Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

[NickiFury]

Torremolinos - ex booked it and I really didn't want to go. It was beautiful, amazing food, beach, perfect for kids, been back loads since.

Thailand - I hated it from the moment I left Bangkok airport, Krabi down by the coast was ok but the rest of the time was awful, I actually cried with relief when we touched down at Heathrow.

Totally underwhelmed by Barbados, thought it was a dump. No idea why so many zelebs (think Simon Cowell) go time after time, staying at Sandy Lane. You walk out the front door and there is absolutely nothing there but a grotty street and the beach isn't all that. The only good thing about Barbados is The Cliff restaurant.

Absolutely loved Santorini, Bali, our favourite destination is the Maldives, will never forget swimming with Manta Rays. We did massive research for our holidays there, it can be a minefield. Loved Paris and Barcelona. In fact we have had loved everywhere we've been except Barbados. We still laugh about how shit it was.

Also, didn't expect to like Amsterdam as much as I did but again we stayed out the centre near where a friend's apartment was. He'd been living there for a year so we went to good local places mixed with the better tourist things. I would have hated it I suspect if we had gone with no local knowledge and stayed centrally.

Unexpectedly loved:

• Florence. I lived there for a year, had no particular expectations but I loved that I could read a history book and then go and see the actual building and it was still the same. There are some hideously touristy restaurants that sell awful food but lots of nice places too and the bus service is excellent. Fiesole up in the hills is also well worth a day trip.

• Andorra in the summer. Reading up on it I had expected it to be effectively closed until the ski season started but I had one of my best holidays there. The walking, mountain biking, running, climbing and water sports were fantastic, the whole country was beautiful and the people were friendly and relaxed. Loads of British expats so if you're not comfortable with speaking Catalan/French it's really not a problem.

• Poznan in Poland. I went on a work trip and had expected Soviet grey concrete. The city centre is gorgeous, the people were lovely and the culture is superb. I'm planning to take the kids at some point.

• Shanghai. A perfect place to take children. So much to do and see and the scale is fairly awe-inspiring.

• Stockholm. Beautiful city, loads to do, can be cheap if you know where to go.

• Utah. Fabulous hikes in Zion National Park, the caves at the top of Mount Timpanogos were amazing, lots for the kids and the history in Salt Lake City is fascinating.

Disappointments:

• Pisa. There is nothing to do once you've seen the leaning tower and the food is dire.

Venice - couldn't see the appeal, went home early
Standing stones outside Carnac - standing stones in the woods were magical
Arles - incredible Roman ruins

On the the whole we do our research so dont get surprised often

I liked Paris, but they don't really cater for vegetarians, mind you neither did New York when we we went there and I loved NY.

Survived on chips for about a week in both places!

W.Australia without a doubt. I saved for ages to go and stay with my bf at the time. So excited only to discover it was horribly racist and sexist.
Never been so disappointed.
The town he lived in had a terrible drug problem which I didn't expect.
Realised I could never live there, which had always been my dream.

Agree Krakow is a beautiful and fascinating city. Also much preferred Kerala to Goa.

Disagree with Delhi tho, but that's prob cos I went there at the end of a 4 month trip around India and Delhi was like Paris compared to some of the places I'd visited!

Strasbourg. Went there for a revision course. In November. Absolutely loved it.

UK-wise I'm fond of Berwick-upon-Tweed. We've seriously considered buying a house there.

I disliked Utrecht. Went to a conference with work. Supposed 5 hotel was awful.* Especially the supposedly fantastic food. You had to have a huge breakfast to offset the horrible food served for lunch/dinner.

Unexpectedly nice:

Lanzarote, loved the bleak volcanic landscape, the Cesar Manrique art and architecture. We stayed in a soulless hotel but loved the island itself. I fancy going back with the kids.

Cairo - 15 years ago, loved the feel of the place, the pyramids, the museum, the Nile, one of DH's favourite ever holidays (and he is very unadventurous)

Tofino, Vancouver Island - I went to Uni on the island but had never been to Tofino, couldn't see the point, but DH and I love it for a family holiday. Cool laid back vibe, great food, gorgeous beaches, very hippyish. Fab.

San Diego - again I like that laid back West Coast vibe. A million times better than LA!

Disappointing-

the Algarve - NOTHING to do when it rains, we won't go back but I know others who love it. We found it golf-obsessed and a bit up itself!

Marbella - It's all about the money money money....

Places I've liked that others seem to disagree on - Barbados is good for winter sun, Mallorca was lovely in parts, ditto Menorca, ditto Santorini.

I love Paris and Venice, quite liked Florence but agree too many Vespas!

London: takes ages to get anywhere , felt very smoggy and dirty.
Paris: daughter had gone on a school trip hated it so I did not expect to like it, I loved it! beautiful city something magical in all the beautiful buildings She has since returned as an adult and fell in love with it too.
Amalfi coast: stunning views just breathtaking.
Granada: lovely place where you get food (tapas) every time you order a drink!

I don't like crowded places or busy cities, but I love London so much!
I was there twice last year, just for a few hours attending an appointment and I was worried beforehand because I was on my own and had a lot of navigating to do. Do you know what, I had the best time. I spent the whole day laughing and chatting to people, it was so friendly. Loads of people helped me find my way. One teenager got up and gave me his seat on the tube and a big smile, and my need was not greater than his, he just did it to be nice.
What a brilliant place, great vibe and a beautiful city. I loved it.

Unexpectedly loved Las Vegas, Ibiza Town, Malta, Dorset and Cologne

Loved Barcelona, New York and New Zealand - but had high hopes for each of them so I suppose it doesn't really count

Not hated many places. I disliked Tenerife because we stayed in a cheap & nasty hotel in a crap resort. Wasn't a fan of the beach resorts in Turkey either, lots of hassle from people selling things etc.

Returning to Blackpool was also disappointing, I have fond memories of childhood trips to see the illuminations and it didn't seem quite the same as an adult.

Could not wait to get home from Geneva. The dullest place on the planet.

I was very pleasantly surprised by LA - far more cultured than I imagined. I liked California generally much more than I had expected.

Slovenia was also an accidental destination which surprised me with its wonderfulness.

I thought Capri was awful - we stayed there for a week so no daytripper bias. Boring, snooty and not even very attractive.

A place I never expected to love but do, is Essex, which I think is very underrated.

Egypt was horrendous.
Couldn't walk more than 5 steps without Mahmoud the counterfeit clothing salesman who was always outside our hotel touching my blonde hair .
The pyramids are filthy. Crisp packets, empty plastic bottles, dirty nappies etc flying around in the wind is a sure way to ruin the experience.
There were poverty stricken children everywhere begging for money/trying to sell stuff, poor kids just mobbed the tourists
I got the shits within about 6 hours of the plane landing.
Was not my idea of a nice sight-seeing holiday.

Unexpectedly loved the Isle of Wight. Like going back in time - in a quaint sort of way -and truly stunning scenery in places.
Also loved the Cotswolds and the Gower Coast.
Never really been disappointed by anywhere in the UK . Think London is great.

Having said that I loved Florence, it was also the destination of one of my worst holidays. I took 2yo DS to visit friends there in July when I was 6m pregnant. It was hotter than the surface of the sun, there was nothing to do with DS, the playgrounds were downright dangerous, I took him to the Boboli gardens in search of some cool shade and it was the one day of the month that they were closed, he refused to eat anything except ice cream and plates of tomatoes and chips, we ended up doing the tourist bus circles just to get some cool breeze on the upper deck and I cried from relief when the aeroplane doors were sealed on take-off on the flight home. I have never been so thankful to see grey clouds when landing in the UK.

So, Florence is fabulous as an adult in the cooler months (recommend May and September - October) but awful for small children.

Unexpectedly awful:

Morocco. Essouoira was nice-ish but generally it was horrible. Fez and Marrakesh in partic. Loads of sexual harassment and groping. Lots of closed doors, v little street culture - all felt very closed off and unwelcoming. Also uncomfortable hotels and bad food.

Bilbao - again just felt unwelcoming and lacking culture. Very average. Had expected more.

New York - all grey and concrete and aggressive and hard work. And I'm a Londoner ! And the art galleries - which is what I specifically went for - were appallingly bad. So few of their best works on show. Rip off.

Barcelona - what can I say, maybe it was the company. I knew as soon as we arrived that I had to dump the guy when we got home. Perhaps that sapped the joy out of the place.

Unexpectedly lovely:

Northumberland coast - had to go on a field trip for uni. Blown away. It's beautiful !

Exmoor - ditto and ditto.

Hong Kong - had a layover for a couple of days. Loved it so much I went back for a week and hope to do so again. So much to do, so much greenery, the world's highest swimming pool, the beaches and islands have such diversity, amazing public transport, it just makes it all so easy. And the food obvs.

Seville - on a trip round Andalusia I was expecting to like Granada in partic but no, Seville was far nicer. Just a very civilised and beautiful place.

Hated Lisbon, especially the food (but did love the Gulbekian Institute). First city I'd felt unsafe in.

Loved Crete, me and DH had never been on a sun/sea holiday before - but it was a quiet resort off season, and access to a car meant we had some great trips - we still talk about the amazing food we had.

I was disappointed by Madeira, Cannes and LA. Expected to dislike Alicante, as I thought it'd be like Costa del Hell but it was lovely.

Croatia/Slovenia. Absolutely stunning however we were there a very short time before the war broke out and the atmosphere was awful. Some one tried to run us over, the food was terrible and there were awful shortages of everything in the shops. I hope it's a happier place now.

I didn't expect to like Amsterdam, I thought it would just be all about the weed and seedy. I loved it, so pretty, loads to do and fabulous restaurants.

Also loved Barcelona, Verona and Krakow.

Really didn't like Gran canaria, Madrid and Polperro (although that could be more to do with the fish smell setting my morning sickness off).

Expected to love: San Francisco. I not only hated it, I was terrified. My hotel was in a back street so menacing that staff advised me not to walk along it and drew me a 'safe' detour on a map. When I finally made it to any of the attractions they were all really disappointing. I was supposed to stay a week but left after three days.

Unexpectedly loved: Berlin. Much more relaxed and fun than I expected, loads to do, great architecture.

Love love love Dubai, Abu Dhabi (even more so than Dubai), Las Vegas, Florence, Ibiza, Nice, Monaco, Devon, Cotswolds, Copenhagen, Stockholm. Probably in that order. I've been to most of the above twice or more.

Meh: Budapest, Cancun (shit food), Zurich, Dublin, Vietnam.

Never, ever again: Thailand, India. Dirty, poverty stricken, hassle everywhere you turn. Dangerous travel conditions & a disgusting attitude to women (India more so). Fine for my younger days, but now…no thanks.

Just never, full stop: any all inclusive resort, any resort geared towards children (yes, I have DC & it boils my piss when parents think these places are their only option), Tenerife (boak), Benidorm (double boak)

I'm glad I've experienced all of the above, though.

I loved Lisbon and have been back several times. I fell in love with Hay-On-Wye after a very short visit and have been back three time in the last year. Pubs, cake and bookshops. Perfect.

Hated Italy as soon as we crossed over from Switzerland. It was like going back to the 60s. Traffic jams for no apparent reason, overpriced spaghetti dishes, no receipts for any purchases and men that looked like something out of 'Rising Damp'.

Best place in the world - the civilised Peloponnese and home of gentlemanly Patrick Leigh Fermor. Bliss, beauty and peace.