Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

A few people have mentioned it already, but I LOVED Slovenia. It's extremely beautiful and the people are so friendly. I also really loved Trieste, in Italy - there were hardly any other tourists, the weather was gorgeous and it felt very "authentic". A real hidden gem!

Absolutely detested Disneyland Paris. Utter utter shite. Horrible experience. Never again. Queues for absolutely everything, including the toilets. Imagine asking a 5 yo to hold her wee in for 45 minutes. Makes me shudder to think I spent all that money on a pile of wank like that.

just got back from Butlins Bognor and had a fabulous time. Friendly staff, lots to do for our dd, excellent entertainment (Diversity, v funny panto, little mix tribute and more). When dd is so happy, it makes us happy. She had an absolute ball. Restaurants etc on site were very reasonable. Hotel fab. Free wifi. Clean. We will be going back. Dd doesn't like the beach, and doesn't like spending all day in the pool, so this was brilliant for her.

I loved Dublin. Humorous cab driver picked us up from the airport and made us laugh all the way to the hotel - and DH does NOT laugh easily. Spent a weekend there, loved the kind, amusing people, went to see Grandmother's home town of Athy,, had several excellent meals and so enjoyed an evening in a pub- and I am not a pub person ever - did not want to leave. Did the Guinness factory tour - drink in the the bar on the roof overlooking glorious scenery - sorry others didn't find it so lovely.

I loved Ibiza, great weather, great vibe and relaxing.

Bali was boring.

Berlin amazing.

Loved Sousse in Tunisia - went in 2000, last minute cheapy honeymoon booking. Such a shame they've had the violence out there recently.

St. Ives last year - Didn't rate it. Everyone goes because of all the hype, hence horribly overcrowded; preferred Falmouth - lovely.

Loved the Polish Tatra mountains. Really took me by suprise was stunning. Not to far from Krakow which is a fabulous city.

Also loved New York despite expecting to hate it!!

Really hated Rome. Went in the middle of summer and it was just awful. It felt so dusty and just unwelcoming. I might try another time of year though.

Loved glamping but thought I'd hate it.

Love Cornwall, especially Fowey.

Love Sani in Greece. So chilled...

Hated centre parcs - urrrgh - felt like I was being milked for cash and it pissed it down all week so everything seemed damp and cold.

Disney Paris - yuk yuk yuk. Threw money at the best hotel, meals etc and still felt I was on the most awful, commercial conveyor belt.

Vegas - hated it more than I can say. So fake and naff.

This thread is making me feel old . Bali was a really lovely unspoiled island in 1986. Jakarta was an awful mix of poverty, and flash high rise offices but the Javanese people were lovely, we lived there for a while.

Faro and Albufeira in the Algarve were beautiful and unspoiled in the early 70s

I loved Lisbon 6 years ago.

The Algarve completely passed me by too, I didn't get it

Really enjoying this thread. I'm going to consider lanzarote and Majorca for our next holiday, based on all the feedback here but I'm very nervous about doing so because people rave about towns and resorts in the Algarve that I thought were truly awful. I was disappointed the minute we drove out of Faro airport, and it never really improved

I'm surprised to see Alcudia mentioned. I have been there many times and absolutely love it.

Majorca has no scenery? Most of the island is just stunning, one of the most beautiful places ive ever been. Granted, Alcudia isn't the nicest part but just steps away it's gorgeous. Did you go to the walled town of old Alcudia? To Pollensa? To Palma? All easily accessible from Alcudia and all gorgeously beautiful

Maybe she was in Santa Ponsa. Santa Ponsa is pretty grim.

Majorca has amazing scenery Its utterly gorgeous.
I cant imagine people like Bob Gelfdolf, Catherine Zeta Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Claudia Shiffer, the King Of Spain, peirce brosnan etc etc etc, with all the money in the world would choose to buy somewhere with no scenery

Went to Guernsey as part of a cruise. In fairness I wasn't expecting much, but we got off the ship anyway. We went to a local attraction which was a pleasant but ordinary park, with apparently very old greenhouses on it. We got chatting to the chap painting one of the greenhouses and remarked how good they looked considering how old they are. He told us it was only the foundations that were old. The actual greenhouses were only about 40 years old. That was the most interesting thing to visit. Most people were back on the boat for lunch, although we didn't leave port for another 3 hours.

Are you sure it was Majorca you went to Hyacynth. It sounds nothing like it at all.

Maybe you need this thread

Worst place- Alcudia, Majorca, we went in August, had a few nice days but it rained terribly mostly, absolutely chucked it down, had to just stay in hotel room watching shit TV. The swimming pool was freezing too so i hardly went in. Alcudia was dreary, reminded me of Blackpool! Went to a zoo place one day or maybe animal rescue place, was such a depressing dump. Animals kept in terrible conditions. The island had no scenery and was boring. Kicked myself for booking it and wasting money.

Best place - Cyprus, love the weather, the atmosphere, the scenery, just returned from our 7th trip and wouldnt go anywhere else now

Don't worry, I love LA, much prefer it to New York. Far more creative vibe there, plus A LOT of dottiness to observe. I especially love Venice, go for a walk around the canals early Sunday morning - so beautiful and atmospheric. It can be a bit edgy, but that is part of its charm. It doesn't have so many sights per se but is just a fabulous place to hang out.

I too love Lanzarote and also think bits of Torremolinos are gorgeous

Hated - Langkawi. The food was revolting, the other people staying in our hotel made me feel very uncomfortable. Our hotel was expensive and supposed to be amazing it was crap quite frankly. Never again. I also dislike Singapore. It was so flipping boring, I just wanted to come home. It was part of a SE Asia trip and after the amazingness of Thailand and Cambodia it was a real bump down to earth.

Loved unexpectedly - Majorca and the Algarve. I thought they'd be really over crowded with no identity but I loved both.

Don't be disheartened. LA is amazing - you'll love it.

Oh god we going to LA next week! Eek! It is our big trip first time taking kids out of Europe we have been excited all year! We love beaches, planning to do the whole Hollywood thing and take dds to Disney/Universal studios, San Diego and a few nights in Sequioa/Joshua Tree. Bit disheartened now!

I dont like Switzerland. Yes beautiful landscape but snooty and overpriced. Nearby Austria and Germany way better. Same landscape but without the snottiness and much much cheaper and more friendly to families. Loved Austria.

To the poster looking for tips for Berlin you MUST go to their outdoor pools they are amazing. There is a Guardian article on Berlin swimming pools they are fab. The Jewish museum was great too.

Also enjoyed Antwerp and Ghent. Liked most places bar Egypt due to sheer naked misogyny.

I loved LA too. I had very low expectations but it is so interesting imho. I'm not remotely interested in studios, but I spent a long time sitting outside a caff near Rodeo Drive trying to be "spotted" I wasnt. I saw Ru Paul in the street!

We drove a lot too-up to San Fran on the Pacific Coast Highway. Best holiday ever apart from Rio.

Loved: Istanbul and Cairo. Amazing food, lovely people, loads to see and safe walking around at night.

Boring: New Zealand. Beautiful as it is, friendly as people were, it left me stone cold. Don't know why.

Recommend: the Isle of Man once you leave Douglas. Niarbyl down to Port Erin is stunning.

When I was 17 I went on a "girls holiday" with a few friends to Magaluf. It was utterly shite and wouldn't return even if I was paid. Two of us actually paid to come home 3 days early of a 7 day holiday, it was fucking awful.

About 10 years ago I went to Egypt and hated it, we actually returned last year and loved it even though I was very sceptical about it. We stayed in a different area though. Would definitely return, we can't wait to go back next year.