Loved the hotel and the people who worked there and a good job too as I stopped bothering to leave in the end, cant even walk along the beach or the road without being pestered over and over. My idea of holiday hell.
For me I didn't like Playa de las Americas in Tenerife where I was pick pocketed within a few hours of arriving and also thought Dassia on Corfu quite a dull place.
I can also totally empathise with the people who disliked Paris, but I think you have to see a bit of the rest of France before you understand what an overrated destination it is. There are far more beautiful places in the country you could go for the cliched city break like Rennes, Lyon, Montpelier, etc, which don't charge stupid prices and offer a much more authentically French experience. I lived in Paris too for a while, and found it dirty, tiring, frustrating, anonymous and extortionate, much like London. As a first-time tourist it's beautiful in places, but it doesn't take long to tire of. Hop on a low-cost airline or ferry to any other city and I think you'll have a far more cultured, and economical!! holiday. (except Calais which is a dump )
Going to stand up for Tenerife now. If you stay in the middle of Las Americas it is a dump full of pissed up tourists, but Los Cristianos is nice, so is Costa Adeje.
Puerto de la Cruz was the "nicer" side of Tenerife and stayed there many times, but a friend recently went, and says it is as bad as Las Americas now.
My own worst trip was Majorca many years ago. The "hotel" was god awful, the rooms stank, and the food was inedible. To cap it all off, we hired a car and visited Palma, got lost when on foot and ended up near the naval base which ended up with us being threatened with arrest as my mate was taking pictures of the private yachts mixed in with naval craft.
Later we were ripped off in a café when they charged us for food we didn't have. To make the day complete, we found that the car had had its windscreen smashed, and it took hours for the local police to make out a report for the hire firm...
Camping in Mid Wales at the beginning of August. Hammered it down the entire time, just an area where everything is geared towards outdoor activities. All I can remember is huddling up in sleeping bags and duvets and reading a lot!!
We have all the kit but my wife has never wanted to camp since.
I can also totally empathise with the people who disliked Paris, but I think you have to see a bit of the rest of France before you understand what an overrated destination it is. There are far more beautiful places in the country you could go for the cliched city break like Rennes, Lyon, Montpelier, etc, which don't charge stupid prices and offer a much more authentically French experience. I lived in Paris too for a while, and found it dirty, tiring, frustrating, anonymous and extortionate, much like London. As a first-time tourist it's beautiful in places, but it doesn't take long to tire of. Hop on a low-cost airline or ferry to any other city and I think you'll have a far more cultured, and economical!! holiday. (except Calais which is a dump )
Paris is a dump. It's full of north african street gangs, graffiti, high prices, rude and impatient people, congestion, absolutely no traffic laws whatsoever - red lights mean nothing to the french.
I am sure decades ago it was a much nicer place to visit - it's a shame it's been run in the ground now. Not a nice place to live or visit.
Loved Paris. Would go there in an instant. Been 4 times and was never disappointed. It is what it is, and I love what it is.
What it's not is friendly or very clean. But the plusses more than compensated for me.
We went to the south, HCM City and the delta. We had 10 days and thought there would be more than enough to do/see in that fairly large area. We ended up feeling bored.
We thought about visiting Hoi An and Long Ha Bay but didn't want to spend a lot of time moving around. Maybe it was the wrong decision and perhaps our expectations were unrealistic. Having said that, it's a heavily populated and fairly developed country - not to mention noisy!
Tunisia - 'I give you good price, your beautiful Scottish eyes break my heart.' :mad: SHUT THE PHUCK UP.
Menorca: they don't call it Nappy Valley for nothing; Thos Cook package holiday hell with nothing to do and nothing picturesque to see.
ETA I lived on Gran Canaria for a while and took a day trip out of curiosity to Playa del Ingles. Just to see if it was as bad as the stereotype. Jesus wept, it made me utterly, utterly depressed. Breezeblock concrete everywhere and full of duty free electronic and perfume shops, drunken Brits catcalling me in the street, arid desert surroundings (but that's pretty much the whole island) and nothing remotely Spanish anywhere. What surprised me was that a lot of my Spanish friends on the island actually enjoyed going to places like PDI, Maspalomas, etc, for the weekend; when I couldn't find a single redeeming feature about the resorts.
Have stayed in Peurto Rico in Gran Canaria which is also an utter dump. I visited Playa del ingles for the day and was hard pressed to decided which was worse!
Loved Paris. Would go there in an instant. Been 4 times and was never disappointed. It is what it is, and I love what it is.
What it's not is friendly or very clean. But the plusses more than compensated for me.
I agree, I love Paris. I'm not blind to it's many faults, it is tired, dirty, unloved, crime ridden and frankly unlike the rest of France, but the same can be said for London. (I mean London is not really like England, and it's dirty,tired, unloved and crime ridden).
That said, I just enjoy Paris in way I don't London, odd really but there you are.
I think most places have something positive about them, it's a matter of attitude and effort.
I did struggle with Brussels though. I know it's a cliche and it has everything Paris and Berlin have, good and bad but I just found it charmless, even the Grand Market was a bit "meh"
I agree, I love Paris. I'm not blind to it's many faults, it is tired, dirty, unloved, crime ridden and frankly unlike the rest of France, but the same can be said for London. (I mean London is not really like England, and it's dirty,tired, unloved and crime ridden).
That said, I just enjoy Paris in way I don't London, odd really but there you are.
I think most places have something positive about them, it's a matter of attitude and effort.
I did struggle with Brussels though. I know it's a cliche and it has everything Paris and Berlin have, good and bad but I just found it charmless, even the Grand Market was a bit "meh"
It really doesnt have what Berlin has .Berlin has such varied architecture and so much of it and the museums are awesome .Brussels is only really intersting in one small pocket
As a child we always went to yarmouth for our holidays and loved it. One time we couldnt get booked at our usual place (parents always booked the night before we left when it was cheaper but this particular year they were fully booked) so we tried somewhere nearby. I had dislocated my knee the week before so had my left leg in a full leg plaster cast and was on crutches. When we arrived we were told where our plot was and off we went to pitch our tent. We had been put in the overflow site which basically was an empty field just off of the main site. There were no lights or toilets and no roads. We asked to be moved because with my crutches it was too risky if i needed to get to the toilet in the night. They moved us onto the main site near the toilets which we were thankful for.
Unfortunately the row of tents were at the bottom of a hill and one night it absolutely tipped it down meaning all the tents in that area were flooded. We complained and got put in a caravan for the night but they soon ran out of complementary caravans so most people ended up sleeping in the clubhouse with emergency blankets and pillows. It was like a disater site!
The worst part of the holiday was that the first few days the weather was dull. We had one sunny day and got burnt then the next day it poured down and we left a few days early because it was so miserable.
That happened when I was there. A shopkeeper even followed someone down the street after they left the store.:eek:
Thankfully I was on a cruise and was only there for a few hours.
We went for a walk on the beach and a whole gaggle of traders followed us there all the way along and back to the hotel the only respite we had was once inside the hotel grounds as they were not allowed in there.
Yet my niece goes every year and loves it she doesn't seem to see them told me just to keep look ahead and never at them
Really it's a case of one man's meat is another man's poison.
What person A thinks is great, person B thinks is soul destroying.
Also, what one finds attractive between age 18 - 35, older people think of as manic.
There are dozens of middle-aged people lounging around the pool in Madeira
who probably ran riot in Ibiza when they were younger.
Our perceptions change with the years.
Selfishly, one thing I noted on this thread were the people who didn't like Paris.
Great! I thought, I hope that the British take note and stay away.
Leave it to we who know it and love it.
If I were Bertrand Delanoë, the incumbent mayor of Paris, or Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet,
the front runner for next year's mayoral race I'd introduce a simple, school level Q and A in French for would be British tourists.
If they couldn't cut it, I'd send them back.
I'd have nothing to fear, when in Europe, I use my French passport.
Yes there are annoying sellers of imitation bags, watches etc. under la Tour d' Eiffel, ignore them.
I'm in Paris regularly, visiting relatives, I've got 20-20 vision and I haven't noticed piles of dog poo either.
p.s. I've lived in England for years, I obey the laws and I pay my taxes, and I DO NOT consider the British inferior.
Comments
Who calls it Nappy Valley?
Loved the hotel and the people who worked there and a good job too as I stopped bothering to leave in the end, cant even walk along the beach or the road without being pestered over and over. My idea of holiday hell.
Puerto de la Cruz was the "nicer" side of Tenerife and stayed there many times, but a friend recently went, and says it is as bad as Las Americas now.
My own worst trip was Majorca many years ago. The "hotel" was god awful, the rooms stank, and the food was inedible. To cap it all off, we hired a car and visited Palma, got lost when on foot and ended up near the naval base which ended up with us being threatened with arrest as my mate was taking pictures of the private yachts mixed in with naval craft.
Later we were ripped off in a café when they charged us for food we didn't have. To make the day complete, we found that the car had had its windscreen smashed, and it took hours for the local police to make out a report for the hire firm...
The joys of being 18....:D
We have all the kit but my wife has never wanted to camp since.
Paris is a dump. It's full of north african street gangs, graffiti, high prices, rude and impatient people, congestion, absolutely no traffic laws whatsoever - red lights mean nothing to the french.
I am sure decades ago it was a much nicer place to visit - it's a shame it's been run in the ground now. Not a nice place to live or visit.
Frying Pan >>>>> Fire?
What it's not is friendly or very clean. But the plusses more than compensated for me.
We went to the south, HCM City and the delta. We had 10 days and thought there would be more than enough to do/see in that fairly large area. We ended up feeling bored.
We thought about visiting Hoi An and Long Ha Bay but didn't want to spend a lot of time moving around. Maybe it was the wrong decision and perhaps our expectations were unrealistic. Having said that, it's a heavily populated and fairly developed country - not to mention noisy!
What was your experience?
Have stayed in Peurto Rico in Gran Canaria which is also an utter dump. I visited Playa del ingles for the day and was hard pressed to decided which was worse!
I agree, I love Paris. I'm not blind to it's many faults, it is tired, dirty, unloved, crime ridden and frankly unlike the rest of France, but the same can be said for London. (I mean London is not really like England, and it's dirty,tired, unloved and crime ridden).
That said, I just enjoy Paris in way I don't London, odd really but there you are.
I think most places have something positive about them, it's a matter of attitude and effort.
I did struggle with Brussels though. I know it's a cliche and it has everything Paris and Berlin have, good and bad but I just found it charmless, even the Grand Market was a bit "meh"
Unfortunately the row of tents were at the bottom of a hill and one night it absolutely tipped it down meaning all the tents in that area were flooded. We complained and got put in a caravan for the night but they soon ran out of complementary caravans so most people ended up sleeping in the clubhouse with emergency blankets and pillows. It was like a disater site!
The worst part of the holiday was that the first few days the weather was dull. We had one sunny day and got burnt then the next day it poured down and we left a few days early because it was so miserable.
What were you expecting, theme parks etc?
Was he a weirdo or something?
This and Paris seem to be coming out on top, or should I say bottom.
That happened when I was there. A shopkeeper even followed someone down the street after they left the store.:eek:
Thankfully I was on a cruise and was only there for a few hours.
We went for a walk on the beach and a whole gaggle of traders followed us there all the way along and back to the hotel the only respite we had was once inside the hotel grounds as they were not allowed in there.
Yet my niece goes every year and loves it she doesn't seem to see them told me just to keep look ahead and never at them
What person A thinks is great, person B thinks is soul destroying.
Also, what one finds attractive between age 18 - 35, older people think of as manic.
There are dozens of middle-aged people lounging around the pool in Madeira
who probably ran riot in Ibiza when they were younger.
Our perceptions change with the years.
Selfishly, one thing I noted on this thread were the people who didn't like Paris.
Great! I thought, I hope that the British take note and stay away.
Leave it to we who know it and love it.
If I were Bertrand Delanoë, the incumbent mayor of Paris, or Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet,
the front runner for next year's mayoral race I'd introduce a simple, school level Q and A in French for would be British tourists.
If they couldn't cut it, I'd send them back.
I'd have nothing to fear, when in Europe, I use my French passport.
Yes there are annoying sellers of imitation bags, watches etc. under la Tour d' Eiffel, ignore them.
I'm in Paris regularly, visiting relatives, I've got 20-20 vision and I haven't noticed piles of dog poo either.
p.s. I've lived in England for years, I obey the laws and I pay my taxes, and I DO NOT consider the British inferior.