Most overrated destination you’ve visited?

[Hairbrush123]

For me, it was Paris. Not an AIBU, I know

@nonono1

Anyone who found NYC underwhelming clearly didn’t do it right!

Absolutely true

One of the worst holidays was Fiji. Fiji was great but I chose Denarau, an artificial agglomeration of hotels near Nadi (extremely popular among families in New Zealand and Australia). No beach to speak of. Everyone squeezed around the pools. We made do, organized some trips to the smaller islands but it wasn't great. Nothing against Fiji though.

Didn't like Washington D.C.

@YellowEllis

Maldives!

It had always been my absolute gold tier bucket list dream holiday. It was absolutely beautiful but a bit.. boring? There's only so many times a day I can have a romantic canoe or walk on the beach. I dunno, I didn't find it worth what we paid (£££££), we've done a few all incs in Dom Rep, Barbados, Mexico for a quarter of the price and had a lot more fun.

Absolutely agree. It is beautiful, but just looks like many other beautiful places You are better off going somewhere cheaper with even more beautiful beaches The Maldives is a rip off

I don’t understand what people on this thread were expecting from some of these places - Maldives/Barbados etc - “nothing to do except beaches”
Various big cities - “crowded, dirty, homeless people”
Sharm el Sheik/Marrakech/Cairo - “hassled by hawkers”
Dubai/Gold Coast/Las Vegas - “fake and plastic”

All of these things are entirely predictable surely, and all of these places (maybe not the last group!) are also interesting and/or beautiful anyway. I have never really been disappointed in anywhere I’ve travelled maybe because my expectations were realistic, maybe because I’m prepared to overlook some bad aspects and look for the good. I don’t know.

Lots here I would not visit again for one reason or another just a few below that stick out

New York was there for the US open, really did not like it at all for many of the same reasons as others
Malta (1986) horrible hotel, rude staff, filthy coastline, overpriced food surly staff in almost every place we went to eat.
San Francisco, (1991) the homeless and begging then was shocking, filthy
Vegas, first visit quite fun over 30 years ago, but second visit we were almost car jacked.
Bali, made the mistake a few years ago of going to Kuta...oh dear, went back about 5 years ago stayed elsewhere, had a great time getting out and about.

I am lucky to have travelled quite a lot and yes some places are just a bit ok and you have to go with the flow but would never visit again, been seen done kind of thing, but visiting New Zealand was not a good trip. Yes some highlights, but also plenty of disappointment's esp the food, we expected seafood, very disappointed, accommodation with lists of dos and donts (shower no longer than 4 mins, dont move ironing board from this position, dont cook strong smelling food and so on) some areas had a bit of a edgy vibe, to many 'Once in a lifetime' 'never to be repeated' rip off prices, and to be honest did not find on the whole people to be welcoming or friendly in the service side of things. 6 weeks around we were quite happy to leave.

I think people expect these places, particularly the cities to be some sort of sanitised holiday park.

Las Vegas. There were people lining the streets offering my DH prostitutes' cards. Honestly.

Los Angeles. We have been quite a few times as we love the very cheap coastal cruises offered in the shoulder seasons. The place is nothing but one big traffic jam with tacky in between. Although we went to The Getty museum and really enjoyed it,

Definitely Liverpool.

Jeju Island in S. Korea

Gianthaystacks - I’d love to hear a bit more about Jeju as we were thinking of going there and it would be good to know the downsides before we commit.

Los Angeles for me.

Naples is a depressing dump but I wouldn't say it's overrated, it's quite well known for trash and muggings!

I found the locals ignorant and harsh yet full of themselves.

The coffee wasn't to die for either, I've had better Nespresso at home.

Pile o' shite.

Paris smells overwhelmingly of wee

Loved Bruges
Went in October when it was quieter and it rained off and on.
But throughly enjoyed it.
Very pretty
Did the canals - fantastic
Got some lovely photos
Abs Malta found the people very friendly
Found Portugal greener than expected
Benidorm lovely- felt very safe there.

Brighton…

Shingle beach, run down buildings, people in crisis everywhere, highest rates of violence in the UK… depressing craphole!

@Aloha7373
I love Brighton and know it well.
I very much doubt it has the highest rates of violence in the Uk though! Where did you get that information from?

@antipodeansun

One of the worst holidays was Fiji. Fiji was great but I chose Denarau, an artificial agglomeration of hotels near Nadi (extremely popular among families in New Zealand and Australia). No beach to speak of. Everyone squeezed around the pools. We made do, organized some trips to the smaller islands but it wasn't great. Nothing against Fiji though.

Didn't like Washington D.C.

I told a Fijian friend I was considering holidaying there and she looked genuinely horrified, and asked me why on Earth I would want to do that!

I ended up booking Vietnam on her recommendation

Thailand
Paris
LA

Rome - apart from the well known attractions, the rest of it was a dump. Rubbish and graffiti everywhere, the parks full of drunks and homeless and the locals were not at all friendly (maybe because we were English).

Los Angeles - drug dealers working openly on street corners and the place is truly frightening after dark

New York City is terrible, but upstate New York can be very pleasant. New Yorkers are rude entitled, and snobby.

As someone not from the UK - London and Bath. Laughing at the poster who suggested that London and Edinburgh are better than any European city. Most people that I've talked to feel the same - London is a great place to visit if you live in the UK - great parks, museums, food but just a bit boring and meh. Nothing compared to the beauty and culture of Venice, Lisbon, Budapest, Rome. I know lots of people seem to hate Venice but it's one of those places where I was actually stunned at how beautiful it was.

I think different people like different things and that's fine. I absolutely loved Morocco, I thought it was a gorgeous country that felt so different from anywhere I've ever been, with such a distinct culture. Lots of people I know hated it! Which is fine...!

@LoveFall

Las Vegas. There were people lining the streets offering my DH prostitutes' cards. Honestly.

Los Angeles. We have been quite a few times as we love the very cheap coastal cruises offered in the shoulder seasons. The place is nothing but one big traffic jam with tacky in between. Although we went to The Getty museum and really enjoyed it,

That was my experience of Las Vegas too. I was actually holding hands with dh when he was offered prostitute cards

LA is the only place I can truly call underwhelming so far. I was expecting so much from the city but was infinitely more impressed by SF and LOVED San Diego. As others mention, the poverty in all 3 cities was shocking to witness.

London is a city I'm not fond of but wouldn't call underwhelming, because it has fabulous museums, interesting architecture and history, and so does meet expectations. It is the least friendly place I've been, though, even by big city standards, and I was surprised at how unsafe I felt every time I went there.

Oh, and Vegas. Again it wasn't underwhelming because it met the expectations of being a gamblers dream and an absolutely crazy place to party but I hated, hated the treatment of women. Far worse, imo, than women are treated in some North African countries mentioned upthread.

Oia in Santorini. It’s mainly the fault of all the tourists but the sunset wasn’t very good either. And the donkeys are depressing.

Mairitius. All inclusive hotel , pretty beach but could have been anywhere really,not a lot to do outside of the hotel. A 12 hour flight to a mediocre resort

Edinburgh- so touristy, much prefer Glasgow
Portland, Oregon
Dublin
Cornwall
Monaco - what a shit hole, doesn’t even have a beach.

For me my top three are 1. Santorini - stunning villages on the caldera - rest of the island really meh .

1. Berlin- everyone raved about it we found it really depressing.
2. Mauritius- we married there . Nice but not anywhere close to the paradise I was expecting.