just to revive my original post, im on hols from work this week (as in watching this morning and taking leave i need to get rid of) and spent the entire day yesterday rebooking our holiday in spetember as we decided the original destination did not feel right. without exception, every property i looked at over on TA whether it be greece, turkey, africa or carribean 2 or 5 star had at least a good few 'don't even go there' and 'hotel from hell, stay away' type reviews, the majority of which contained pearls of wisdom such as 'drinks not strong enough' (ask for a bigger measure then, it's bloody carribean AI so there's no limit!!!!!!) to 'locals on the beach made us feel unsafe' (it's there home that you are invading not the other way round, and why should this reflect badly on the actual accomodation?!? )

honestly, i was/astounded that some of these people ever go anywhere! i have absolutely decided that from now on, 'the open mind and glass half full' approach is the one i am going to take, make my own mind up and take things as i find them on my own personal experience, it took me 6 hours of web searching and a 40 minute call to thomson to get sorted out, but we are finally there, the hotel looks fab (for us anyway, we don't spend our realistic budget expecting butler service, 24 hour pampering and the assurance that we won't see a creepy crawly every now and again in a tropical climate in exchange for our hard earned cash...) i think i've learned expectation and reality are 2 completely different things in the world of travel...fair enough, glossy re-touched tour operator brochures probably don't help to keep people's expectations realistic, but for me personally, i'm looking forward to our holiday, and it won't be ruined if someone speaks to me in another language,if i order a steak that's not 'cooked the way they do it at home' or if the odd lizard dares to pay me a visit in the evening...happy holidays one and al-and let's make our own minds upl!!!