What Is The Best/Worst Travel Suggestion That You Have Follwed?
Jun 29th, 2006, 12:45 PM
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What Is The Best/Worst Travel Suggestion That You Have Follwed?
I'm referring to suggestions in guide books. message boards such as Fodors, magazine or newspapers articles, or a personal recommendation?
We've had some horrible apartment rentals, but there were usually from the owner's own web sites or rental agencies, never from personal recommendations.
Our's we were before being on-line. Remember the old days of snail mail, expensive phone calls, often to people who didn't understand you, or you them?
We are subscribers to ITN (International Travel News) and way back then, we would write to the magazine readers for trip information and advise. The below suggestions came from ITN readers for a 7 weeks driving trip to France in 1988. We also received some marvelous recommendations for hotel, restaurants, sights, etc..
One of the Worst: A remote (although we didn't know that at the time) hotel in Brittany. The person said that it was peaceful, right on the ocean, with good service and lovely rooms. I forgot to ask her if she had been there in the last 30 years ;-)
We were the only guests and the area appeared to be almost desserted. Propably (duh) because at the time they were remodeling the entire hotel, reconstructing the road and the pedstrian walking area. This was in mid- April so I guess they expected it to be finished by summer. The weather was dreary and our as yet not remodelled room, was drab and well worn. It was a medium priced hotel - probably a 2 or 3 star, I don't remember, and at one time was probably quite lovely.
Since we had made a detour to get there and had paid in advance, we managed to stay for one night.
BEST: (same trip) A small inn - in Plaisance. It was what you hope every small inn will be. Driving there from Carcassone in the late afternoon around dusk, it was raining ever so slightly and we drove through a rainbow, at least that is what it felt like. That was the beginning of a very magical sojourn.
The Inn was exactly as recommended, and the food was sublime. We ate like kings for the next three days, each meal better than the last, including specially prepared breakfasts. The young chef/owner and his wife did everything possible to make our stay memorable, even though they didn't speak a word of English and at the time our French was limited. The tiny town was right out of a France picture book. It was close to Albi and other places of interest. As soon as we drove up and saw the owner's Alfa Romeo, DH knew that we were home ;-)
Nina
We've had some horrible apartment rentals, but there were usually from the owner's own web sites or rental agencies, never from personal recommendations.
Our's we were before being on-line. Remember the old days of snail mail, expensive phone calls, often to people who didn't understand you, or you them?
We are subscribers to ITN (International Travel News) and way back then, we would write to the magazine readers for trip information and advise. The below suggestions came from ITN readers for a 7 weeks driving trip to France in 1988. We also received some marvelous recommendations for hotel, restaurants, sights, etc..
One of the Worst: A remote (although we didn't know that at the time) hotel in Brittany. The person said that it was peaceful, right on the ocean, with good service and lovely rooms. I forgot to ask her if she had been there in the last 30 years ;-)
We were the only guests and the area appeared to be almost desserted. Propably (duh) because at the time they were remodeling the entire hotel, reconstructing the road and the pedstrian walking area. This was in mid- April so I guess they expected it to be finished by summer. The weather was dreary and our as yet not remodelled room, was drab and well worn. It was a medium priced hotel - probably a 2 or 3 star, I don't remember, and at one time was probably quite lovely.
Since we had made a detour to get there and had paid in advance, we managed to stay for one night.
BEST: (same trip) A small inn - in Plaisance. It was what you hope every small inn will be. Driving there from Carcassone in the late afternoon around dusk, it was raining ever so slightly and we drove through a rainbow, at least that is what it felt like. That was the beginning of a very magical sojourn.
The Inn was exactly as recommended, and the food was sublime. We ate like kings for the next three days, each meal better than the last, including specially prepared breakfasts. The young chef/owner and his wife did everything possible to make our stay memorable, even though they didn't speak a word of English and at the time our French was limited. The tiny town was right out of a France picture book. It was close to Albi and other places of interest. As soon as we drove up and saw the owner's Alfa Romeo, DH knew that we were home ;-)
Nina
Jun 29th, 2006, 12:51 PM
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Please pardon the _numerous_ typos, starting 'ours' was before we went on-line". Advise of course should have been advice, and the others. Hope you can read past them.
The typo queen.
The typo queen.
Jun 29th, 2006, 12:58 PM
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The worst was a suggestion by an acquaintance who had heard about Chelsea Cloisters which was cheaper than the flat I normally rented in London. When I was there I visited & was shown a flat which was great. A couple months later I booked it & paid in full. When I got there the following year, they didn't have space & wouldn't give me my money back, wouldn't assist finding another place & I had to use the hall payphone to get a place to stay.
After throwing a major fit, they finally credited my CC (I had dumped the CC I had booked it with originally) & had to pay for my own taxi to a hotel until I could get back in my old flat the next day.
The best? I had a boss from the UK when I was in hotel management who suggested I go there for a vacation. In fact, he had always wanted to own a barge that did 6 day trips on the Thames. I booked that to sort of "spy" on how it was. The final upshot was he moved back to the UK, I introduced him to the Captain of the Thames barge I went on & now they're partners on a luxury barge. That was 15 trips to the UK ago. I was hooked, so I'm not so sure it was a good thing or not.
You can google "Magna Carta barge" & find it & no, I'm not advertising.
After throwing a major fit, they finally credited my CC (I had dumped the CC I had booked it with originally) & had to pay for my own taxi to a hotel until I could get back in my old flat the next day.
The best? I had a boss from the UK when I was in hotel management who suggested I go there for a vacation. In fact, he had always wanted to own a barge that did 6 day trips on the Thames. I booked that to sort of "spy" on how it was. The final upshot was he moved back to the UK, I introduced him to the Captain of the Thames barge I went on & now they're partners on a luxury barge. That was 15 trips to the UK ago. I was hooked, so I'm not so sure it was a good thing or not.
You can google "Magna Carta barge" & find it & no, I'm not advertising.
Jun 29th, 2006, 01:16 PM
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best.
Someone suggested that we stay at hotel Nadia in Amsterdam.
In walking around the city we found that we were in a great location and although there were alot of stairs(54)to our room, the room was nice for the price. It had a little frig in it which was nice for our cold drinks, yogurt and cheese.
$64 euro per night in 2003
Breakfast was included.
Someone suggested that we stay at hotel Nadia in Amsterdam.
In walking around the city we found that we were in a great location and although there were alot of stairs(54)to our room, the room was nice for the price. It had a little frig in it which was nice for our cold drinks, yogurt and cheese.
$64 euro per night in 2003
Breakfast was included.
Jun 29th, 2006, 01:27 PM
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Saraho: I wonder if we read the same trip report, because I read a really good one too which inspired me to go to Procida and I even stayed at the same hotel. It was a great week. I think it was from a fellow that was stationed in Naples, something like fendi, fish ....???
Jun 29th, 2006, 01:29 PM
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Best suggestion: A story in a years-ago edition of Gourmet magazine about a little-known area on the Ligurian Sea known as the Cinque Terre.
The pictures were magnificent, and many were made from the Porto Roca hotel.
In those pre-internet days, we called a travel agent, who had never heard of the CT. He made us reservations in La Spezia.
It took a hissy fit from me to have him find and contact the Porto Roca.
We spent three nights there, and loved it all.
Byrd
The pictures were magnificent, and many were made from the Porto Roca hotel.
In those pre-internet days, we called a travel agent, who had never heard of the CT. He made us reservations in La Spezia.
It took a hissy fit from me to have him find and contact the Porto Roca.
We spent three nights there, and loved it all.
Byrd
Jun 29th, 2006, 02:39 PM
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From the dear late Ed Gehrlein who used to post here, and who also ran "Travelling With Ed and Julie" a.k.a. twenj dot com for several years.....
to stay in Muerren (up in the mountains0 instead of Lauterbrunnen. He was right- Lauterbrunnen, pretty though it is, is on the valley floor and not nearly as dramatic.
The worst: to use a travel agent for leisure vacations (I concede the possible necessity for business and for complex itineraries.)
The worst:
to stay in Muerren (up in the mountains0 instead of Lauterbrunnen. He was right- Lauterbrunnen, pretty though it is, is on the valley floor and not nearly as dramatic.
The worst: to use a travel agent for leisure vacations (I concede the possible necessity for business and for complex itineraries.)
The worst:
Jun 29th, 2006, 02:55 PM
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The best: learned about packing into clear ziplocks on Fodor's
The worst: when a Fodorite learned I'm going to Switzerland, she sent me an e-mail saying she was there and didn't like the country, so I shouldn't go!
Maybe she was right as I instantly fell in love with Switzerland and miss it awfully
The worst from a non-Fodorite: a distant relative was so proud to get enough Euros in US and she insisted I must do the same. Thanks to Fodorites, I knew better!
The worst: when a Fodorite learned I'm going to Switzerland, she sent me an e-mail saying she was there and didn't like the country, so I shouldn't go!
Maybe she was right as I instantly fell in love with Switzerland and miss it awfully
The worst from a non-Fodorite: a distant relative was so proud to get enough Euros in US and she insisted I must do the same. Thanks to Fodorites, I knew better!
Jun 29th, 2006, 03:20 PM
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Saraho and Barb and of course Jodey (wherever you are). Thank you so much for mentioning and then finding the Joedy's Procida trip report.
Now it is on my 'wantasee' list. We have been in Italy several times, but never as far south as Naples - now we have a reason to go.
Nina
Now it is on my 'wantasee' list. We have been in Italy several times, but never as far south as Naples - now we have a reason to go.
Nina
Jun 29th, 2006, 03:52 PM
#14
The best one-to-one from Fodors was a hotel in Waikiki that was exactly what I wanted and would have never found on my own.
Also from Fodor's handy tips like you can tell the arrondisement number in Paris by the 'zip code' of the address.
The only worst I can think of is things I had to discover for myself (no I am not comfortable sharing a toilet down the hall to save money on a hotel room in Amsterdam).
Travel magazines are only trouble, because I find way too many places I really MUST go to, that I had never considered before ;-)
Also from Fodor's handy tips like you can tell the arrondisement number in Paris by the 'zip code' of the address.
The only worst I can think of is things I had to discover for myself (no I am not comfortable sharing a toilet down the hall to save money on a hotel room in Amsterdam).
Travel magazines are only trouble, because I find way too many places I really MUST go to, that I had never considered before ;-)
Jun 29th, 2006, 04:13 PM
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Best:
When my husband expressed a burning desire to see Cinque Terre, I began looking around the web for info. Amid all the superlatives, I stumbled across a trip report/blog online and they expressed disappointment about staying in Cinque Terre: Too many tourists. The more I read of their trip report, the more they seemed to me to be someone who shared the same kind of values as a traveler that my husband and I do. I subsequently found a post on another obscure blog where somebody talked about why they liked the little-known town of Camogli. As I continued to read their blog, I thought this person too was a lot like me and my husband as a traveler. So after consulting with husband, I booked us into Camogli and we felt it to be an exquisite place where we could deeply relax. When we daytripped to Cinque Terre, we were miserable.
Worst advice:
People told me Tokyo was unpleasant, crowded and expensive, and that the Japanese were hostile to foreigners. When I planned a trip to Japan, I cut back drastically on the number of days I'd be spending in Tokyo. When I got to Tokyo, I loved it. It was superquiet, clean, gracious, supermodern, food was inexpensive and the Japanese were endearing in their efforts to be polite and hospitable. I was never so sorry to leave a place after 3 days. I could spend a lifetime there.
When my husband expressed a burning desire to see Cinque Terre, I began looking around the web for info. Amid all the superlatives, I stumbled across a trip report/blog online and they expressed disappointment about staying in Cinque Terre: Too many tourists. The more I read of their trip report, the more they seemed to me to be someone who shared the same kind of values as a traveler that my husband and I do. I subsequently found a post on another obscure blog where somebody talked about why they liked the little-known town of Camogli. As I continued to read their blog, I thought this person too was a lot like me and my husband as a traveler. So after consulting with husband, I booked us into Camogli and we felt it to be an exquisite place where we could deeply relax. When we daytripped to Cinque Terre, we were miserable.
Worst advice:
People told me Tokyo was unpleasant, crowded and expensive, and that the Japanese were hostile to foreigners. When I planned a trip to Japan, I cut back drastically on the number of days I'd be spending in Tokyo. When I got to Tokyo, I loved it. It was superquiet, clean, gracious, supermodern, food was inexpensive and the Japanese were endearing in their efforts to be polite and hospitable. I was never so sorry to leave a place after 3 days. I could spend a lifetime there.
Jun 29th, 2006, 04:14 PM
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Barb, yes, same trip report about Procida and we stayed at the same hotel. I think we went there a little while before you did.
Nina, you will really enjoy it. The only problem was we were using it as a base to visit Pompeii,etc. and that made for long days. We should have spent more time just exploring Procida and close by islands and less time on the ferries and trains.
But Procida is beautiful. We were there in early May and I have never seen such beautiful roses in everybody's yard. It has a very southern Italian look to it.
Nina, you will really enjoy it. The only problem was we were using it as a base to visit Pompeii,etc. and that made for long days. We should have spent more time just exploring Procida and close by islands and less time on the ferries and trains.
But Procida is beautiful. We were there in early May and I have never seen such beautiful roses in everybody's yard. It has a very southern Italian look to it.
Jun 29th, 2006, 04:44 PM
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Best Advice:
From a Birbaum guidebook to Disney for adults: when there are two lines to the same activity always get on the line to the left - it is invariably faster - even if it doesn't look shorter..
We didn;t believe it -- but figured what the hell and tried. It worked every time.
From a Birbaum guidebook to Disney for adults: when there are two lines to the same activity always get on the line to the left - it is invariably faster - even if it doesn't look shorter..
We didn;t believe it -- but figured what the hell and tried. It worked every time.
Jun 30th, 2006, 03:09 PM
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Early in our travels (about 25 years ago) we found Birnbaum to be an invaluable guide. It was a tragedy that Steve Birnbaum died so young. I wonder what he would have contributed to online travel info!
