Places that were a let down

[DarcyDear]

Have you ever been anywhere on holiday and felt it wasn’t what you thought it would be? My friend is just back from New York and absolutely hated it. I’ve never been let down by a holiday but I remember being really taken aback at the levels of poverty and homelessness when I visited Los Angeles in my youth.

Waikiki - Didn't really like the beach and it was really crowded. Prefer a lot of the beaches in Australia where I live (as an aside no idea why Bondi Beach is so popular for tourists here as it's one of the worst beaches around). Found it really hard to find healthy food there, although this was 25 years ago so may have changed since.

Amsterdam is beautiful, and the art galleries are amazing. My best ever Christmas Day was spent in the Rijksmuseum.

Agree I got no feeling of identity from Rome ...lots to visit but I didn't feel a strong character as I'd expected. Same with Copenhagen....maybe its capital cities?

I’d love to know if the people saying Turkey actually ventured anywhere beyond their resorts…

I love Venice - it's so otherworldly and interesting but it is very, very busy with tourists (like me). Other than the crowds I don't know what's unexpected when people say this (seems a frequent disappointment here).

I found doing an Algarve package holiday boring but that's not to say the Algarve is not pleasant. I did find Albufeira a bit tacky but there were older, nicer parts. I imagine tourism ruins many places.

I lived in Edinburgh for 10 years in my twenties and loved it but now when I visit it's just soooo busy and has lost its charm for me.

New York

Agree with Dublin and LA.
I was very disappointed in Santorini, Devon and the Vendee.

Love NY, Paris, Corfu and Rome.

I don't see how you dismiss a country the size of the USA, even you liked New Mexico, one of my favourite places ever. True there are some awful parts and I'm sure there have been many changes since I was there just pre Covid but the South West is lovely, looking forward to visiting again soon.

Edinburgh's lovely, just avoid it in August!

The Algarve. We had the misfortune of a two week stay during the worse weather they’d had in June for many years. There is precious little to do in the Algarve in the cold and pissing rain…. I’m sure when sunny it’s great, but I haven’t been back!

I last went almost 30 years ago as a teenager and it was absolutely gorgeous with huge rugged coastlines ideal for surfing and walking. Lovely small villages dotted around. But there was a lot of large scale construction just starting so I imagine it is completely different now.

Interesting how we all experience things differently; all my favourite places appear on this thread (Venice, Rome, Cambodia,…)

For me: Dublin (just boring, nothing to do or see), Naples (dirty, busy, dangerous), Birmingham.

Rome, but that’s not Rome’s fault. We went to a wedding that was in late July, 40 degrees and just utterly miserable aside from the 2 days we paid to spend by a 5 star hotel pool.

@owlexpressWe went to the Algarve but went east of Faro to Tavira and adored it. We visited Albufeira and wouldn’t rush back there!

Sorrento. I was shocked by the traffic and there was nothing to do. No beach to speak of, and what little there is is portioned up and hotel-owned. The old town bit and the proximity to Pompeii was good, but other than that, dull.

Barbados - ok. Bit boring. We had windy weather so the beach was closed for most of it. Our hotel was nice though.

The Epcot Centre. Laughably dated. I dragged my family there from Universal Studios, and now when I make an impulsive unilateral decision, it’s known as, ‘Doing an Epcot’.

Posted too soon… I love Costa Rica with all my heart but yes would be improved by the absence of braying American honeymooners.

I’ve been to Ibiza for work and aside from Dalt Villa didn’t see much to like. My boss (who loves it) claims you can avoid the super clubs and hippy dippy shit easily. I prefer to avoid it by going to Mallorca or Menorca where it doesn’t exist.

Agree about Paphos.
Lanzarote. Or Playa Blanca anyway. Just boring . Food overpriced and nothing great, ugly shopping area. I didn’t like Fuerteventura either. Bland, soulless and windy.
Lake Maggiore. Overpriced tourist trap.
Corfu. Over commercialised, lacking in authenticity and a bit grimy feeling.
Budapest. Found the food ludicrously expensive and not very enjoyable. Just didn’t like the place at all. Not sure why.
Madeira. Hated it and can’t see the appeal. Full of of elderly people and ugly concrete buildings. I couldn’t see anything to love about it at all.

Dublin. Apart from the massive park it just felt like any town.

Athens. Apart from the acropolis, the city didn’t reflect the age and history of the place.

Sharn el Sheikh - I was so disappointed, I really wanted to love the place but the people and their attitude ruined it.

@TheAmusedQuail You and I have done Switzerland differently! It’s one of my top 5 places, I just wish I could afford to go more regularly.

In terms of the UK, my parents go to Torquay for 2 weeks every year and love it. I joined them once for a weekend and hated it. Surrounding areas were lovely but Torquay itself offered nothing to like.

I love these kind of threads. People just writing off entire countries as they had a crap holiday once upon a time. It'd be like saying you hate the whole of the UK because you went to London once. 😂

Durdle Door - spent a week in Dorset and everyone said we must go there. Over rated, steep, expensive and very very busy. Don't get the hype.

Turkey.
We might have picked the wrong resort.. but surely all Turkish people can't be awful..
Or drive like mad people not obeying the highway code.
Saw three fatal car accidents in one week.

Prague was beautiful and lots to see and do, but very crowded (we left the weekend the Christmas market opened, and this was pre-Instagram so God knows what it’s like now).

I expected to like Amsterdam more than I did - very pretty in parts but it did feel a bit soulless. Have been back since and had a similar reaction. We just didn’t “click” in some way.

This so true. We stayed in Lagos, which is lovely.
Then our friend, who was staying in Albufeira…
Came over to our apartment & couldn’t believe it!

@SpottyAardvark Irish Leeds is spot on! (I must add that I love Leeds, but I don’t love paying a tenner for a pint).

Agree about New York. Dirty, smelly, stank of fried chicken and not a patch on London. It all looked the same to me. Central Park- just a bog standard park. The Highline- just a very narrow park. I was desperate to go on the Statton Island Ferry but it was dirty and busy I'm not a lover of gritty so maybe that's why I didn't like it.