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Original poster

Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

916 replies

NickiFury · 31/07/2016 18:33

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.

OP posts:
StrangeLookingParasite · 31/07/2016 21:41

but did love the Gulbekian Institute
That's the one with a lot of Lalique pieces, isn't it?

frenchielala · 31/07/2016 21:43

Hated Vienna - beautiful but just not my thing. Very pretentious, didn't like the food and didn't feel welcome there. Also got food posiong - not good.

Love Berlin - go every year, so independent and creative. Amazing people, food, bars, architecture, art. "Berlin is poor but sexy" as the saying goes.

specialsubject · 31/07/2016 21:45

I don't think I've been anywhere I regretted, although this thread is confirming places that are not for me!

Once was enough for las Vegas - great evening outdoor sights but with no interest in gambling, shopping or strippers one night was sufficient. Waikiki is worth it for the 'wow, guess where I am' feeling but the sea is mucky and the tower blocks come right to the beach. Ko phi phi was full of noisy gappies and was a very sad place with a clear section of the population absent.

HalsallRedux · 31/07/2016 21:45

Enthusiasm I'm not arguing with London's history or the fact that it's a great city, but it's a personal thing for me. I first came to live in London in 1982 and it's changed beyond all recognition since then. All the quirky, interesting, individual aspects of it seem to have been swept away - Charing Cross Rd when it still had bookshops, family-run shops and funny little cafes and restaurants, etc etc - and it's just one great big never-ending building-site now, sadly.

I still work there so know it well, and it has a lot going for it, but I mourn the London I knew that has disappeared thanks to big-money developers and overseas owners who just want to open another branch of some 'luxe' department store or boutique hotel. That's 'progress' I guess Sad

SharkBaitOohHaha · 31/07/2016 21:49

I unexpectedly fell in love with Seattle, Philadelphia and Washington DC. They were all places I never really intended on going, they were just 'on the way' to something else, so I never had any preconceived ideas about them. Loved them all.

Not all too taken by Stockholm and Prague. Rome was lovely as a place but didn't like the vibe.
Found Kenya to be a bit.. strange. A breathtakingly beautiful country and, on the whole, people were the friendliest. However, I didn't feel safe as a lone female, and people trying to stroke my (blonde, so a bit of a novely?) hair without warning got tiresome very quickly.

grannyinwaiting · 31/07/2016 21:55

I love tangiers! Went in April to help out at a friend's animal sanctuary and walked through the market (two western women) to be met with no hassle at all. Visited village school just outside and loved the kids and teacher and went to locals houses and was welcomed profusely. And the scenery is amazing. Not keen on dawlish warren in high season but love Corfu and adored Malta.

BettyDraper1 · 31/07/2016 21:57

I was disappointed by Barcelona. It was cold/ windy, beggars and pickpockets everywhere. Plus my DP was propositioned by a prostitute while we were walking ARM IN ARM. Lastly, the restauranteurs and hoteliers seemed to be openly hostile to tourists.

BUT, literally everybody else I know absolutely loves the place so perhaps we were unlucky.

user7755 · 31/07/2016 21:58

Thats really interesting Dozy, my friend lived in Dubai and travelled to India. She hated Dubai, one of the reasons being the attitude to women being so awful.

India is bad but I never once felt threatened when we were there, unlike Australia.

FanDabbyFloozy · 31/07/2016 21:59

Jamaica - DISLIKED hugely. Too dangerous to leave the walled hotel premises without a guard, bad infrastructure, people trying to rip you off at every opportunity.

Turkey - ditto, very poor infrastructure and a lot of hassle from young men (when I was a lot younger!)

Belgium - really nice, great people, was surprised how much I liked it.

Singapore - again, a big surprise hit. Lovely weather, very clean, nice locals. I'd go back any time.

BettyDraper1 · 31/07/2016 21:59

Oh, and I went to Newfoundland for work and wasn't expecting to fall in love with the 20ft snowdrifts, iced-over seas and bitterly cold temperatures but it was breathtaking. Saw whales and icebergs, places where polar bears live, etc. I've been twice in the past 18 months and intend to go back soon!

Only1scoop · 31/07/2016 22:00

Madeira

Stunning

TheCricketWidow · 31/07/2016 22:04

I hated the week I spent in tenerife, the sun never came out once and its the only place ive seen a cockroach.
Loved disneyland paris but was shocked at the behaviour of some adults there, same issues as mentioned by a previous poster.

winewolfhowls · 31/07/2016 22:07

Swansea. Grim
Tunisia. More grim but with the added bonus of mega hot.

Kyoto. Amazing. Really spiritual and historical.
Agree that northumbrian coast is amazing
Llandudno. Expected it to be grim. Cheesey but cheerful we liked it

Butteredparsnips · 31/07/2016 22:10

Love this thread! So interesting to read so many opinions and to see that there is broad agreement over some places.

I am another who was underwhelmed by Venice - I preferred Verona, and having loved Glasgow I was really disappointed by Edinburgh.

I love Croatia, There are some beautiful resorts in Dalmatia, between Split and Dubrovnik. Finally, it is probably sacrilege, but I wasn't all that keen on Rotorua, but loved Milford Sound.

n0ne · 31/07/2016 22:11

Milan was so boring. There's nothing to see apart from the Duomo and some castle/museum we went to. Everything was closed randomly. It was Euro 2004 or something and I thought it would be ace watching the footie in football-mad Italy, but nowhere was open. In the end we found one bar run by an English guy showing the game. The toilet was a hole in the floor. One evening we went out for dinner and ended up in what looked like the ghetto (next to the rail tracks). Loads of boarded-up buildings and huge piles of rubbish where it appeared homeless people lived. When we stopped to ask directions of some police they were horrified to find tourists in that area and told us to go back to our hotel.

ZansForCans · 31/07/2016 22:14

I expected Costa Rica to be misogynist and possibly gropey but it wasn't in the slightest - the men were the most gentlemanly and respectful I've ever met. That was a real surprise! However they all spoke with horror of the horrendous men of neighbouring Paraguay and said I must never go there :o

ZansForCans · 31/07/2016 22:15

Doh not Paraguay, I mean Panama Blush

NicknameUsed · 31/07/2016 22:15

Can't believe that some posters hated Vienna and Italy.

Italy is a big country with some less savoury places than others. Vienna is one of my favourite capital cities, and I just adore Lake Garda.

I was underwhelmed by Dublin and disappointed with New Orleans as we felt so unsafe there.

I'm not a fan of Paris either.

I fell in love with Bruges.

redexpat · 31/07/2016 22:15

I was quite pleasantly surprised by Bulgaria. Nice beach, decent service at the hotel, plenty of restaurants although service a bit dodgy (different mains arriving at different times) and we felt safe. We weren't going crazy with sighseeing though, just pottering around the old town and went on a couple of bus trips in between reading on the beach.

Am glad it's not just me that hasnt 'got' Copenhagen or Brighton. ALthough the law changed a few years ago so more things in Denmark are now open on Sundays.

BifsWif · 31/07/2016 22:16

Expected to hate Turkey but fell in love with it. We stayed in Side and it was just beautiful. Stunning scenery, amazing food and the locals were so friendly. I really feel sad for what is happening there at the moment, and the local people who's livelihoods will be ruined. I've been several
times with my family but couldn't go back now.

DL Paris. Thought it would drive me
Mad but I walked in when a parade was on and cried! It was brilliant, except for the behaviour of the adults. Very rude and pushy, thankfully DC didn't notice.

I was disappointed with the Dominican Republic, I felt quite unsafe.

PrincessWizard · 31/07/2016 22:20

Milan - dull as fuck

n0ne · 31/07/2016 22:20

Loved Belfast. Beautiful city, amazingly friendly, polite locals, loads to see and do, and a short drive to the gorgeous coast, Giants Causeway etc. I would live there in a heartbeat. Apart from the murals, armoured police cars and barbed wire round the police stations, there's no obvious sign of the Troubles. Didn't feel in the least unsafe.

StrangeLookingParasite · 31/07/2016 22:22

Oh yes, Bruges is lovely, and so is Wanaka in NZ (though for entirely different reasons).

Ursaminor · 31/07/2016 22:22

n0ne Had almost the same experience in Milan. It seemed shut. Took the train on a day trip to Venice (amazing) and when we came back into the main rail station about 7pm it was almost deserted.

StepAwayFromTheThesaurus · 31/07/2016 22:23

Everyone told us Malta was wonderful. It was like we'd be transported back to the mid-80s and the food was dismal everywhere. We really didn't like it.