Inevitably, along with pleasure and excitement came frustration and disenchantment. The following travel experiences stand out as my most forgettable of 2011.

The Setai Fifth Avenue, New York

While it certainly looks impressive from across Fifth Avenue, the new Setai underperforms as a hotel, especially considering the local competition. Check-in in the small lobby was cool and anonymous, and upstairs, our room felt somewhat institutional, with scant decorative touches beyond a potted orchid and some ceramics. We waited forever to be served a drink in the bar, which, much like the rest of the hotel, felt distinctly charmless and impersonal.

Hacienda del Mar, Panama

Ideally set on one of the lovely Pearl Islands about a half-hour by plane from Panama City, this resort boasts impressive views, a postcard-pretty beach and very good food. The accommodations are in individual bungalows situated to take advantage of the scenery. But they are only adequately comfortable at best; the airstrip greeting from the manager was one step away from indifferent; the staff barely speaks English; and none of the touted activities was offered during our stay. Other publications have extolled the hacienda as a fine resort of high standards. Not in my book.

Banyan Tree Hangzhou, China

Banyan Tree is a distinguished company, and in China, it operates two superb resorts, the Banyan Tree Lijiang and the Banyan Tree Ringha. I was therefore looking forward to my stay at the Banyan Tree Hangzhou, a property located seven miles from the center of the city, in the so-called Xixi Wetlands, a place described on the website as one of “lush greenery and calm waters.” Imagine my surprise to arrive not at a pristine environmental wonderland but at a construction site. 
 The din and commotion were, it seemed, the result of a new Sheraton being noisily assembled next door. My expectations took a further knock when I discovered that my suite overlooked a stagnant stretch of canal containing a miscellany of building debris, including several planks and a long strip of slimy plastic tubing. Nor was my steadily worsening temper improved by the discovery of broken and stained marble trim in the bath. At breakfast, staff members manifested varying degrees of indifference and torpor, while a tottering pile of dirty plates and cups accumulated in the service area. Outside in the garden, I found an atmosphere of desolation, with weedy paths, overgrown borders and dirty ashtrays. Precisely why the Banyan Tree Hangzhou should have descended into such a shambles remained unclear, though a dispute between the owners and the management company seemed a highly plausible explanation.

Yangzi Explorer Cruise Boat, China

Once, the Yangtze was a turbulent and enigmatic river, its banks dotted with ancient Buddhist temples and immemorial villages. But then, in 2008, came the Three Gorges Dam. Nearly one-and-a-half miles wide, its construction required the relocation of 1.24 million people and the inundation of 1,300 archaeological sites. Behind the dam, the water level rose several hundred feet, which means that for 250 miles upstream, the Yangtze is now a lake. It also means that the famed ethereal scenery of the Yangtze Gorges is a good deal less impressive than it used to be. And all those displaced people? Well, many of them were rehoused atop the riverbank in huge, high-rise concrete developments of soul-destroying hideousness. In summer 2011, we embarked on a four-day cruise on the Sanctuary M.S. Yangzi Explorer, which claims to be the most luxurious ship on the river. To be fair, its cabins are reasonably comfortable, and there are many fewer of them than on other ships of comparable size. The showers work and the staff are pleasant. However, the main public areas are unattractive; banal Muzak blares from loudspeakers — Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” proved virtually inescapable — and the food is little better than adequate. On arrival in Yichang, we were delayed for nearly five hours because the boat, we were told, was being cleaned. However, when we finally made it aboard, there were still dirty wine glasses and ashtrays scattered around the observation deck. The next four days were some of the most depressing we have spent in a long while: not actively unpleasant, just profoundly dispiriting.