Worst country and hotel you ever been to?

tomtontom

EssexExile wrote: »

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

Eating a bit of street food ain't even on the scale of degrees of immersion

It is not a criticism, I enjoy the same kind of holidays, but I don't kid myself that I have the slightest appreciation of the lives of the locals. We're protected from these realities because if we did know we probably wouldn't ever go back.

MasterPoo

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

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.

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.

Pete, for YOU and maybe others, the immersion is quantified by staying in a !!!! hole? Shangri La BKK is local so how in heavens name is that not local? Or is your definition of local 50miles out from the city, squatting in the field to do your business?

I've said to you before I do not have to justify my love of 5 Star treatment to anyone. I spend my money where I want and I fully immerse myself in the locals, it's just our budgets of immersion are £££ apart.

Anyway I tried to pay my Business Class tickets with your opinions whilst immersing myself at the 5 Star Hotel local hotel and eating local cuisine, guess what, DECLINED!

totallybored

tomtontom wrote: »

Eating a bit of street food ain't even on the scale of degrees of immersion

It is not a criticism, I enjoy the same kind of holidays, but I don't kid myself that I have the slightest appreciation of the lives of the locals. We're protected from these realities because if we did know we probably wouldn't ever go back.

I like to use airbnb to live someone else's life for a few days, does this count Admittedly it's in very nice apartments / houses in trendy bits of western cities but it's closer to immersion of someone else's life. I bought organic spelt sourdough bread and drank craft beers each day.

MasterPoo

So what most of you are saying is for one to immerse themselves in the local culture and to fully enjoy the experience is to stay in for e.g. a Thai owned and run hotel/BnB;
It must be as cheap as chips (no pun intended)
And I must refrain from using the BTS or water taxi like the locals;
And not go shopping in Patpong like the locals;
And definitely not visit the Temples like the locals;
And I must not go shopping at the big malls like the locals;
And going to the local flower market and buying flowers like all the locals I see doing is not experiencing the real Thailand;
Street food that the locals are eating is also off limits
When I go and find the best Pad Thai Restaurant recommended by a local and as I approach I see a que of over 50 people (mostly Thai, i.e. Locals) at the popular local restaurant that's been operating over the last 80 years and has been run by one family generation after generation, that too is not immersing myself in the Thai culture!
Hiring mopeds and using it as a means of transport like the locals is also not immersing yourself in the culture?

Seriously?!?!?!

So I should fly to Thailand and order McDonalds and I'll make sure I order a roast dinner, I hope they serve it with Yorkshire pudding!

Blue264

Ramada Katella Anaheim back in 1997, which has since been rebranded as the Howard Johnson Inn and Suites-Orange. It had sodden, mouldy carpets from a leaking radiator, a very rusty metal table, nylon bed sheets and the toilet was blocked and overflowing,

It took two teams of plumbers to stop the whole room from being completely flooded, and this was the room we were moved to after the first one offered had no natural daylight and all the electrics had blown.

jackomdj

I don't know the name of the pub/hotel but back in 2000 we we're booked in a travel lodge, when we arrived (quite late but within time) they said they didn't have any more rooms. She said she knew a pub with rooms and gave them a call.

20 mins later we reached the pub and were shown to a room out the back, it was an extension seperately to the pub that smelt very damp. In the middle of the night it started raining and the water was coming through the ceiling. I ended up putting 3 buckets to catch various drips. When I told them they did not seem surprised at all. We had to go upstairs in the pub for a shower, which was revolting.

Widelats

Brilliant stories here i was laughing at some of them LOOOOOOOOOOOL.

Widelats

MasterPoo wrote: »

Apologies but I'd like to point out a couple of things OP:

1. So you flew all the way to Denmark to order pies/fish & chips? You could've just gone to Scotland or down your local chippy without flying all that way OP?

2. Then you chose a hotel that was in the red light district and you are saying it was noisy outside, what did you expect? Did you research the hotel on TA before booking?

Personally I like to visit countries and immerse myself in their culture and enjoy their cuisine, some of my trips have been successful others haven't but I would not rate my experience negatively because I couldn't order fish and chips or pies!

My point is, for ME travelling is to experience what I can't get in the UK!

No i did not go to eat fish and chips, i just said they have no fish and chips there.

Yes i did research the hotel, thats why i went to the red light district, it was cheap and convenient it is right outside the central station.

Unlike some, i like to immerse myself in local stuff, if i did not immerse myself i would not know they did not know what a pie even was, because if i was staying at a 5 star hotel i am sure they would have had any pie i wanted.

To conclude, your completely wrong, just saying.

Doshwaster

Worst hotel was in East Berlin sometime in the late 90s. I'd had a great time out on the town but the hotel itself looked liked it had been built by the Soviets in the 60s and never touched since. The mattress was made of concrete and the only way I could get to sleep was by drinking a lot of cheap vodka from the hotel bar.

MasterPoo

Widelats wrote: »

No i did not go to eat fish and chips, i just said they have no fish and chips there.

Yes i did research the hotel, thats why i went to the red light district, it was cheap and convenient it is right outside the central station.

Unlike some, i like to immerse myself in local stuff, if i did not immerse myself i would not know they did not know what a pie even was, because if i was staying at a 5 star hotel i am sure they would have had any pie i wanted.

Oh bless you, You think you're insulting me by stating a fact!

So because Denmark doesn't sell fish and chips and according to you they don't know what a pie is = worst Country? Riiigghhht. Wide, go forth and multiply, actually no, one of you is enough!