel early in the morning.
Alternatively, you could buy a beach towel when you arrive. Most resorts have gift shops that sell beach towels, or you could buy one at a local store. Beach towels make excellent souvenirs, and you’ll probably find a great one reminding you of your resort vacation.
Can You Use Your Bath Towel for the Pool?
If you’re not staying at an all-inclusive resort but a hotel with a pool, the hotel won’t always provide guests with beach towels. So, can you use your room towel at the poolside?
You can use your bath towel at the pool if your hotel allows it. However, hotel bath towels are normally white and show up dirt easily. They’re also smaller than beach towels and are not long enough to accommodate you if you lie down.
Most hotel room towels are white and show up dirt or stains easily, which is the reason many hotels don’t allow their guests to use them at the pool or beach.
However, if your hotel has this rule, they’ll probably provide beach towels instead.
Bath towels aren’t ideal for the pool or the beach because they’re smaller. Beach towels, however, are designed to allow the user to lie down on them and are longer. They measure 48” x 58” x 54” to 70” (122 x 147 x 137 to 178 cm), while bath towels have dimensions of only 42” to 58” x 24” x 30” (107 to 147 x 61 x 76 cm).
Beach towels are thinner and less fluffy than bath towels and won’t accumulate as much beach sand in the fibers. However, a beach towel’s fibers are more closely packed to form an excellent barrier between beach sand and grass for the user.
Useful Items To Bring to a Resort
Most resorts provide beach towels for guests for free or at a nominal fee. Are there useful items that guests should bring to a resort?
Useful items to bring to a resort include:
- Beach mat
- High-quality hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses
- Sarong
- Small microfiber towel
- Flip flops
- Reusable water bottle
I’ll explain why these are useful items for a resort in more detail below.
Beach Mat
Beach mats are larger than beach towels but are just as robust and help you avoid getting sand all over yourself and your belongings.
They’re beneficial if you’re on vacation with your family as they accommodate everyone on one mat. If you bring a beach mat with you from home, remember to roll it up tightly so that it doesn’t take too much room in your bag.
High-Quality Hat, Sunscreen, and Sunglasses
A UV-resistant hat, high protection sunscreen, and high-quality sunglasses are essential if you vacation in a sunny destination. If you plan on swimming, ensure that your sunscreen is water-resistant.
You could get sunburned after only an hour or so in the sun, but a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen will help protect you.
Sarong
A sarong makes an excellent cover-up when walking from your room to the pool or beach, or strolling around the resort. If there’s a sea breeze blowing, you can also throw it over your shoulders while dining outside in the evenings.
Sarongs can also help protect you from the sun during the day.
Small Microfiber Towel
Small microfiber towels are lightweight and don’t take up much room in your suitcase. You can use them at the pool or beach to wipe your sunglasses, remove moisture from your phone, or wipe your young child’s face.
On a beach vacation, you can use your microfiber towel with some talcum powder or cornstarch to remove sand from your body.
Flip Flops
When relaxing on the beach or at the pool, you’ll often need to get up to get a cocktail, go to the bathroom, or fetch something from your room. It can be annoying having to put on your shoes, but if they’re easy to slide on, it’s an effortless process.
Flip flops keep your feet cool, are easy to slip on whenever you need to, and protect your feet from hot beach sand or poolside paving.
Reusable Water Bottle
It’s essential to stay hydrated in a tropical climate and while resorts provide guests with unlimited fresh water, having a reusable water bottle is incredibly convenient. A reusable water bottle helps you avoid using single-use plastics, and you can take it with you for excursions and when you travel to and from the resort.
Conclusion
You usually don’t need to bring your own beach towel to a resort. You can buy a towel card for a small amount, rent a beach towel inexpensively, or the resort might leave a clean one in your room every day.
If your resort doesn’t provide beach towels, you could bring one with you, buy one at your destination, or use your room’s bath towel if the hotel allows it.
Sources
- The Travel: 10 Things Travelers Need To Look Out For At All-Inclusive Resorts (10 Things To Take Advantage Of)
- Fodor’s Travel: Should we pack beach towels?
- IdentiSys: Hospitality Pool Towel Cards
- Cheap Surf Gear: What is a Beach Mat?
- The Planet D: The Many Uses of the Simple Sarong