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Original poster

Ever been on holiday where you couldn't wait to come home

349 replies

GardeningQuestionTime · 12/02/2024 13:54

OK I'm in the sun and it's February...but I'm stuck on an where nothing to do except snorkel and its too windy.

The hotel needs serious updating, there are cocks crowing all night, the breakfast was minimal. The advertised beach is lovely but literally a beach. My alternative plan of lying on the beach reading are scuppered by no umbrella or lounger.

The hire car is a worryingly battered piece of shit.

I'm being churlish but there's a long 5 days stretching out in front of me.

Honestly some stories of shit holidays would help!

OP posts:
Gymmum82 · 13/02/2024 09:24

I’ve never had a holiday I hated that much. Some have been a bit grotty in terms of hotels or food but we’ve just made the best of it and had a good time overall.
I think I must just have low standards due to my years of backpacking. I could stay anywhere and be happy

Ironfloor269 · 13/02/2024 09:27

CatrionaCat · 13/02/2024 00:29

A week's touring/sightseeing followed by a week at an AI resort. Time of year supposed to be pleasant weather - dry season, hot but not unbearably so.

It rained heavily for the whole of the first week, pretty much all day every day. Roads washed away, landslips, deep mud everywhere (Buddhist temples where you have to go barefoot,) several planned activities impossible due to dangerous conditions, couldn't see a thing from the best viewpoint etc.

The second week was VERY hot and humid, and I dont cope well with high humidity. Hardly any umbrellas for the sun loungers so I had to get up at 6 every morning and still often couldn't get one. No air conditioning in the public rooms, only the bedrooms, so I spent most of the week in the bedroom, crying.

Other people who have been to the same destination say it was their best holiday ever.

Edited

Sounds like Sri Lanka. Am I right?

Anoisagusaris · 13/02/2024 09:41

Crikeyalmighty · 12/02/2024 18:59

@the80sweregreat I must admit I don't like the Algarve- been twice in September , had terrible weather both times, food not the greatest and you are a bit stuffed if it rains- this was Lagos too -so not a grot hole. I find that many who love it often haven't been to loads of other places - there really are way nicer places- both big and small-to show I'm not a snob I actually preferred Benidorm by a long way

Nonsense. There are lots of fabulous places in the Algarve. Just because you went twice doesn’t make you an expert 😆

TM1979 · 13/02/2024 09:44

Rural Portugal in 40 degree heat. No air con. Thought I’d die from the heat. Got bitten all over, had to go to hospital with a bad allergic reaction. Couldn’t wait to get home!

Crikeyalmighty · 13/02/2024 09:46

@Anoisagusaris we had a car too- so did see a lot- I'm not saying it's awful- I'm just saying I wasn't keen personally and wouldn't pick it. You obviously do like it - which is fine. I love Majorca and Greek islands- others on here don't

Groovee · 13/02/2024 09:50

Arrived last October in to Malaga airport with a bump landing that triggered my back spasm. I spent the week, barely able to move. Couldn't sit, couldn't lie down and no drinking on diazepam.

I just wanted to cry but Dh pointed out I wasn't fit to fly home. It was a relief to get back to wet stormy Scotland

Hummusandstuff · 13/02/2024 10:11

Thank you for this thread.
I don’t really like holidays. Those scenes in ‘Withnail and I’ and ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ really resonated with me 😁
I have come on holiday by mistake.

I have dutifully taken my three DC all over the world but now they’re young adults it’s so great that they can go to Paphos or Lanzarote or wherever with their mates instead.

One summer when they were teenagers I said we could do a week somewhere or they could have £500 each for a staycation. That was the best summer ever. We are near London with loads to do and they had some cash to do it. Or just lying in the garden with their mates and a few ciders.

Normalise not going away! 🥰

Letsgodancing · 13/02/2024 10:29

I've been fairly lucky in my adult life with holidays, although a few destinations I've been ready to come home by the end of it.
Although when I was 13 had the worst time in Devon, some awful friends of my mums who weren't nice people, another girl the same age but we didn't really like each other and my mum was totally skint so couldn't really do much. I got quite sick as well and my mum was horrible to me! I than got blisters from shoes I was wearing which lasted what felt like the entire summer at the time.
The memory fills me with horror in general and makes me appreciate my life now!

Original poster
GardeningQuestionTime · 13/02/2024 10:57

Gymmum82 · 13/02/2024 09:24

I’ve never had a holiday I hated that much. Some have been a bit grotty in terms of hotels or food but we’ve just made the best of it and had a good time overall.
I think I must just have low standards due to my years of backpacking. I could stay anywhere and be happy

My dh was cheerfully reminding me that I used to say that to him and accuse him of being soft due to never backpacking and years of nice hotels on expenses.

old enough know to admit that there’s something to be said for a bit of comfort. And also a bar close enough to walk to for dinner, maybe even a choice.

OP posts:
Esgaroth · 13/02/2024 11:10

When I was about 10 we actually did give up and come home early from Scotland because my mother said we could just as well play board games and look at the torrential rain and nonexistent scenery from the comfort of our own home.

Crikeyalmighty · 13/02/2024 11:23

@Esgaroth ha- my parents did the same one year

Crikeyalmighty · 13/02/2024 11:27

@Hummusandstuff I struggle slightly with this in the UK and hence why we have few UK holidays- - we live in Bath and unless I went somewhere totally different like say Scottish highlands or Northumbrian coast I can't help but think I'm paying huge money and could have just as good a time at home and go out for lunch every day or a day trip down to Dorset coast etc at way less cost.

rooftopbird · 13/02/2024 11:36

Majorca. The place was lovely but ex decided the first day was the time to tell me he was unhappy and we were splitting up after 7 years. DS had just turned 2. Spent the rest of the week crying whilst sharing everything as a couple and sleeping in the same bed, he also cheersed me at dinners.

Crikeyalmighty · 13/02/2024 11:37

@marmaladeandpeanutbutter I love Malaga- really attractive city- fabulous food too.

pickytube · 13/02/2024 12:18

My bad experiences tend to be booking cheap grotty accommodation and one in particular being in Salou Spain where there were cockroaches roaming everywhere, no air con and the second bed being a broken pull out bed out bed where the springs dug into your rib cage. I was dumped by text as well on that holiday where before i left we talked about taking things further with a proposal.

Justontherightsideofnormal · 13/02/2024 17:48

Oh my honeymoon in 2002. We booked a week in the Brecon Beacons. With baby in tow. Place sounded really quaint ..... in reality the accommodation was actually just damp ....like our whole week!! To top it off the bed was a water bed 😳 We left to come early and have never returned

Mb57 · 13/02/2024 17:59

Always wanted to go to Spinalonga and went to Crete last year with my granddaughter. The hotel was on its last week of season and had no entertainment. Some cafes open but not much else. It rained torrential rain the whole week ( the taxi driver said it was very unusual and that they have had a whole years worth in this one week.) I did get to spinalonga but every other trip was cancelled. Never again I was glad to get home

mellybelly1 · 13/02/2024 18:04

There have been some that have been better than others but we usually do our best to get as much out of it as possible. Why not go out for a drive for the day? See what else is around?

riceuten · 13/02/2024 18:05

I’m not a beach type so this eventuality is unlikely - I do remember a 10 day camping trip with the school where it rained almost every day. But, other than that, I tend even when planning a holiday on the coast to have a plan B for just such an eventuality.

Didshejustsaythatoutloud · 13/02/2024 18:08

Aposterhasnoname · 12/02/2024 16:01

I’ve posted this before. It’s a long one!

Dom Rep, January 2010. Several hours delay for reasons that are a whole other thread, but finally arrived at our hotel exhausted and went straight to bed. Got up next morning to torrential rain. We were all inclusive though, so off to the bar we went. Along with everyone else in the hotel. Spent the day getting pissed. The “entertainment team” just downed tools, made no effort to arrange anything at all, just played loud music, with the lyrics “if your scared mother fucker go to church” The increasingly drunk audience sang the chorus with gusto, leading the entertainment team to play it frequently. Following day, still raining, off to the bar again for another group mother fucker karaoke session. Third day same. Fourth day…. You get the idea. By now even the kids were singing along.

Day five dawns, which happened to be my birthday. We had planned a trip, but all trips were cancelled due to the weather, so off to the bar we went until around teatime, when we headed back to the room, singing the mother fucker song which we were now word perfect at. Gets into our lovely ground floor beachfront room and switch on the telly. There’s been an earthquake in Haiti and the Dom Rep was on a tsunami warning! We went back to the bar and told a few people then quite a crowd of us went to reception to ask what we should do. Blank looks and shrugs all round. So a contingency of us decided to head for higher ground (remember we’d all been drinking for five days solid) and headed over the road and squelched ankle deep in mud up the hill. Then, after an uneventful and tsunami less hour, squelched back down again.

The following day we wake up and hear just how awful the earthquake was. Hundreds of thousands killed. Most of the staff at the hotel had family in Haiti and were understandably frantic, many went home. And the ones that stayed did thier best but were obviously worried sick about what had happened. The sun came out, but we felt awful enjoying ourself with the terrible things that were going on just a few hundred miles away.

When it was finally time to go home (thank god), there was a baby on the plane that was screaming blue murder. Clearly ill. As we were taxiing to the runway some bloke said something to the effect of “shut that brat up” which the babies father took exception to and all hell let loose. We had to turn back and wait for the police to sort it all out.

Almost put me off holidays for life.

Edited

Thanks for this, made me laugh so much (apart from the earthquake deaths) gonna have to look up the mother fucker song now😂

MrsScarecrow · 13/02/2024 18:09

All inclusive in Rhodes with a hotel full of the worst British scum you could Imagine! They were more than rude to the staff ie smashing eggs and other food on the table then demanding the mess was cleared. A woman changed her baby's dirty ie poo nappy on the bar counter. On being reprimanded accused the hotel of not providing baby changing area. Drunks everywhere.

DenisK · 13/02/2024 18:09

i’d definitely complain - especially if there were no sunbeds!

Cottagewitch · 13/02/2024 18:14

Barbados last year. I was counting the days until I could go home. Literally nothing to do other than sit on the beach. Distinct lack of anywhere to eat out other than the outdoor fish market sat on plastic chairs at folding plastic tables while chickens and cats ran about under your feet. Public transport was unbelievably stressful. Abandoned falling apart houses everywhere. Very very run down. I found the people really nice though.

Mothership4two · 13/02/2024 18:15

OP is there nothing of interest locally or even a beach that hires sunloungers etc as you have a car? Or a large town with shops where you could buy a beach tent and/or mat?

My worst two were North Wales which DH had gone to great lengths to sell to me as he holidayed there as a child. We basically had a monsoon every single day and we were in a tent. Beautiful scenery but pretty bleak and people not overly friendly. Never went back on holiday. Also, Amsterdam, found it a dreary place. Family member I went with didn't want to go to the Anne Frank house or linger in the Van Gogh museum - they wanted to look around the shopping centre - yawn. We had booked to eat in but the dinner was pretty bad but most other places seemed qute basic. The best meal we had was a Chinese (on a boat) - which was fine but we expected to eat Dutch food. Everyone seemed a tad grumpy. Probably didn't help that we went around March and it was freezing.

MMUmum · 13/02/2024 18:15

Booked 10 days in Toronto, fabulous city but not enough to do for 5 days never mind 10. I had booked a lovely hotel as a treat but it turned out to be very upmarket and quite formal. Trip to Niagara was fab, but I was more than ready for home after a few days. Another time was Benelmadena in February, cold and wet