tng11

Hong Kong. It's oppressively hot most of the year, polluted, overcrowded, full of rude people and devoid of any soul with just massive shopping malls selling the same thing 100x over. I say this as someone who visits there at least once every year for family reasons.

The food is the only semi-redeeming thing about HK though.

cruisr

Garbage everywhere, even along trekking trails in Rice Paddies outside Ubud. Beaches that pale compared to other places in the world. Traffic everywhere. Loud noisy bars and restaurants in beach areas and a faux authentic vibe in Ubud. Beaches have lots of shells and pebbles and very windy on the east side in Nusa Dua. Nobody even sits on the beach. Plastic bottles and bags in the water. yes, I did see the countryside with my driver/guide and were on roads that were not crowded but still garbage on the side of the road and not what I thought the whole experience would be.

relangford

Beijing. Yellow sand much of the year, RUDE people (natives, not the tourists), some "historic" sights are restored too much, crooked taxi drivers, ....

BuildingMyBento

I don't even like the food.

However, it's awfully photogenic, and it's a good place to mainland visas. So, only for those reasons do I not mind it.

Oh, and its extensive - if unpleasant - airport public transit also is worth a mention.

RustyC

Colorado and Vermont. Not that there's anything terribly wrong with either, but they've just been overmarketed. I blame Coors and Ben & Jerry's, though there were problems even before that.

The Florida Keys are way overpriced and neither Hemmingway nor Buffett would want to live in Key West now. Cruise ships provided the final blow.

The northeast and mid-Atlantic U.S. are also cursed with sites of historic importance that easily get crowd-overwhelmed, whether it's Mystic, Annapolis, Harper's Ferry, Williamsburg, or a number of others. Usually a tourist-trap infrastructure develops around it (fudge places, gift shops, maybe even a Hard Rock) intended to keep crowds there longer, maybe even overnight, and that just makes the crowd problem worse. Outlet malls may be passe by now but they were a bad part of the mix as well.

I'd go along with the least-worst-displacement theory, BTW, for Orlando and Las Vegas and maybe to a lesser extent Branson and Myrtle Beach. Those places are all sacrificial lambs of sorts so that others can be spared. Reno, for example, is a bit like Las Vegas used to be, and except for Busch Gardens, southwest Florida is less-touristed than it might be otherwise.

Cassie55

I hated Santorini.

I'm think I'm the only person in the world who does as everyone else seems to love it.

I thought it was over hyped, over priced and overcrowded.

roastpuff

This!

pinniped

All of those touristy beach towns from Jersey down through Maryland or so. Dewey, Rehobeth, Ocean City, etc. None of those beaches are particularly good, none are capable of handling peak-season crowds very well, most of the accommodations there are utter dumps, and the food/drink at most places in these towns is worse than Applebee's.

Yet I have a few friends who think these are the greatest destinations in the world. I've spent a weekend or two in each and just don't get it. Throw Atlantic City in the list too...it's kind of its own animal, but I still think it's a dump. Sorry.

Sheikh Yerbooty

Dubai. It's a bit like Las Vegas (a good desert wasted) but without the gambling. Add to that the phalanx of Jumeriah Janes, who think they're suddenly upper-class because their husbands (who couldn't hack it in the real world) landed a job there that makes enough money to hire a live-in maid.

And that's before we even start on the horrible weather for 8 months of the year, the Sharia law governing the place, the abuse of 3rd world labour and the local drivers in their phorwheeldryves, who are among the worst in the world (not the cars, the drivers).

84fiero

So I'm not just having deja vu!

13901

I have to agree. I felt quite disappointed by HK. And if I have to add that we had the most disheartening encounters with CX ground staff ever and a "meh" fly on CX the scene is set for a place I'll try and avoid.

I second that. Everything you said is just spot on.

BuildingMyBento

Did you, like most tourists, only stay in Manhattan and northern Brooklyn?

I am glad to dismiss those two parts of the city - save for a couple of museums and restaurants - and instead try to find solace in Queens and Brighton Beach supermarkets.