Curious

Is there any destination to which you would not return even if they were paying you?

Anon

Curious: If they were paying, I'd go anywhere in the Caribbean. There isn't a place that bad that I couldn't enjoy myself! The Caribbean is heaven on earth IMO.

Dee

Without a doubt, Jamaica! We drove from the airport in Montego Bay to Sandals in Ochos Rios. The driver of our van was stoned and drove 80 mph. There was filth everywhere and the residents displayed no pride in their homes and surroundings. It was incredibly depressing and impossible to leave the resort due to the high incidence of crime. That was definitely a "never again."

anon

Easy. Nassau. I went a couple years ago with a friend and would never go back there. As a female, I did not feel safe walking around in the streets at all. We did try to get out of the area during the day and found that other spots were lovely. Unfortunately, seems we just picked the wrong location to book a hotel. Live and learn.

Kim

Well we have been to both Nassau and Jamaica and we loved them both. Just my opinion!

Jumbo

<BR>Just my biased opinion, but we will never return to Peru again. We were trapped in our hotel while rebels surrounded it and threatened to kill us all. Finally, after my company paid a huge ransom, we were allowed to return to Lima unharmed. Then we discovered that Peru is really not even a Caribbean island in the first place. The beaches there were not near as nice as Negril's spectacular stretch of sand. It's also a shorter flight from SeaTac to Montego Bay than to Lima.

Anon

Not to belittle your ideal but, you realized Peru wasn’t a Caribbean island until AFTER you got there. It’s part of a huge continent!!! Ever hear of the word “research.” Heck, I wouldn’t have even had to do any research to figure that one out.

Mr. Man

To Dee: Jamaica is considered a third world country with abject poverty and all of the fixings that go along with it. Didn't you do a shread of reserach before you left to realize that on your way to your Americanized resort, you were going to be exposed to a little dose of reality? People like you should just stay home and watch the travel channel.

rude people

why so rude to people posting their opinions?

lib

I would not return to St. Lucia if you were paying for all expenses and giving me money to shop and for my time!!

Bill

Nassau. I didn't feel safe constantly being solicited with offers of prostitutes and drugs. And alot of this took place at a reputable hotel on Cable Beach. But, that was my one and only visit to The Bahamas. Would I go back? Yes. I'd give The Bahamas another try....after all, it was a beautiful place!

Susie

I would not return to the LeFlamboyant Hotel on St. Martin. NOTE: I'm referring to the hotel, NOT the island. The island was wonderful!<BR><BR>The hotel was a nightmare. We saw a post on traveltalk.com warning about the lagoon this hotel is situated on, so called the hotel directly, long distance from NY. They reassured us the lagoon was crystal clear and safe for swimming. We got there and upon check-in, the front desk staff tells you to not swim in the Lagoon! When asked why, the young woman explained that sewage from Marigot goes into the lagoon, and the hotel prefers you do not enter the water. The odor from this lagoon was nauseating. It increased at night. By 8 pm, you could not stand to be outdoors - it was overwhelming! We headed to other hotels or casinos. When we got up in the morning, it had permeated our room. Barf! I have to believe they pump into the lagoon after dark, because the smell was unreal. Our joke for the week was "LeFlamboyant: looks nice, smells like poop".<BR><BR>The food was mediocre. We stayed there over Easter 2001, so they have 270 rooms sold out. And guess what ... they run out of food. I'm not kidding - we paid for an all-inclusive, and 4 days out of 7, there was no lunch and limited dinners. And - don't even ask about drinks. They had 1 bartender in a small beach-side building serving alchoholic drinks, ice cream &amp; soda, to the tenants of 270 rooms! We waited in line for an hour - asked for 2 drinks each because the wait was so long, and was told 1 drink to a customer/visit to the bar. Bar hours were 10 am until midnight. They were not open past 8 pm any night -- ran out of everything! <BR><BR>We also saw a post where someone complained about the lack of towels at this hotel. We laughed it off, but guess what? We had 3 days with no towels. I don't mean no clean towels, I mean no towels! The housekeepers removed the towels, they went to an offsite laundry service, and they didn't come back! We were drying our hands with toilet paper, and brushed off water after showers with my pareo. We tried leaving our towels on the rack (most hotels are trying to cut down on water usage and want you to reuse them). Well, they took every towel out of our room, regardless. I guess we should have hidden them in the dressers!<BR><BR>As for the island ... the locals were incredibly friendly and went out of their way to help us. The beachs, once we drove away from LeFlamboyant and saw some REAL ones, were incredible! We ate off the resort when they didn't have food, and found the restaurants to be reasonably priced with great food &amp; service.<BR><BR>Would I return to St. Martin. Love to! Would I stay at LeFlamboyant - NEVER, it should be dozed into the Lagoon!!<BR><BR>We did cover all of this with our travel agent - even took her some photos of suspicious solid masses in the lagoon. They had been approached by the hotel with a great deal for an "after hurricane re-opening". This travel agency (a chain) refunded our hotel costs, no longer sells the hotel, and is sueing the hotel for reimbursement. Well, I guess that's better than nothing!

Michelle

Antigua. What a disappointment. Beach vendors drove us crazy, cruise ships dumping people on the beach made the beach overcrowded, hotels were supposed to be 5 star but were 2 star, food was awful.( We did not do AI but hotel &amp; flights separately). However, the beach @ sunset was spectacular! Ok....maybe I'd go back for that in February. Maybe.

bianca

ARUBA - One Lying Island - people were SO rude and we stayed at the DIVI DIVI and it was in total disrepair even though i had asked before hand if the damage from the hurricane that Aruba never gets was repaired - open trenches, no water, workmen outside our door from 7 am till 7 pm even on a holiday! Almost robbed on Baby Beach -Check out the large PRISON when you visit BABY BEACH - this is for all the people that they do not admit to having on their safe hurricane free island - ARUBA - not one happy island - one lying island!!!!!! Would not go back on your money!!!!!!

Karen

Never say "never" but I would have a very hard decision since it wouldn't be my dime but I have two:<BR>Aruba because of the wind biting, stinging and hurting as it blew sand hard and furiously and the developement and "over Americianization" of the island. At least in Cancun (and I've never gone there either), there are places to go, history to explore and a delightful indiginous population of Mayans. Aruba was very disappointing with all the "development," high rise hotels, fast food joints and it was much like a Miami Beach (not South Beach!) vacation! It did not live up to any of the expectaions.<BR>My second, would be Long Bay Beach Resort on Tortola. 10 loooooong days spent at a beach resort where you couldn't swim because of the rough surf and coral and rocks along the shoreline. Advertises and proclaims that it is "luxury" but falls far short of the mark!

Mike Morales

Curious,<BR> Jamica, it will be a long cold in Hell before I return to that Island.

Abby

I've been reading but decided I haven't had it so bad after all so I won't post. My pity vote goes to Susie for La Flamboyant. Gross, gross, gross! I'm glad you recovered some of your money.

lorraine

Jamaica- It started when we landed at Montego Bay airport .... that should have been the warning sign. I will never step one toe on that island ever again

amber

Hands down, it's St. Martin. That was the dirtiest, most disgusting island that I had ever been to. Food was good but everything else was bad. Rude people, trash on the beaches &amp; in the water, no greenery at all, &amp; high crime.

Suzi

Why was Jamaica so awful? Please explain, because we're planning our first trip to the Carribean in November and have decided on Negril as a destination. We are very interested in your thoughts. Thank you.