Tourist Complaints copy

Stonehenge was just a bunch of rocks

It’s one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in the world, but TripAdvisor reviewer Dan G was disappointed when he visited, writing: "It’s a bunch of rocks... in a field. WOOOOOOOW! You’ll have to excuse the sarcasm, but the reality is that this is exactly what this 'attraction' is, you can’t even go up to them. Yes there’s some historical background... but that can be said of plenty of other, far better attractions that our country has to offer. Give it a miss, not worth the effort…

The Grand Canyon is just rocks

One of the most popular destinations in the US, the Grand Canyon doesn't charm all of its visitors, one of whom said he thought the canyon "could've been a little grander." One traveller, who didn't expect bad weather, said rain and fog ruined the trip while another disgruntled visitor said: "It's just a big hole in the ground. It took me a long time to walk round it, downvoting until they build a bridge or something."

The Eiffel Tower is really ugly

In might be one of the most recognised symbols of Paris yet some visitors were not so impressed by this French landmark. Giving it one star on Google Reviews, one traveller suggested it should be rebuilt while others called it ugly and unattractive. "More like awful tower," said another visitor.

The Mona Lisa was too small

The Louvre is one of the world’s most popular museums but TripAdvisor reviewer Palindromeman was seriously unimpressed by his visit. He wrote: "Musee [sic] du Louvre – bad. Short answer: bored… Apparently there is between 14 to 16 kilometres of boredom on offer at the Louvre. I could not do it." Of the Mona Lisa, he wrote: "She's small. Effectively A4 size… And that smile? She looks to me like she just pulled a bank job and got away with it."

The women were too pretty

A self-conscious tourist had a crisis of confidence after visiting Russia, complaining: "The ladies living in Russia were so beautiful they totally crushed my self-esteem."

There was no milk in the tea

A travel advisor said she received a call late at night from one client visiting Rome, who complained that they had received a sandwich but the bread was not buttered on both sides and that there was no milk in the tea. After talking to the hotel, she found out the milk had been served in a separate jug, as is the custom.

I was forced to drink cocktails

Twitter account @HolidayComplain has seen some truly bizarre complaints over the years, collating stories submitted anonymously by travel agents. One tourist was unhappy about enjoying cocktails on their holiday, writing: "The water tasted funny so I had to drink cocktails all week. Now I can't remember half my holiday." Bottled water next time, perhaps?

No one told us there would be fish in the sea

Another traveller was shocked to find fish in the sea, moaning: "No one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled." Another was disappointed with the salty water, complaining: "The water in the Gulf of Mexico was too salty. No one told me that there was going to be salt in the water. It was gross."

The animals should be trained to smile

One tourist was disappointed after a trip to the zoo, writing: "The animals at the zoo looked very sad and it made our children cry. Can’t they train them to smile?" Another visiting Yellowstone National Park moaned: "We had to cut our trip short to Yellowstone because we were informed that they don’t cage the animals at night for our protection."

The beach was too sandy

In what might be the most mind-boggling complaint of all, one Brit abroad complained: "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room." Another tourist was disappointed by the pristine nature of the sand on their holiday, writing: "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as yellow, but it was white."

The flight time was unfair

One British traveller was annoyed at the disparity between flights to the UK and to the USA, moaning: "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England… it only took the Americans three hours to get home." Another was appalled at a seat mix up on the plane, complaining: "I booked the window seat for myself and the middle seat for my wife but the tickets put us in the opposite ones."

There was curry in India

A picky holidaymaker hated the food on his trip to India, moaning: "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all." Another tourist was disappointed by the Greek food on offer, writing: "Food in the Greek hotel was too Greek. We had to eat in the nearby fast food place."