Places you've been underwhelmed by

[HannaPintura]

I just love going away and have really loved most places. One place in particular really Underwhelmed me...Gibraltar...just like Britain in the sun! I'm sure it has so much to offer, but I couldn't wait to cross the border back to Spain!

It tells you a lot about folk, this question! If I was single I would definitely ask it early on. I’m sure he is a top DH to the PP but a guy who found the Grand Canyon ‘dull’ wouldn’t make it to a second coffee on a first date.

@CrabappleBiscuit I think we chose the busiest time. Queued for ages for Ellen's starlight diner but kids absolutely loved it! Central Park is fab and huge.

Brighton. I was expecting Bath by the sea but it was a bit of a dump. Really enjoyed the Pavillion though.
We spent a weekend in Liverpool earlier in the year and had a fantastic time. Brilliant nightlife and loads of cultural stuff and the people were lovely.
At least I can say I’ve been to Brighton won’t be rushing back.

DivisionBelle Sun 21-Jan-18 12:09:37
"It tells you a lot about folk, this question! If I was single I would definitely ask it early on."

This. The person who thought Rome was just a big city like any other big city would fit nicely into a Specsavers advert, but I imagine I'd struggle to keep a straight face for the duration of a coffee date.

I can see why so many relationships break down now. People just expect so much!!

Tuscon, Arizona ... Hotel staff picked up scorpions and spiders at dusk in buckets and took them out to the desert

It's worse if you stay in a private house; nipping out for a dip in the pool at night can be a thoughtful task

Forgot to mention San Diego ... I knew it's a big convention town, but the huge hotels have completely eaten it and ruined any chance of atmosphere

And I really can't believe all the negs about Venice; admittedly it's hell in the touristy bits, but go out at dawn or at night in the quieter areas and you'll understand what the fuss is about. Better still, stand at the Rialto at the end of the day and watch the evening sun gild the facades as once they were gilded during better times ... sheer magic

Shock horror!!! Scorpions in the desert??? No way!

@willdoitinaminute

How DARE you! I'm from Brighton 😂 Nah I get you though. It's sleazy but that's why I like it

MsHarry hardly a surprise, I agree, but I hadn't realised that the place I stayed had the desert actually the other side of the garden fence

Fortunately I consider tarantulas cute ... which considering the number of them was just as well

I would say that I’m definitely starting to judge some posters rather than the places themselves. Moaning that big cities are dirty, noisy and crowded - well that’s big cities for you.

Well aren’t you a pleasant poster to judge people by an opinion on their own experiences.

If the thread was about the best places that exceeding your expectations, I’m sure the places on here would be listed on that one too. The nature of the thread is about places where people have been underwhelmed, so it will have negative answers, it may not be moaning but sufficient detail about why they found it underwhelming, or not meeting their expectations.

My NYC trip was fantastic for all the other reasons posters love NYC. I too also do my research (probably like 99% of travellers, you’re not unique here ) and we went to places we wanted to go to and made a shit load of memories, but I was underwhelmed by the food (eg it didn’t meet my expectations).

That’s not me moaning, just me disappointed by that aspect based on my experience!

Perhaps I’m just easily pleased, but I think I would rather be like that than writing off entire countries (although obviously MN is very big on statements for dramatic effect!)

You’ve slated people on here for being so dramatic, and yet have been dramatic yourself by saying people are “moaning” when I’m reading the thread with interest, as I don’t think anyone is moaning!

Israel: will never step foot back there ever again.

India: I'm sure that there must be marvellousness as people rave on about it. I saw grinding poverty, stomach churning social inequality, racism and filth.

I think the trick with London, NY and in fact most big cities is you need to go there with someone that lives there so you can live it rather than just visit it. NY takes on a whole new perspective when you live there.

It so depends doesn't it? I adored Granada and Amsterdam but have friends who loathes both and describe a place I just didn't see. It's like we were in different worlds!
My friend raved about the Peak District so I went but didn't get it. Didn't hate it, was just underwhelmed.
I find Paris dirty and unfriendly, and I felt really threatened in South Africa, in a way I hadn't in other African countries.

Seville One of the most beautiful places I've ever been; Santa Cruz, the Real Alcazar. Of course I didn't have an eye infection.

Stonehenge. A load of rocks in a field and all you do is trudge round in a circle.

Mount Rushmore. There was a sense of....'well, there are four faces carved into a mountain. Now what?'

This thread is amazing. What on earth do people expect?!
It's reminding me of the whingy old complainy lady in Fawlty Towers.
"I ordered a room with a sea view."
"You have a sea view - it's over there between the land and the sky."
"Well, it could be more interesting."
"It's Torquay!"
"Well,I don't like it."
"What would you expect to see? A herd of wild wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plains?!"

The Statue of Liberty. It's tiny.

Don't go to Denmark then and see the Little Mermaid. You'll faint down onto the floor.
clue - it's small

Am trying to think of any place that has actually disappointed me. I suppose Stonehenge might actually be the closest (and I am old enough to have visited pre-restrictions). But then Stonehenge sits in the middle of a wonderful landscape that includes the Kennet Long Barrow (which you can actually enter) and is within striking distance of Silbury Hill and Avebury.

Yes, and Knossos is slightly problematic from a purist pov, but having done my homework I knew that. And very interesting to see if taken together with different archaeological sites from similar period presented differently.

Other than that, not really. I found Granada and Cordoba utterly fascinating: Cordoba for its architecture, admittedly, but Granada also as a very pleasant city to wander round and really be in. Have had lovely days in Paris and Rome, and enjoyed both Pompeii and Herculaneum. New Forest ime (and I live locally) is full of trees- and ponies. Trees easily located by looking at the map before you go, ponies all over the place.

The London Eye- looked out of the pod and saw London.dull

I'm dead.

Forgot to add the Louvre. DS 10 was waiting all weekend to see it and got knocked over by a bunch of wankers with selfie sticks as they reversed up to it.

Dreamy you're not the first to compare to that scene on this thread, unsurpringly. Here it is in all it's glory.

Lands End. WTF! Complete waste of time.

What were you expecting at Land's End? I haven't been but I'd expect a sign post on a bit of land that juts out.

I do totally get how some people won't like big cities, and even how they will be surprised at their own negative reactions if they go to a big city without previous experience.

What I really, really do not get is how somebody who has been to more than one big city can describe Rome as just like any other big city. Can't they at last hate it in a different way?

www.google.co.uk/search?q=lands+end&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP3u6YjenYAhXPh7QKHS0HDD8Q_AUICygC&biw=1633&bih=661#imgrc=DHDm-57uySy8SM:

Yep here it is.

What were you expecting at Land's End? I haven't been but I'd expect a sign post on a bit of land that juts out

I think it was the long drive (we got stuck behind a bus) followed by the amusement arcade followed by everything being shut (at 6pm) followed by a lot of the actual interesting bit being fenced off for some special event.

I didn’t think much of Stonehenge but I put it down to the fact that it was absolutely freezing day. The surrounding villages were very pretty.

Maybe it all depends on the weather. I quite liked lands end. We arrived just before everything was opening and left in the earlier afternoon so maybe the crowds made it a less positive experience.