Have you ever been anywhere on holiday that was like the emperors new clothes?

[Cheeseandlobster]

I did. Last year I went to a very small hotel in Greece. 16 rooms only with pages and pages of great reviews.

When I arrived all the tables were pushed together and everyone was sat together pissed as farts getting louder and louder. One woman was drunker and swearier than the rest and it turned out she was the owner.

It was expected that you socialise and drink at the hotel even though the entire pool had no sun from 1pm and the surrounding area was beautiful. The owner would bark at you if you asked for food from the menu and would openly slate other guests for making reasonable requests. And the interrogation you got if you went out of the hotel was crazy.

Luckily I met another lovely solo traveller who felt the same as me so we paired up and left the hotel at the same time each day to share the interrogation. I will never stay at another small hotel again because of this.

Anyone else?

So much Barcelona hate! i've been dozens of times and never been robbed or felt unsafe. The first time we went was in 96 and the place just sort of clicked with us. It felt like home. We've been back pretty much every year since, staying in apartments or small hotels. I'd love to live there, I think I could be happy there forever.

Haven’t read all the thread, but it really brings to mind different strokes for different folks!
It’s strange how we all experience places differently.
love NYC, San Fran Boston and Miami. Toronto is a big meh as is most of Canada.
israelis are downright rude! Loved Jordan, didn’t like Egypt or Morocco.
love Paris, Dublin, Brighton, Liverpool. Glasgow. Ferry.
Don’t like Aberdeen or Edinburgh.

Derry not ferry!

Agree with other posters re New York, apart from a few movie scene areas, I compared it too much to London. London is fabulous with so much to see and do, history, culture, quirky streets, beautiful parks. New York by comparison is extremely boring.

Ah yes Barcelona. Been numerous times. Never felt unsafe. I think there are a lot of nervous nellys on mumsnet😀

I've been on quite a few UK holidays with my son that were driven by his desire to go on interesting bits of railway. A lot of them were great. I would never have thought of Glasgow as a tourist destination but it's absolutely fantastic.

I can't say the same about Sheerness, though.

I must say I didn't feel very comfortable on my own in the Museum of Erotica in Barcelona, everywhere else was OK.

But why? Why would you compare two cities in different continents, with totally different histories, that are absolutely nothing alike? It makes no sense to me at all. If your point of reference was London then I'm not surprised you found New York disappointing (although I can't fathom how you found it boring!).

It can have a bit of an edge in some places but I wouldn't say I felt particularly unsafe there, in the same way I did in Tangiers or Istanbul on my own.

Every time I’ve walked on the bit of Rambla near the Placa Reial, I’ve watched someone get their bag nicked. The robbers sprint down one of the alleyways on the other side of the Placa. It’s notorious.

Not sure why you'd walk down there multiple times if you think it's so dangerous. Locals never go around there because there are too many tourists and hence too many pickpockets/muggers.

Exactly. A lot of ignorance and closed mindedness on this thread.

You're all doing Cairo wrong.

I live here, it's fabulous, & frankly even the obvious tourist traps like the Pyramids are cool if you a) go on your own & just mooch about or b) go with a local.

If you turn up with a coach party, yes, hawkers will zero in on you. They are seriously struggling financially, so don't be horrible - they're going home to their families. Do not buy tatt. Buy a (slightly) overpriced soft drink, & get one for your driver whilst you're at it. Don't get on any camels. Don't buy anything at all from children: they should be in school, & the government is working on this.

Tip generously to guides, it helps. Go to the lesser known pyramids at Dahshur & Saqqara, & tip there like a rockstar - which means a tenner - because that will keep a family going for the day.

Go to Khan El Khalili & explore. You'll get rinsed for tourist tat in the bits nearest the mosque, but duck down side streets.

Having said all that...Sharm, now. Sharm el Sheikh is crap, no two ways about it....

Israelis are not rude but they have a different culture to yours. Yours is not the gold standard.

I do chuckle a bit at people complaining that New York doesn't have as much history as London or some other British city. Maybe they didn't pick up on the clue that is in the word "New."

Casablanca - scared the bloody life out of me. Went on a taxi trip after stopping off on a cruise
and ended up in a carpet shop that we couldn't leave until we bought a bloody rug that was hideous and overpriced. The shop owner kept plying is with mint tea that made we want to vomit.

I've never been so glad to get back on the ship.

The Mosque there though was surreal, stunningly beautiful but obscene given the poverty of the people.

Loved Venice, one of the best holidays I've ever had, always something to see and do

I enjoyed new York as it has so many different layers to think about and moods to experience eg... King long, Batman... vibe.
Then Astor's and Rockefeller Vibe/Great Gatsby.
Then the Frances tavern and Washington etc.
Then little Italy / godfather/ statute of liberty.
Then walll street, wasps... bonfires of the vanity.
However...it's so scattered and not cosy.

And yes it's a little disappointing after London

In London I just adore how one can access so many areas and corners in a short area quicky. Eg regents street...half moon street...carnaby, Soho ...all distinctive then Soho to China town, one of the best in the world, then covent garden.

La Rochelle and Carcassonne are two places that didn't live up to the hype for me.

I ended up in NYC by accident for 48 hours, don't ask how, so did a bit of an unexpected whistle stop tour, it wasn't what I expected and agree that I feel that London has much more to offer and wouldn't be desperate to return.

I prefer Glasgow to Edinburgh but generally Scotland is fab and the highlands are a must, as is the north coast of Cornwall/ Devon/ Somerset.

I love Center Parcs and Disney Land for what they are. They are not cultural experiences, they are theme parks and easy UK breaks. CP with autistic young teens is a good break as they can gain confidence in a safe environment - it is expensive though.

I love the smaller , slightly less touristy cities, Seville and Granada in Spain, Milan and Siena in Italy, in France I love Paris but the Dordogne, Alsace and Champagne are all regions I've enjoyed. There is so much more to explore.

Cyprus, I just couldn’t take to it... felt a bit in easy there. Locals seemed tooo over friendly and the villa we stayed in was next to a school with about 10 kids, they spent literally most of the day watching us. Teachers didn’t stop them or anything.

I find it confusing that people don't seem to be able to enjoy places for what they are. I don't go to New York expecting European-level historical sites and cathedrals and quaint squares. I go for the bright lights and crazy skyscrapers and everything seeming larger than life. Having a coffee and a bagel in Central Park feeling like I'm in an episode of SATC. Going to a diner with unlimited coffee refills and having a massive stack of pancakes and bacon. Riding the Staten Island ferry and taking in the views of the skyline. Walking through Times Square at night. Having cocktails in some swanky bar on a ridiculously high floor. Going to Spanish Harlem for Puerto Rican food and salsa clubs. Riding the clattery noisy subway out to Brooklyn and spending an afternoon wandering around Williamsburg, stopping in cafes for hot chocolate. Going to a baseball or a basketball game.

I don't think it's ever occurred to me in my life to compare NYC to London.

I think some people just don't do any research before they go anywhere. Most cities are unpleasant when crowded and hot. Duh. Or they just look at things really superficially without getting to know a place.

Bocas del Toro in Panama was a massive disappointment -that turquoise water you see was likely photoshopped as it only happens once or so a year (if it's a good year) and the only good thing about the rest of Panama is the wonderful people which isn't enough to hide the fact a lot of things are more expensive than in London (go ahead and chew on that).
Dublin/Thailand was a bit "is this it?!". Albufeira, for the life of me, I'll never ever know what people see in that overpriced place. Paris I like but I certainly don't think it's the most romantic place in the world and I didn't like people dealing drugs outside the Sacré Coeur.
Venice, I've seen a lot of people say it was terrible but I speak Italian so I had a blast, I know it's a one off for most people but I love love love it. Rome and Milan on the other hand... Rome is enough to go once, Milan, Ravena & Rimini I'd skip altogether and tbh I've never known anyone to love those. Something that really stands out in Italy though is the filthy streets with dog poo everywhere.
Cuba - it had nice beaches but there's so much misery and they're constantly trying to rip you off. If you don't speak Spanish you'll be paying extra for most things. The food was crap and I'll never get over seeing little girls with old men (tourists who clearly weren't related). I had staff tell me a sob story to get me to pay them for a holiday to Europe.
Brazil - lovely beaches but again so much misery and it's bloody annoying to have sb trying to sell you sth every 5 minutes when you just want to be left alone! Also, often the best hotels will be almost in the middle of a favela so you can't set foot outside.
Worth mentioning is Edinburgh, I was living in London at the time and people kept saying it's beautiful but so dark and cold, it'll be worse than London and you'll regret going during winter! Anyway I got there and the sun was out, it wasn't that cold and everybody was super nice during the whole time. Well worth it. I don't know why Edinburgh has such a bad reputation (during winter).

You stayed in the wrong place and went at the wrong time. Malta’s lovely in the spring and autumn and there are some good hotels around Valletta.

Amsterdam was kind of like this for me. The architecture was not unfamiliar (oddly) to my hometown , Edinburgh, and I just didn’t really like the red light district, marijuana cafes etc. Normally I would be all into a bit of bohemian cool but I just didn’t really dig Amsterdam at all (it might just have seemed very cold after a month in sunny Southern Europe).

@Oceanus maybe you got lucky with the weather?