Worst country and hotel you ever been to?

totallybored

Worst was either a ridiculously cheap hotel in amsterdam as a student where the TV remote control was on a chain or a hotel in the backpacker area of Ho Chi Minh where I was bitten by bedbugs.

totallybored

budgetflyer wrote: »

I dont really think Atlantis, The Palm and Bangkok Shangri La is immersing yourself in local culture
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5218254

Maybe a best hotel thread would be good then

MasterPoo

I dont really think Atlantis, The Palm and Bangkok Shangri La is immersing yourself in local culture
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...254&highlight=

Ahhhh and therein lies your problem, you equate immersing in ones culture not staying in 5 star hotels.

1. I researched my hotels, which OP probably didn't do, correct me if I'm wrong OP? I hated The Atlantis, is it the worst hotel I've ever stayed in, no, but not my idea of fun, my fault, would I recommend it to parents with children who love water slides, absolutely.

2. I eat local, enjoying street food, local cuisine, unlike OP who flew to another country to order a quintessentially British meal, Fish & Chips!

So your point was what exactly?

Sam_Fallow

It was some years ago but it still makes me shudder...

Club Praia da Rocha, Portugal. A cheap fortnight in the sun, accommodation on arrival. After a week I started looking for flights home. I wasn't surprised to see it a year later on Holidays from Hell.

Hired a car for a few days and drove off to the mountains and you could still see the !!!!n thing on the skyline.

As I say it was 15-20 years ago so might have improved. Love the country and love the people.

No such thing as worst country, everywhere has bad places and bad people.

totallybored

Sam_Fallow wrote: »

No such thing as worst country,

Wales? ::rotfl:

PompeyPete

MasterPoo wrote: »

So your point was what exactly?

It's difficult to immerse yourself in local culture, and also get full value from staying in very expensive so-called 5 and 6* international chain hotels.

Part of the 'immersion' is to stay in locally owned and locally run hotels or guest houses, which more often than not provide much better value at a fraction of the cost, while also giving you a real taste of the culture of the city/country you're visiting.

For our forthcoming trip to Vietnam I'm putting a ceiling per night of £20 for a comfortable double, which'll also include breakfast. And I know that it's easily achievable.

eDicky

"Room and board" took on a whole new meaning for me in the Tuscan hill town of Arcidosso, winter of 1990, where I arrived jet-lagged from Hong Kong for a two-week seminar. The only room available was in a small decrepit hotel where I soon learned that to use the old iron bedstead for actual sleep I needed a large wooden board, supplied by the management, to put on top of the frame and thereby avoid submerging into the collapsed and sagging springs at night. The communal bathroom was another comedy, something from a previous century. But all shortcomings were redeemed by the exquisite pizzas served downstairs in the restaurant with a carafe of local red wine in the evenings.

Moto2

MasterPoo wrote: »

Ahhhh and therein lies your problem, you equate immersing in ones culture not staying in 5 star hotels.

1. I researched my hotels, which OP probably didn't do, correct me if I'm wrong OP? I hated The Atlantis, is it the worst hotel I've ever stayed in, no, but not my idea of fun, my fault, would I recommend it to parents with children who love water slides, absolutely.

2. I eat local, enjoying street food, local cuisine, unlike OP who flew to another country to order a quintessentially British meal, Fish & Chips!

So your point was what exactly?

I suppose you could do part time immersion
Trotting back off off to 5* luxury at the end of each day and discuss over a daiquiri what's it's like living as a local

yeah, I'm sure you could ...

emslovesmickey

The Circus Circus hotel in Vegas - creepy creepy clowns...

EssexExile

PompeyPete wrote: »

It's difficult to immerse yourself in local culture, and also get full value from staying in very expensive so-called 5 and 6* international chain hotels.

Part of the 'immersion' is to stay in locally owned and locally run hotels or guest houses, which more often than not provide much better value at a fraction of the cost, while also giving you a real taste of the culture of the city/country you're visiting.

The locals don't stay in cheap hotels either, they live at home. It's all a matter of degree.