Just returned from the worst holiday ever. Our pre-booked hotels were a desaster, it rained for 9 days, it was cold, I got a cold and my purse were stoled from the train station in La Spezia. Luckily our 10 day cruise turned out to be very nice so I will remember that part. After spending 3 weeks in Italy I am now not to fond of the Italians.

Can't help the weather, and there's always a thief or three around the corner. You just gotta be careful, and if (sh)it happens grin and bear it! I never prebook accommodation, except on first nights - and only then if I'm arriving late. Now I know why. Glad some of it was memorable though.

Sorry you had a bad time. Hotels that are a "disaster" tend to be that way whether you pre-book them or not...I don't suppose any of them were recommended by the "experts" on this board were they...or WERE they? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Singletail, how much expertise does it take to say whether you liked a hotel or not? At least some of these experts stick around and present what information they have consistantly. They don't keep changing screen names as the hit, snipe and <i>run</i> tactics wear thin on yet another name. Ahem.

If you want to claim some sort of ethical superiority, that's a practice I hope you reconsider. Of course, I have no &quot;expert&quot; opinion on why a person would do this in the first place.

Sorry you had a bad time Henda. There are plenty more places yet to see and a pretty good chance many will go better.

It would be nice to know what hotels, where, and why they were no good. Otherwise, this information isn't very helpful.

Sorry you aren't fond of Italy but it rains in the US (where I live) quite often!

Sorry to hear of the plights on your trip, but I don't quite understand how the weather, bad hotels, getting a cold, and having your purse stolen can make you dislike the Italian people. Those things can quite honestly happen in any country of the world, and aren't really the fault of the people of the country. Did you really find the Italians to be awful people during your trip?

Hi Henda,

Sorry it didn't work out. After you calm down a bit, tell us about it.

Don't let some bad luck with a thief and the weather sour you on a wonderful country.

Singletail - Get over yourself.

Sorry you had such a terrible experience, but I wonder if having a cold and not feeling well might have influenced your mood?
Call me crazy, I LOVE when it rains in Italy, when I was in Rome to do the Marathon in March, there was a day with severe rains, and there I was, puddlehopping, losing my umbrella, meeting and sharing doorways with all sorts of locals mixed with tourists, huddled in tight bunches! We were all soaking wet and most were laughing!
Rain is a great equalizer!! There's nothing more romantic than sharing an espresso in a trattoria on the Piazza Navona while it pours outside. I also hope one day you'll give that wonderful country and it's wonderful, generous people another try. I ahve been robbed there also, but it was by a thief, not &quot;Italians&quot;.

Am curoius about the pre-booked disaster hotels. If hotels are that bad you always have the option to move - prebooked or not. If the hotels seriously don;t live up to their claims (unclean or no services or inadequate rooms) you can always recoup your money from your credit card company.

(We did this on our first trip to Rome - the hotel was clean - but nothing more - and completely inadequte for the price. We just went to the local AmEx office, had them find us a better one on the spot - the location was not quite so convenient - but the hotel was about 3* better for the same price. They cancelled the booking for the first hotel and credited us for the charge on the spot.)

I'm so sorry Henda. How awful to have spent all that money, all that time and have all those hopes dashed.

I'm sorry you had a bad time in Italy. However, I've gotten sick on vacation, had things stolen, stayed in bad hotels, endured cold and rain but it didn't make me dislike the people of the country. Why are you now not fond of Italians? A bad experience on vacation should hardly turn you against the entire nation?

Sorry about your trip. Rain can be a disappointment no matter what the destination.

As for the Italians, hoping not to generalize too much, but I'm not overly fond of the northern Italians myself. However, southern Italians rank right up there with the Scottish and Irish as some of the nicest group of Europeans you'll ever meet.

Brian

Henda,
The fact that you got a cold is probably what made your holiday so unbearable. Having a cold makes a person miserable no matter what the circumstances are. Obviously, your purse being stolen didn't help. That being said, I suggest you give Italy another try, because it is simply a wonderful country. Great culture and warm people (most of them).

Sognatrice, I agree about the rain. When I was in Italy last October, we got rain on several days and I loved it! Being at the Vatican during rain and driving through the Tuscan Hillside during a shower, is an experience that can't be beat. I can't wait to return to Italy.

Poor Henda, sorry for the worst holiday of your life. Please post the name of these hotels to help others avoid them.

Sorry, darling, about your trip. Now you know why we Brits carry umbrellas with us everywhere we go.

As a world traveller, I know to take an umbrella, Immodium, and Alka-seltzer Cold Plus with me whilst on holiday. These things can save your vacation.

I am also fond of jumping puddles. And nothing warms a cold chest like a bottle of gin.

When having a rotten time on holiday, get stinking drunk, darling.

Henda

See what you trggered. I'm sorry about your holiday. If I were you I'd take Thingorjus's advice and ignore the rest of us.

But DO tell about the awful hotels.

Several months before I moved to the big, bad Apple, I came to NYC to see some theater. I was still a teenager. Forever nurturing the look-nice-clothing-gene I inherited from my mother, I wore my favorite new coat purchased with hard-earned money just for this visit, an ivory-colored ultra-suede trench coat. (Don't laugh, ultra suede was big in the 70's and it looked great on me. It also set me back $700, the most I had ever spent on a single garment.)

On my last morning in NYC, I went to the closet in my hotel room to put my coat on and it was gone. I was devastated. I called my mother immediately and cried like a baby. Nothing had ever been stolen from me before. Three months later, I followed through with my move to NYC.

I got sick on my very first trip to Florence. I was convinced it was from Rome's public water fountains and I've never taken a drop from one since. I spent four days in my hotel room, convinced I was near death. I just couldn't believe how awful I felt. Even the front desk receptionist was worried about me. The funny thing, it rained all four days and I heard the constant sound of showers, even in my sleep. By the fifth day, weak yet determined, I rented a moped and finally saw Florence. It was a glorious sunny day. I couldn't wait to return.

My second January trip to Venice introduced me to bronchitis. I foolishly wasn't prepared for a bitter Siberian cold front and my fashionable wool coat didn't keep me warm. I went straight to my doctor's office from JFK and stayed in bed for 2 weeks. I wear fur now in Venice in January and I no longer care what animal activists have to say about it. I haven't caught a cold since.

Just like ThinG, I don't travel abroad without my medical kit. All it takes is getting sick one time to learn a valuable lesson. But, life is too short to let any mishap keep you down.

Henda, My sincere sympathy on a bad vacation. Could you tell us more about what went wrong w/ the hotels? Was it a problem with reservations? Or the room was bad once you saw it in person? Were these hotels you chose yourself? Or thru a travel agent or booking website? If you care to, even include the details of how you got purse-snatched... It won't save your vacation past but it could turn your complaints into helpful advise for the rest of us! Cheers.

Here's a tip for travelers who get a cold in Italy - go to the pharmacy and pick up a package of Oro, Rame &amp; Argento. These are little tubes of liquid that contain trace elements of gold, copper, and silver. I swore by this stuff when I was living in Venice and still keep a supply around now that I am back in the U.S.

As soon as you feel a cold coming on, take three tubes spread out over the day. You will heal faster and your cold will not be as severe. It really works!

Sorry this doesn't help you, Henda, but maybe it will help someone else someday.