«I think Mykonos has a problem.»
This is according to Christina Ford, a 63-year-old solo traveler, writer and vlogger (@insearchofmrdarcy and A-Broad in London.com), after the experiences lived on the Greek island that made her swear that she will never return.
One of them was given an “exaggerated” hotel bill and was pressured by staff to pay additional tips on top of what she had already paid.
Christina, who lives in London, tells the story in a TikTok videotelling viewers: “This is crazy. Mykonos, I don’t know what the hell is happening to you.”
The solo traveler describes how she received the hotel bill as she was about to check out, which included the cost of the hotel, additional taxes, government taxes, the price of the food she had ordered at the pool, plus taxes, and a tip for that.
Christina Ford says her experiences on the Greek island of Mykonos (pictured above) made her vow never to return.
She continues: ‘I’m putting my credit card in, but they leave a little space and they’re waiting for me. Two people are standing next to me. I said, “What’s this?” They said, “Oh, to leave a tip.”
Christina continues in the video: “This tipping service, this culture is going crazy. Have you ever asked someone to tip on top of the cost of the room and the tips they already left? Mykonos, you’re crazy.”
The keen traveller tells MailOnline she stayed at the hotel for three nights, for a room rate of around €700 (£593.77/$777). Although she really liked the hotel, she says she was “shocked” when she was asked to leave a tip and didn’t pay one.
Christina says: “In all my years of traveling, I have never seen anything like this. I also think that if I were Greek and not Canadian (I am often mistaken for an American), I wouldn’t have been asked.”
As a former waitress, Christina tells MailOnline she is a “generous tipper if the service is good” but “really resents it when a huge amount is added to your bill, forcing you to go through the awkward effort of removing or reducing it.”
Her nightmare in Mykonos didn’t end there.
In another TikTok videoChristina warns solo travelers to avoid the Greek island due to negative experiences she had in several bars.
Christina, pictured above on a recent holiday to Marrakech, is a keen solo traveller.
In the video, she recalls trying to get a drink at a bar to watch the sunset. She explains that as she was on her way to meet friends, she just wanted a drink. Christina says the first bar she tried was “one-third full” and had “a lot of empty seats” but staff told her the minimum order was €100 (£84/$109).
At a second bar, which was almost “completely empty,” she was told she needed a reservation and asked if she was traveling alone before turning her away.
In the video, Christina describes the experience as “discrimination” and says she was only able to get a table at the fourth place she tried.
She told MailOnline that the Greek island was her worst experience as a solo traveller, explaining: “Mykonos, in its obvious desperation to make money, discriminates, I think, against solo travellers. They weren’t prepared to seat one person at a table for two, even if the place was empty.”
Christina’s videos proved controversial, with some trolls even addressing her as a “middle-aged Karen”. However, she tells MailOnline: “Those trolls telling me ‘go back to Texas, Karen’ were outnumbered by people who had had similar experiences and were more than happy to share them.
‘It also sparked another debate among Greeks: those who defended their overrated island of Mykonos (a minority) by claiming that it was me and my kind that was the problem, not Mykonos, and those Greeks who loudly declared: “Mykonos is not Greece.”‘
Christina reveals to MailOnline that one restaurant in Mykonos even sent her a private message to verify that it wasn’t their establishment that had turned her away (it wasn’t) because they felt the treatment she had received was “appalling”.
Christina has now blacklisted Mykonos.
Speaking to MailOnline, she told the outlet: “I wouldn’t dare go to Mykonos. As Oscar Wilde says, once curiosity, twice perversion.”
Christina tried to grab a drink to enjoy the sunset views of the island but was turned away at three bars (file image)
‘What made the island popular in the first place has slowly been replaced by inflated prices and privileges. I can afford to pay for excellent food and service, but no one likes to be ripped off or taken advantage of, regardless of their budget.
‘If you want to drink a €180 (£152/$200) bottle of Whispering Angel rosé and pay €110 (£93/$121) for the privilege of lying on a sun lounger on a normal beach, go for it. But the world is full of better places to visit, where they are genuinely happy to serve you.’
And one of those places? Near Hydra, another Greek island (where Whispering Angel costs just 60 euros, 50 pounds sterling) and a place Christina recommends in her video.
She added to MailOnline: “Hydra was lovely. There were no cars, you could walk everywhere and they made you feel very welcome.”
Christina also loves Seville in Spain – ‘an amazing destination for solo travellers’ – and Italy, where people treat women ‘like they’re someone’s sister or daughter’.
The solo traveller also recalls a fantastic experience at London’s Balthazar restaurant, telling MailOnline: “I placed my order and before my food arrived the waiter brought a glass of champagne. I said, ‘Excuse me, I didn’t order that,’ and he said, ‘It’s our treat for being alone,’ and offered me something else if I didn’t drink. This is the restaurant’s policy on how they treat solo diners. That experience stuck with me.”
And he adds: “Treat the solo traveller as if you were a table of 10. Spend some time and talk to him. Plus, that free glass of champagne doesn’t hurt.”
