I’m a ‘holiday hoarder’ – can an all-inclusive break to Turkey teach me to relax?

In the beginning, there are always good intentions: a clean slate of annual leave at the turn of the New Year, days accrued and carried over, the idea that this time I might use those precious weeks wisely.

By now, 16 years after entering the world of work, I am well aware of what taking holiday sensibly should look like throughout the year: at least one week every three to four months; no emailing, no answering the phone to calls that really can wait.

And yet, I am, sadly, a so-called “holiday hoarder”.

My annual leave often gets left to fester over the course of the year, with intentions to use it “later”, to save it for “an emergency” or simply when I feel as though it’s somehow better earned. Except, every year the weeks and months zip by, probably peppered with little more than a city break over a long weekend. Inevitably, I start to burn out.

It doesn’t surprise me that I’m far from alone. According to research from 2025, only 35 per cent of Brits took their full allocation of annual leave in 2024, with more than a fifth of workers ending up with more than five days left over.

It’s particularly common in consumer-facing industries like retail, the research found, which face more issues like staff shortages and high workloads. And two in five workers take less leave now than they did before the pandemic took hold. Jobs, finances, livelihoods feel more precarious than they have for decades. No wonder we’re all pushing ourselves.

Read more: The 7 best Turkey holiday destinations – and when to travel to each one

But it comes at a high cost. We’re (needlessly) exhausted: the same study found that 81 per cent said not having a day off for months leaves them with burnout and poor mental health. And it’s not just wellbeing that suffers, but our work too: when we take regular holidays, our productivity improves by up to 40 per cent, and the likelihood of us taking sick leave decreases by 28 per cent. Basically, breaks are better for everyone.

However, over the years a creeping – and entirely unreasonable – idea that taking time off is somehow shirking away from work has taken hold. And while I love a packed itinerary and a bit of cultural capital as much as the next person, the pressure to use your leave for something that feels like an accomplishment of sorts, rather than much-needed downtime, only looms bigger as you get older.

It was in August last year when I found myself on the cusp of yet another year-end scramble to use up untaken leave. I could have done a usual trick – a week of museums, galleries, “must-do” walks or sightseeing or tightly timed, can’t-miss restaurant bookings. Only this time, after a particularly gruelling year – and at six months pregnant – I just couldn’t face it. I wanted opulence. I wanted sun. And I wanted proper, uninterrupted, unadulterated rest.

Enter XO Cape Arnna in Dalaman – a glossy, five-star, all-inclusive on Turkey’s Aegean coast that was open for its first summer. It looked perfect: modern, luxurious, with everything my partner and I could need on one (admittedly enormous) site.

We hit the ground running from the get-go, feeling rested after a comfortable British Airways flight and, within hours of leaving home, were happily laid out on a sunbed.

Of course, my instincts were immediately triggered. I suggested we walk the perimeter of the hotel – quite the undertaking on a resort that spans more than 10 hectares and 530 rooms across two sections; the adults only “club” and “the resort” for families to stay in – but my partner, already enjoying a long island iced tea, refused to bite. “You don’t need to be anywhere else,” he said, polite but firm. Begrudgingly, I listened.

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XO Cape Arnna is designed in a way that seems to tell you the same thing: that you’re exactly where you need to be. The smooth, considered aesthetic is calming without losing warmth and a five-star-feel; some of the 37 pools spill into cabana-bordered lounging areas; restaurants are abundant enough that indecision becomes a pleasant problem rather than a logistical one.

Parts of the hotel really feel like their own little world – by the glamorous entrance hall there’s a shopping street selling jewellery and essentials, a pub and even the insanely popular Clementine Patisserie, where you can enjoy handmade chocolates, pastries and cakes that wouldn’t look out of place in Paris.

Actually, all of the food is genuinely good. Better than I expected. At Sun Tzu, a beautifully presented Asian restaurant, one night we eat salmon and roe prepared by a Michelin-starred chef, followed by “sea bass mosaic”. Mucho Gusto is an Argentinian Steakhouse that my boyfriend was particularly impressed with; there’s also a traditional Turkish restaurant, Kafi, and an Italian restaurant by the sea, all of which provide a la carte menus, with three dinners included in your booking price.

During the day we couldn’t get enough of the cod tacos at Glimpse on the Beach, but even the “buffet” element didn’t feel cheap – rather it’s so impressive that it has to be seen to be believed.

Everything is fresh, from the pasta to the seafood to desserts prepared daily – there’s even a purée station for parents with young children (alongside help-your-self pouches of HiPP organic, of course). It’s very clear why parents would want to bring their children to XO Cape Arnna – the resort has them covered too. There’s a water park, for starters, but that’s just one of the “zones” available. There’s also a disco ball-clad pop princess “Beauty Matrix” salon, a “STEM Robotics lab”, and a PlayStation den among others.

Naturally the offering for adults set me off planning. Included in the stay are all manner of activities, from aerial yoga and Pilates (including reformer), to belly dancing, trapeze (yes, really), beach volleyball and even mountain biking.

Ordinarily I’d be guiltily booking away, but within the first couple of days, I found something shifting. All the micro-anxieties I’d usually carry with me during an itinerary-packed break – calculating whether I’d crammed enough in, probably – were quietened. I found that when the only decisions required were which sun lounger to claim and what style of freshly cooked eggs to order for breakfast, my brain began to surrender.

Before I knew it, my partner and I had given ourselves full permission to be idle. The day’s activities – mostly ordering Magnum ice creams (me) and from the extensive cocktail menu (him) – weren’t things to tick off or take photos of, they were completely optional.

The elegant on-site spa, where my growing bump and I enjoyed a massage and facial, only doubled down on the feeling. I read in fits and starts, I napped, I let myself be bored on purpose. That boredom, it turns out, is actually restorative.

By the time we left, my shoulders had relaxed for the first time in months. I wouldn’t say I’m cured – I still love a well-planned city escape. But I’ve learned that filing all my leave away like a trophy doesn’t work. As the statistics tell us; hoarding leave costs us in more ways than one.

XO Cape Arnna might not have transformed me overnight, but it did do what good hospitality should: lowered the temperature on my guilt and let me remember that rest is important when it comes to holidays. In the end, sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all.

Zoë’s stayed at XO Cape Arnna as a guest of British Airways Holidays.

Read more: The best hotels in Marmaris, from all-inclusives to beach-front boutique stays

How to do it

British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at XO Cape Arnna Fethiye from £1,799pp, travelling on selected dates between 1 October - 31 October 2026 inclusive. Includes economy (Euro Traveller) return flights from London Gatwick Airport, one checked bag per person and accommodation on all inclusive board basis. Book by 13 January 2026.