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Comments (8)
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Save/ShareOne of America's pre-eminent travel experts recently asked me to participate in his new book, which is all about places people shouldn't go ("1000 Places to Die Before You See," I joked). He wanted a top 10 list--or a bottom 10 list?--of the places I'd never return to. Now, I've been very upfront about places that didn't appeal to me--including Bermuda (though I came around) and, um, Las Vegas (I still regret that post, by the way)--but something about the idea bugged me. At Budget Travel, we generally focus on the positive, mentioning the negative when it's relevant but not going out of our way to kick a substandard place when it's down. (I say "generally" because we did used to do something called The Not List, about truly ridiculous trips, though that was mostly an excuse to trot out our mascot, Bud Travel.) But when asked to give names of actual hotels I hated, I just couldn't do it. I still can't tell if I made the right decision: Was I being weak, or was I being kind? Then again, maybe those attributes aren't mutually exclusive.
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I applaud your decision. There is already too much negativity out there.
Posted By Caitee K. on May 28, 2008, 4:21 PM
There's no reason to bash any place ... Tripadvisor.com does that all too well ... problems do crop up anywhere; people have different standards of acceptability ... bashing is too subjective.
Hold your high ground, please!
Posted By pua ke aloha on May 29, 2008, 1:16 PM
Travel is supposed to be a fun industry. No need for negative reviews. The way I see it, the destinations that deserve the positive attention will get it and the rest won't get any at all.
Posted By Pam S on May 29, 2008, 4:00 PM
I heartily agree with all of the above comments!!
Posted By Gussie on May 29, 2008, 5:23 PM
When you get truly dismal service, terrible food, and/or outrageous prices, what are you to do? If you tell the management and they ignore you, what have you accomplished? In fact by not telling anyone, you have created a circumstance where it will just keep happening and more people will be swindled out their hard-earned cash, don't you think? There seems to be a saying that's appropriate: "If you aren't part of the solution, then you are part of the problem!"
Posted By WriterPaul on May 30, 2008, 12:57 PM
Life is too short to waste on bad destinations. So I think the book has some value. of course "bad" is a subjective thing and varies from person to person. To me, there are many places to avoid in summer, if only because of the crowds and humid weather. Rome comes to mind immediately, but most urban destinations are best avoided in July and August...after all the locals do their best to get out of the cities, so what are you doing going into them? As for destinations, I would avoid Brussels. There are so many nice places in Belgium but Brussels is not one of them. It's a human zoo. Pisa is also pathetic. If you must see the leaning tower, do it as a quick whistle stop, not as a place to stay. And watch for the aggressive gypsies. To me, one trip to Pisa was more than enough. At the risk of being politically incorrect, I'd advise skipping any Muslim country. I've only been to a handful, and the risk-reward ratio is too high for my taste. In the US, the most overrated places are Atlanta, Las Vegas, Asheville, NC, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, Key West, Fort Myers, and Los Angeles. Of course there are plenty of things to see and do in all of those places, but I just think there are so many better places to spend your time.
Posted By Ray on May 30, 2008, 1:42 PM
Yes, you did the right thing in not listing the bad places, but not for the obvious reason. The real reason is that some people's trash is other people's treasure.
I loved Las Vegas, Asheville, Myrtle Beach, Key West, and am just back yesterday from Los Angeles. (Never been to Nashville or Atlanta so can't tell.)
The one place I would never return to is Morocco. However, a friend has just returned and loved it.
Travel is just too subjective. I like to stay in hostels. My cousin likes only five-star.
Isn't it nice we're all different?
Posted By Jane O'Callahan on June 1, 2008, 6:35 PM
I think that negative experiences are often based on perspectives. I think of a recent cruise I was on - we were all doing the same itinerary pretty much, however everyone's reviews were completely different as we gathered to dinner every night. Some people are more forgiving than others, others expect way too much. Some bad expierences are due to construction or weather, certain employees they had encounters with...the next person may have beautiful weather, friendly staff, etc all at the same destination. Thanks for not posting your list. I think it would pre-determine people's travel to be negative if they were going to the places you may have listed. It is not fair.
Posted By curls on June 12, 2008, 4:27 PM