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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Bad holiday blues - don’t want to go

28 replies

holidayblues77 · 18/09/2021 16:01

DH and I are off on holiday on Monday for a week with our two young DC. I booked the hotel a while ago and was so excited, as it looked lovely and had very good reviews online. However I’ve just checked back and recently there have been a number of very negative reviews, saying the decor is tired, the staff are unfriendly, the food isn’t very good and it’s poor value for money. I’ve also looked at other sites (which I stupidly didn’t check before) where the reviews are quite mixed.

It’s too late to cancel now as we’d lose a big chunk (if not all) of our money. I was so looking forward to a nice break after what has been a terrible 18 months. It’s also the first holiday we’ve been on since the DC were born.

I’m now dreading the holiday, feel so anxious and wish we were just staying at home. I want to tell DH but he’s really excited and I don’t want to ruin it for him.

What would you do?

OP posts:

BigSandyBalls2015 · 18/09/2021 16:02

You can’t always trust review tbh. People are usually quick to moan but rarely bother to praise. Go on the holiday, and have a fab time

Lockheart · 18/09/2021 16:03

You've paid the money, so go.

It doesn't matter if the decor is tired as long as it's clean and functional. You're not going on holiday to stare at the walls.

The food might not be good, but you can eat outside the hotel.

Unfriendly staff? Well as long as they do their jobs, let them be unfriendly. You're not there to make friends.

QuestionableMouse · 18/09/2021 16:04

Have you posted this before? Cause I swear I've read it before 🤣.

What's the hotel?

BigSandyBalls2015 · 18/09/2021 16:05

I’m out for dinner tonight .. just looking at reviews of the pub … one of them was “we were having a lovely time until my son went in to use the loo, he was told by a waitress not to go indoors without a mask. We weren’t aware of this conversation until he sat down, very subdued. My husband then had a word with the waitress. A nasty end to a celebration for my sons A levels” 🤣🤣🤣

AnathemaPulsifer · 18/09/2021 16:12

My new favourite restaurant has crappy reviews. Kids were desperate to go there anyway so we did and loved it. Reviews aren’t everything.

Original poster

holidayblues77 · 18/09/2021 16:12

Have you posted this before? Cause I swear I've read it before

No - I’ve only just seen the negative reviews! I feel so anxious and upset that I’ve picked the wrong place and we’re going to have a bad time

OP posts:

Original poster

holidayblues77 · 18/09/2021 16:13

Not to mention the money we may have potentially wasted.

OP posts:

shinynewapple21 · 18/09/2021 16:18

I would warn your DH so you have your expectations slightly lowered in that you are expecting somewhere where there may be some issues , but you can plan to work around them. Some people will moan about anything though so I certainly wouldn't cancel just because everyone else didn't enjoy it. What's the saying 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst?' So maybe research some local places you can eat out if you don't like the hotel food . I certainly wouldn't worry about decor being tired . Is it somewhere in the UK or holiday abroad?

Lockheart · 18/09/2021 16:32

@holidayblues77

Have you posted this before? Cause I swear I've read it before

No - I’ve only just seen the negative reviews! I feel so anxious and upset that I’ve picked the wrong place and we’re going to have a bad time

Why? Presumably you're going for the destination as well, not just the hotel.

Original poster

holidayblues77 · 18/09/2021 16:38

@Lockheart that’s true - the hotel is such a big part of it too though.

OP posts:

RampantIvy · 18/09/2021 16:39

Just use the reviews to manage your expectations, then hopefully it will be better than you expected.

girlmom21 · 18/09/2021 16:41

As long as it's clean the rest is easy to work around.

Im sure you'll have a good time!

Cheeseandlobster · 18/09/2021 16:42

You are going away to somewhere sunny and will be spending quality time with your family. What's not to like? Pre warned is pre armed so research some nice restaurants so you have alternatives for places to eat. As long as the accommodation is clean and everything works then it doesn't matter how dated it is. And like someone else said, you are not going to be pally with the staff. Your kids probably won't notice the bad stuff so take the cue from them and just make the most of it. I personally think you are very lucky

Cheeseandlobster · 18/09/2021 16:44

Sorry I read that as Majorca not Monday. But aside from the sunny bit, my comments still stand

Maireas · 18/09/2021 16:45

Where is it?

ChargingBuck · 18/09/2021 16:47

People will complain for the sake of it.

Why are you placing more credence on some bad reviews, than on the good reviews you saw initially?

It's daft to decide, ahead of going, that you have picked the wrong place and we’re going to have a bad time.

If the hotel is poor quality, make a running joke of it. Google up some Fawlty Towers clips & laugh about it. It's only a part of your holiday - there is so much else you can focus on.

This is anxiety bringing you down - as you say, it's been a long time since you went away, you've been looking forward to it so much - it's just some subconscious worrying which you don't need to allow to affect your reality, or your holiday.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 18/09/2021 16:53

I had a fantastic weekend at a hotel once, and discovered afterwards when I set out to write them a nice positive review on Tripadvisor that quite a large number of people had written them really horrible ones.

We don't all like the same things. Also, some people are incredibly picky and will apparently slate a hotel because (this is true, honestly!) there is no trouser press in their bedroom. Well, I don't care about that: I don't think I have ever used a trouser press at a hotel, I wouldn't know how to. So that one-star review was totally meaningless as far as I was concerned.

Go, enjoy yourselves, and ignore the reviews. You'd have had a good time if you hadn't seen them, so spit in the negative people's faces and have a good time regardless of them. Some people do seem to like having the power to make other people unhappy, and negative reviews are a way to do that.

Blossomtoes · 18/09/2021 16:56

A change of surroundings will be really good for you, regardless of the hotel. Use it as a place to sleep and wash and have nice days out. Eat somewhere else. It’ll be fine.

Eskarina1 · 18/09/2021 17:06

When my DC were 18 months we went to a holiday park. The minute we walked in I was on edge - it was like an 80s working men's club. The sofa was uncomfortable and the bed was painful. The first morning I wanted to leave.

But we had an absolutely amazing time and that holiday has some of my best memories. I'm sure they got bad reviews.

AuntieDolly · 18/09/2021 17:17

As long as it's not pontins Camber Sands you're probably ok 😁

BritWifeInUSA · 18/09/2021 17:18

Reviews are subjective. Many sites don’t even verify that the person actually stayed there before publishing their review. Rival hoteliers have been known to post fake reviews of other hotels. People often leave a negative review because of things that were not the hotel’s fault - if they arrive in a bad mood because of traffic jams, bad weather, argument with their spouse, etc before they even get there they usually see things in a more negative light than they are.

Go with an open mind. Some people get a kick out if heaving bad reviews because they think it makes them look very “travel sophisticated” anf they are just showing off to others, which u it s very sad. Look at the best hotel you ever stayed at and you’ll find someone has left a bad review.

Livebythecoast · 18/09/2021 18:00

@AuntieDolly

As long as it's not pontins Camber Sands you're probably ok 😁

Oh absolutely! That place needs to be burnt to the ground

PlayerUno · 18/09/2021 18:07

I could have written this a few weeks ago - I made the mistake of checking the most recent reviews a couple days before we wentt. They were overwhelmingly negative and I started to dread the holiday.

We came back yesterday and have had an amazing time. Yes, some of the accommodation was a but run down but it was perfectly fine to stay in, and we had one so-so meal, but that was the only one that wasn't great for the whole time we were there.

I say go and try not to worry too much. Enjoy the time away!

shinynewapple21 · 18/09/2021 20:42

@AuntieDolly

As long as it's not pontins Camber Sands you're probably ok 😁

Ha ha yes OP - perhaps visit Pontins then anywhere else you go will seem like a palace

Original poster

holidayblues77 · 18/09/2021 20:51

Thanks PlayerUno, I found your post reassuring (even though we’re almost certainly not staying at the same hotel!)

OP posts:

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