Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

Ooh I adore Capri and the Amalfi coast. It is far nicer later in the day when everyone has gone home on the ferry though.

We enjoyed Transylvania in winter.

I loved Las Vegas, despite being an utter snob before we went, and thinking I'd hate it. Wonderful restaurants, fabulous service, and just an air of fun about the place. There are even little museums tucked away in places you wouldn't expect; we went to a pop-up Monet exhibition at the Bellagio for about $10 that was utterly amazing.

I hated Kyoto, sadly. It was unfriendly, muggy, and I had more stomach upsets than anywhere else in the world that I've visited. We also kept finding ourselves in little red light areas which was very odd!

I have never been as disappointed with anywhere as I was with Capri, I had wanted to see it for ages but it was just full of extremely expensive designer stores of the kind that the assistant looked at you with disdain if you ventured in to. It cost a fortune on the ferry, we looked around and then got the next one back.

I loved Paris, I hadn't been that bothered about seeing it for some reason but I loved everything about it.

Padstow. Truly awful.

Too busy, too tacky, too expensive, way too overrated, too shite.

LA, Baywatch it is not
Agree with Barbados and the bit of Crete we went to. Not my kind of place.

Love Paris, Florence and thought Brum was a great city when I went.

Corfu was crap. I was probably spoiled by an effortless idyllic island hopping holiday in the Dodecanese the year before but it was crowded, soulless and impossible to get around. All the small islands I've been on have either great public transport or cheap, convenient taxis - this had neither. Beach (chosen because supposedly small, local, used by Greeks etc) smelt of sewage and was covered in flies.

NicknameUsed that little Cretan village...was it Sissi by any chance? I went there too, was a bit apprehensive given its proximity to Malia (where I'd been as a callow youth) but it was just beautiful and relaxed, with some lovely restaurants.

I had the best time in Copenhagen. Go to Christiania for music and food. It does not close.
Norfolk I tried 3 times and very underwhelmed. Ugly beaches.
Brussels surprisingly fun.
Venice not for me. In fact I haven't been anywhere in Italy that I loved.

pimp how patronising are you?
I have been to other parts of Cyprus which were stunning. Not Pissouri.

The Gower, I was expecting Pembrokeshire with bells and whistles. I discovered that the Gower is a tad small and over crowded compared with all that Pembrokeshire has to offer.

This is really interesting in as much as to see the places that people love and others hate.

We have family in Dubai which means I've visited a place which would otherwise be very low down my list. I expected to hate it but actually have a surprisingly nice time. I also quite like Hong Kong which is rubbished above though only been for work.

Unlike most of the population of Great Britain I had never been to Cornwall as a child due to always going to Ireland where my dad came from on holiday. What a revelation taking my own children. Stuff to entertain them with if it rained, access to Sainsburys rather than a butcher and a shop in a petrol station! And still lovely scenery and beautiful beaches. To be fair Ireland has changed a bit since the 1970s too and we've also had good holidays there.

Once went to Skegness for the weekend and it was truly hideous but not sure I can make a convincing case for that being unexpected.

Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria... absolutely hated it, and felt almost scared there, not my best choice of holiday

Myanmar (Burma) - absolutely loved it but that's because of the people, they are poor but the buddhist philosophy just shone through. Would love to go back

Paphos, Cyprus - not helped by the most godawful hotel imaginable that I battled to get money back because of. Where our hotel was there were gangs of feral youths and dead cats in the street, it was more like a warzone. (But I appreciate we were unlucky as we met up with friends who were on the right side of town )

The only place I've been that I would never visit again is Tangier.
The most dodgy, dangerous, smelly and unfriendly place on earth. I had to steal a knife from the hotel to give me the courage to walk down the street.

Have enjoyed everywhere else I have been in the world.

Booked honeymoon to Maldives - sadly didn't do much research and ended up on a relatively "new" < undeveloped > island - rats in the room, sewage pipe Into the sea outside our bungalow - husband Ill despite usual precautions - was horrendous.

Bali - absolutely loved it!! Hawkers are annoying but generally if you're happy but firm they go away. Our resort was amazing - would go back in a heartbeat

Savagebeauty did you bother to learn about the history of the island? Or just sit there and complain about the wind?

notweaving so glad you liked Oregon! It's a hidden gem! I might be biased though.
I thought I would hate Paris but I love it!
I hated Barcelona the first time I went but went a second time to visit a friend and had a totally different experience.
I went to Vegas as a kid and thought I'd not really like it as an adult but it is amazing. It had changed so much in 20 years!
I've only been to Melbourne but I liked it far more than I expected.

I loved Dublin. Went there in December with a stinking cold, loaded up on Irish stew and Guinness in several lovely pubs, found, history, culture, music, nice people - absolutely lived up to my hopes.

Barcelona. Hot. Ugly. Inedible.

Switzerland. Beauty competes with beauty everywhere you look. Friendly, relaxed, easy to navigate, fun, adventurous, glaciers, lakes, wild flowers, mountains, architecture, candlelight, cheese fondue and did I mention Beauty, Beauty, Beauty.

I couldn't get over all the rules in Australia - when you go into a park or somewhere there's a long list of things you may or may not do.

I loved bits of Sydney, but Perth and Adelaide just felt like bits of Britain with better weather. Not worth the cost and the time, anyway. And I was staying in backpacker hostels and the outright sexism of everyone there - esp the older Australian staff - meant I grew to really dislike my time.

Aah yes, had forgotten about Pisa, what a disappointing hole it is.

Paris - so dissapointed. Hated every minute.

Oxford - too many students. No parking. Traffic horrendous. Shit shops, all of which stays on my mind more than the pretty architecture.
Salou in Spain. Booked by a friend who I left to arrange a late get away with 8 or 9 years ago. My heart sunk when she said where she'd booked but absolutely loved it once there. Very clean. Fab beach. Lovely prom and atmosphere. Off again for the 5th time soon.

South Wales coast - Vale of Glamorgan and Barry. Again persuaded to visit by a friend for a weekend. Very impressed that first visit and ironically 2 years after that dh got offered a job there that before I wouldn't have been keen on him taking. We ended up moving thereally and spent 3 years living there. Twas lovely and I do miss it.

Oh and love Monaco and Monte Carlo.

Hated Paris and Pisa.

Love Rome and most of Australia.

NickiF, you are spot on AD is great.