SleepyJoe Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Different grades have their place, that's why they are there Walkers will tolerate shared bathrooms in a small b&b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Johnson Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, AlanShimmin said: There should be a cull of any 'hotel' 3 stars and below. Also anything with 'shared bathrooms' should be closed down with immediate effect. But people who are okay with shared bathrooms are the type of tourist we attract. Not known for their big spending either. We are Blackpool on Sea................. The obsession with heritage rail etc is going to end badly, the youth today don't have a hunger for the memories of steam rail and on a similar note, most youth now think bikers are weirdos. We are spending multi millions chasing a soon to be dead demographic. ETA. The island is not as picturesque as islanders think either, lots and lots of places in the British isles are much nicer. Even if someone thinks they might want to visit, they Google us and all you get is the TT and drunk bikers/ accidents. We should be offering free sites and discounted electricity/ shipping (especially as off island shipping is not busy, empty trucks going to the UK) to attract manufacturing and associated industries. One thing is for certain though, the new bunch of MHKs will make zero difference, the policy's are already set by the CS. Edited September 9, 2021 by Boris Johnson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 43 minutes ago, Boris Johnson said: We are Blackpool on Sea................. Blackpool is Blackpool on Sea. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 This is a fantastic place to visit / live. It's an especially great place from which to work from home. The rollout of rural fibre is making that even more viable. The nicest and most isolated parts of most of rural Britain and much of mainland Europe often have awful internet. And if you forget to lock the door here it will probably be fine. The growing focus on any-weather outdoor lifestyle and good food is hugely positive too. Who really cares if it's raining? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Johnson Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 1 hour ago, pongo said: This is a fantastic place to visit / live. It's an especially great place from which to work from home. The rollout of rural fibre is making that even more viable. The nicest and most isolated parts of most of rural Britain and much of mainland Europe often have awful internet. And if you forget to lock the door here it will probably be fine. The growing focus on any-weather outdoor lifestyle and good food is hugely positive too. Who really cares if it's raining? Sorry Pongo but you need to get out more, there are much nicer/ safer places to live in the UK these days, as there always was. The island is full of druggy Chavs that go out in the main town with abandon with the intention of trouble. You can't go out for a nice evening, drinks before, a nice meal and then drinks after in Douglas without a chance of being attacked/ attractive partner being felt up etc etc. I would add that the 400mill loan ontop of the MEA 500 mill loan meansd the Island is totally fuc9ed in the near future. Glad I have a way out of this cluster Fu7k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forestboy Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 10 minutes ago, Boris Johnson said: Sorry Pongo but you need to get out more, there are much nicer/ safer places to live in the UK these days, as there always was. The island is full of druggy Chavs that go out in the main town with abandon with the intention of trouble. You can't go out for a nice evening, drinks before, a nice meal and then drinks after in Douglas without a chance of being attacked/ attractive partner being felt up etc etc. I would add that the 400mill loan ontop of the MEA 500 mill loan meansd the Island is totally fuc9ed in the near future. Glad I have a way out of this cluster Fu7k Bye bye 👋 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Ship Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 1 hour ago, pongo said: This is a fantastic place to visit / live... Serious question: what makes it a "fantastic" place to visit? Assuming you are a proper tourist and you are there on holiday (not on business and not just to visit relatives or friends) what is there on offer for you? All I can think of is the TT or some easy hillwalking - possibly some open water kayaking, but that's about it. What other attractions are there? Certainly not the beaches or the nightlife I haven't been back to the island for ten years, so no doubt my views may be completely out of date, but the lingering impressions I would have are that there is virtually no decent accomodation to speak of, there's no decent shops, and there's no decent restaurants. Even the pubs were pretty rubbish - which really surprised and disappointed me as when I was a student in the late 70s Manx pubs were far superior to UK ones in nearly every way. 2 hours ago, SleepyJoe said: Different grades have their place, that's why they are there Walkers will tolerate shared bathrooms in a small b&b Serious walkers (like serious anglers and serious golfers) will tolerate any old crap accommodation, but most average (or normal if you prefer) holiday makers won't. Having spent too many long weekends myself travelling 600 mile round trips to Scotland to climb Munros and Corbetts and having a brother-in-law who will put with almost any deprivation to go angling in weird out of the way places, I'd suggest there is no comparable attraction on the IoM that would make sharing a bathroom with a stranger worthwhile. 3 hours ago, Boris Johnson said: ...ETA. The island is not as picturesque as islanders think either, lots and lots of places in the British isles are much nicer... So true. I live within 15 minutes walk of the centre of a city, but I can put on my running shoes and within 15 minutes of running in the opposite direction be in scenery just as beautiful as anything on the IoM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finlo Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 On 9/8/2021 at 1:30 PM, SleepyJoe said: Bars are doing OK now in Peel Maybe it's because there is very little else in Peel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyWolf Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Overheard two sets of well travelled tourists (all over 60) the other day who have never been here before, both were surprised by the variety of things to do and the beauty of the place and we’re really enjoying there visit but felt the lack of good modern accommodation and pubs let the place down. Also very disappointed by Douglas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voice of Reason Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 2 hours ago, GreyWolf said: Overheard two sets of well travelled tourists (all over 60) the other day who have never been here before, both were surprised by the variety of things to do and the beauty of the place and we’re really enjoying there visit but felt the lack of good modern accommodation and pubs let the place down. Also very disappointed by Douglas. But what drove them to the conclusion that there was a lack of good modern accommodation? Did you overhear that bit of the conversation? If I went to say, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales or Bolton having booked my accommodation in advance, it would be a strange thing to say not having investigated every single one of the alternatives Plenty of pubs here to accommodate all tastes. Can not disagree with the disappointment with Douglas though. That applies to locals as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
code99 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) When I was in Peel the other day it was great to see that the place was buzzing with tourists. I got the sense that most of these tourists were OAPs from Northern England. I overheard someone expressing their frustration that although the Boatyard restaurant looked “wonderful”, and was only “half full”, they were turned away. It seems that the restaurant was turning away willing customers due to staff shortages. Ironically, those OAPs do not appear to have understood that one of the root causes behind the lack of staff on the Island is Brexit, something many of them will have voted for (the East Europeans who used to work in these types of places have gone home). Next year we may find ourselves in a predicament where we have tens of thousands of TT tourists, but insufficient numbers of people working in hospitality to serve them. The wages in hospitality sector may have to go up substantially, at least during the ‘tourist’ season, in order to attract enough people to come over here to work, just to make the tourism/ hospitality sector as a whole viable. What a clusterfuck Brexit is turning up to be. Edited September 10, 2021 by code99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De nada Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 20 hours ago, Boris Johnson said: We are Blackpool on Sea... You fucking wish, it's even tackier in Douglas but without the lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Phantom Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 17 hours ago, Ghost Ship said: I haven't been back to the island for ten years, so no doubt my views may be completely out of date, but the lingering impressions I would have are that there is virtually no decent accomodation to speak of, there's no decent shops, and there's no decent restaurants. Even the pubs were pretty rubbish - which really surprised and disappointed me as when I was a student in the late 70s Manx pubs were far superior to UK ones in nearly every way. 10 years ago maybe I'd agree on the accommodation and restaurants. But a lot happens in that timeframe - even over here! You'd be suprised by the fairly impressive foodie culture that has popped up in that time - just look at the Food Festival (which wouldn't suprise me if it was the biggest festival in Britain last year). Decent and varied local producers and a lot of new cafe's and restaurants. I've actually just had to look for accommodation for a client coming over and was also suprised by the quality of some of the options available. Admittedly I've not had to stay at any hotels here and this is based upon the websites I was looking at. Even most of the pubs (that are still around) have mostly been refurbed in the last 10 years. Although of course there will still be crappy hotels and restaurants, but overall it has definitely improved since you were last here. Sorry, I'm trying to be positive again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Flint Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 The Mount Murray is doing OK by all accounts and looks like the spa is a quality setup. Big car tour visit next week and it is lovely to see the DOI have allowed a mountain road closure - for an off island company. Despite our very best efforts, we weren’t afforded that privilege as a local outfit . its all good though - at least things are moving forward. That said, I had forgotten how much is on the doorstep over here in the NW. unless you have an absolute need to travel above 70, the lakes, Yorkshire, Wales all offer great touring. It’s made me recognise how tough a gig the tourism side of the IOM is to develop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Johnson Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 10 minutes ago, Derek Flint said: The Mount Murray is doing OK by all accounts and looks like the spa is a quality setup. Big car tour visit next week and it is lovely to see the DOI have allowed a mountain road closure - for an off island company. Despite our very best efforts, we weren’t afforded that privilege as a local outfit . its all good though - at least things are moving forward. That said, I had forgotten how much is on the doorstep over here in the NW. unless you have an absolute need to travel above 70, the lakes, Yorkshire, Wales all offer great touring. It’s made me recognise how tough a gig the tourism side of the IOM is to develop Its not a closure as as as I was aware just a "Drive Over" supervised by the plod? No harm Derek, but if they are closing the road, the main route on the island from North to South, for a bunch of "classic cars" we need our bumps felt. My business uses the mountain road multiple times a day as do many many others. To have that closed for an afternoon for something the "DoEnterprise" thinks brings in money is foolish. Would the UK close the M6 for a parade of oldish cars? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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