Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

Another one that felt just meh about Australia, the best bit was the business class flight. I really came away disappointed.

I always thought I wouldn't like France, all those generalisations about the French and English hating each other.

I LOVE France, wherever I have been, it is just so, well so French! It is wonderful, and exotic, and continental and beautiful. I always feel abroad when in France.

Oops pressed post too soon.
New year fireworks were ace & I liked western Australia a lot, but the racism is horrible

Loved Monaco-was a bit worried before we got there.

Hated Gran Canaria. Apartment was in a mahoosive complex at the top of a v steep hill. Cockroaches in the bathroom. Everyone cheered when the airport bus turned up.

Lanzarote & Las Vegas - wouldn't have been places I'd have picked but both great.
Disappointed by Sydney especially Bondi

Waving to Trashbox... I too hated Dubai.

Liked Barcelona a lot, also Sydney.

I didn't want to go to Jamaica the first time as my friend had been the year before and hated it. I absolutely loved it, the people, the music, the food and of course the Caribbean Sea and the weather. My private mindfulness go to place is under a palm tree on a beach in Runaway Bay, where I'm sunbathing with a virgin pina colada and reading a novel. Then I wade into the warm, turquoise sea till it's deep enough for me to swim languidly among the multicoloured tropical fish. Heaven on earth, we've been back twice, but now DH has decided he doesn't like it

And Zimbabwe before it was ruined starting in 1999/2000 was the best place I have EVER been but it is a sad shadow of its former self now. It might qualify for the best AND worst place I've visited.

Love Croatia. What a lovely place. So much to do, friendly and helpful locals.

Hated Madeira. Nasty food, friendly people but so fucking dull. It's geared towards elderly people coming off cruise ships.

Crete - unexpected holiday there, horrible place. Still resent that holiday thirty years later .

Much of the Costa del Sol is surprisingly nice - there's a reason why it's been popular for donkey's years.

I've been to a few places for work that I have found really, unexpectedly lovely too, but it's always hard to get the real measure of a place when someone else is footing the bill. Surprising stand-outs would be San Diego and Zurich but I imagine neither is much fun on a budget.

Very much disliked Australia for many of the above reasons.
Was seriously underwhelmed by Barbados.
Loved Oregon, which I thought might be dull and adored California as well, which I feared would be shallow and awful.
Myanmar I wasn't sure about visiting, but it ended up being in my top 3 countries, definitely. Amazing place.

Kenya - absolutely awful, hated the place, even tried to get an early flight home. Armed guards on the beach and walking around the hotel grounds. Told not to leave the hotel on foot for fear of mugging. Windows closed in taxis and mini buses as thieves reach in to steal jewelry and watches etc. If you go on trips etc, the toilets are literally holes in the ground. Our hotel was 5 star but often had no running water (neither hot nor cold), frequent power cuts, disgusting hygiene in the cafes/restaurants. The only respite was on a safari where the overnight accommodation was remarkable despite being in the middle of nowhere.

Hated - Osaka in Japan. Bloody awful. Men openly stared at me like I was for sale, never felt so uneasy and unsafe in my life. Los Angeles. Full of drugged up weirdos.

Loved - Rhodes Town.The mediaeval old town is so gorgeous, cobbled streets and so laid back. I didn't expect Rhodes to be quite so cultural and it was a lovely surprise. Also loved Kenya - friendliest, kindest people and breathtaking beauty.

Loved Madeira, hated Majorca.

The hotel was near the sewage works and stank, we had a hail storm that landed 10 cm of hailstones on the. balcony. We both got colds and couldn't wait to get home.
Madeira on the other hand was so lovely. From the moment you got off the plane in the balmy air, to the walks over the little canals it was lovely. We took a tomato home that grew into a huge plant, no fruit. And we loved the botanic garden and the market

Same for me too, plus there were australians there!!!!😄

We loved Connemara - yes, it rains but that only makes you appreciate the sun more. Very beautiful and very friendly. Also the east Antrim coast which is perhaps the most beautiful bit of Northern Ireland and also the least touristy.

- I liked bits of it but I didn't like some of the attitudes which seemed to be quite widespread; racism, sexism. It was for that reason (and the attitudes / laws around refugees)

Same for me.

Expected to love it, found it a ridiculously expensive dump full of drunken stag parties and with nothing I actually wanted to do. Sorry Dubliners.

No problem. Dubliners know better than to frequent the places visited by the UK hen and stag parties!

Seville is wonderful.
So is Ibiza. I don't go to the resorts. Just stay in Ibiza Town and drink and dance at the rooftop bars.
Love Malaga. The pavements are v slippy if it has rained!
Hate Marbella
Love Oslo
Hate Bali
Love Tokyo

Dubai: so fake and plastic. The locals were nice, but the tourists there thought they were all that...

I was very underwhelmed by Australia, found it quite sinister in parts.VERY militaristic, which surprised me, lots of racism, a certain glibness in the cities? Also it's so remote - the newspapers have about two paragraphs of world news a day. Sydney in the rain meanwhile revealed how flattering sunshine can be

Madrid: hated it! Locals looking at me like I was an alien, harassed by men, treated like scum by waiters, even had one lady in a shop point blank refuse to serve me. (I'm a normal looking British lady by the way, not some Edward scissorhands lookalike carrying a sign that says 'I kill children'.

Barcelona: expected it to be similar to Madrid but couldn't have been more different. Absolutely loved it! Every street I walked along was bustling with a good mix of locals and tourists, I didn't get a second glance from anyone. Polite customer service at shops/restaurants. Helpful signage for tourists. Lots of solo beautiful ladies walking around looking chic and confident (this always make me feel better about a place).

We went to a town in the south of France called Argeles sur Mer. The name made it sound so lovely. Oh my god, what an utter shit hole. Sunburned brits from local mega campsites queuing up outside the comically over priced Spar shop. Literally no affordable dining options. The boardwalk attractions at the beach are the tackiness I've ever seen, and an ever present sense of threat hangs in the air.

Non, non, non.

I can always find something to like. Even in Aberporth.

Singapore. I expected to find it dull and soulless. I loved it and want to live there!