Vacation buyer’s remorse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh I’ve had some terrible hotels… There was the “cute remote Mexican fishing/diving village” hours from Tulum (back in 2006 before Tulum was super hip and expensive ) that was a total isolated dump with sketchy places to stay/eat and dh got c diff there and I had to drive hours to get him to a doctor , so yeah that sucked….oh it was our honeymoon!!!

But now it’s a funny story in retrospect. Sorry op it sucks, but hopefully you’ll have an unexpectedly awesome experience next time.

I always want to choose some cute and quirky hotel but this is exactly what I'm afraid of. At least with a chain you have a general idea of what you're going to get. But then I fear missing out on some local gem.

[Anonymous]

If you haven’t already and you have the time, there’s a novel — People We Meet on Vacation by Emilie Henry — that addresses this issue (and is a fun and easy read) — I recommend it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A resort 4 1/2 hours drive from DC. Where was The Greenbrier in WV?

That’s the one.

Ugh. It came so highly recommended. I feel bamboozled. I understand what they are going for, but for that kind of money, the place is a major dump. The rooms need major renovating. Like, major. The pools were disgusting. The food was barely palatable. The drinks weak. I was so disappointed.

I eavesdropped and overheard a manager complaining they they were experiencing major turnaround with waitstaff and in the kitchen, so I’m sure this was part of the problem, at least with the food and horrible service. But no excuse for the condition of the room and the grounds in general.

The Greenbriar was bad before the pandemic, can’t imagine now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you haven’t already and you have the time, there’s a novel — People We Meet on Vacation by Emilie Henry — that addresses this issue (and is a fun and easy read) — I recommend it!

OP here. It’s been on my TBR for months! I think this may be the time to add it to my cart and give it a go!

[Anonymous]

Reviews aren’t trustworthy at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reviews aren’t trustworthy at all.

I’ve had pretty good success with my excessive review reading over the last 15+ years or so.

[Anonymous]

This is how I felt about the Del on Coronado Island. Shabby and in great need of a refresh. DH insisted we stay there even though it was totally overpriced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stayed at the homestead once and it was so shabby that it was a bit shocking! It has so much potential too…you’d think with it being and Omni Hotel, they’d be able to fix it up.

This is happening now. Tons of money going into massive upgrades. Far overdue but glad it is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Felt this way after dropping quite a bit of money on an East Africa safari earlier this year. We didn't go 'all out' -- we did a mid-range package with mid-range places, and it got so boring after 3 days. We were ready to go home. Plus the food was horrible and the accommodations, though they looked so luxe in the photos and the reviews, weren't like that at all.

That said, 'you don't know what you don't know' - and I don't regret it because if I wouldn't have done it, I would've regretted it. I'm glad for the experience but never, ever again

Can you give an example of where you stayed? Planning safari to Kenya and Serengeti now…and this is s big concern!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That sux. Have heard its been falling apart for a while tho.

Anyone heard of this?
https://www.nicewonderfarm.com/

This looks interesting!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is how I felt about the Del on Coronado Island. Shabby and in great need of a refresh. DH insisted we stay there even though it was totally overpriced.

I wasn’t impressed by the Del either.

[Anonymous]

I mean, it's a bummer, but why dwell on it? Life doesn't always work out the way you want. We stayed at an AirBandB that was a total ripoff. I haven't thought about it since the day after we got back.

[Anonymous]

I posted in July after we returned from the Greenbriar and it was terrible. We had to go for an event, so no choice but I felt the same after spending $400/night. I don’t understand how they are still open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is how I felt about the Del on Coronado Island. Shabby and in great need of a refresh. DH insisted we stay there even though it was totally overpriced.

To be fair, the Del was very charming and beautiful before Hilton bought it and ruined it.

[Anonymous]

This is a great example of why I love the DCUM travel forum. I know a lot of posts get a ton of hate for not checking other resources first. A good example is the recent Savannah Hilton thread. The OP gets attacked with “Ever heard of Google?” “Why don’t you read the reviews?” “Why don’t you try Trip Advisor?” Well, the OP’e experience is exactly why I sometimes come to the travel forum for a question that I can just Google. I want to hear about actual experiences because reviews can be deceiving.