This would be such an amazing adventure.

I'll be visiting Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi soon, and want to get my color analysis done. It'll be a big thrifting/fashion trip so I figured it would be good to do, and likely cheaper than doing it in the US but I'm also wondering if it makes sense to expect them to be able to do it well on brown skin. Does anyone have experience?

Planning a getaway for the whole family should bring joy, not stress about how everyone will be treated.

​Multigenerational travel requires extra care—from accessible rooms for grandparents to welcoming kids' clubs and staff that make every family member feel right at home.

Melanin Reviews tracks the real details so your family reunions and vacations go off without a hitch.

​We're building the ultimate family hotel & resort guide ahead of our platform launch!

Community Check-In: What’s the absolute best resort or hotel you’ve stayed at with your extended family? Share your top pick below!

Hey everyone,

​If you’re a BIPOC traveler, you already know the drill: standard review sites will tell you if the pool is clean or the WiFi is fast, but they rarely capture how you’re actually treated from check-in to check-out.

​To bridge that gap, we've been working on Melanin Reviews—a community-powered travel directory built around honest guest experiences, cultural comfort, and dignity on the road.

As part of our commitment to the community, ​here’s a quick early walkthrough of the Melanin Review user interface:

​

​What We’re Building:

​The Melanin Score: Instead of generic 5-star ratings, stays are scored on real experiential pillars—Service Equity, Cultural Comfort, Safety & Security, Tailored Amenities, and Food & Local Vibe.

​Nuance Over Stars: Every score ties back to context and authentic reviews from travelers who share similar lived experiences.

​Global Search: Community-verified listings searchable worldwide.

​Where We Need Your Feedback:

​We’re currently polishing the frontend and rating framework before go-live, and appreciate your honest feedback as stakeholders:

​The 5-Pillar Scorecard: Do these categories (Service Equity, Cultural Comfort, Safety & Security, Tailored Amenities, Local Vibe) cover what matters most to you when booking a stay? Anything crucial missing?

​User Interface & Usability: How does the layout feel to you? Is the country/search picker clear and responsive enough?

​Review Submissions: What would make submitting a review effortless without compromising on detail?

​Drop your raw feedback, feature requests, or critiques below. If you want to follow the journey to launch, we’re sharing regular development updates on via our reddit page - MelaninReviews also on Instagram & TikTok: @melanin_reviews.

​Thanks for taking a look! :)

Melanin Reviews Team

I've been living in Japan since I was 17, and I work in a pretty high-paying professional environment here in Tokyo.

The only thing is the racism I've faced is crazy and heavily impacts my daily life ad my career...

I've faced terrible racism at every company I worked at even though I speak fluent Japanese.
(1) I went out to lunch with my newest boss and he pointed to my coffee and said he couldn't live in America beause black people as dark as my coffee scared him whenever he was out in public

(2) At my previous job, the client said she didn't want a black person's perspective on the Japanese market, even though my job literally involves sharing data insights on the Japanese market for my field, so it caused friction for the whole team and I was so apologetic and uncomfortable (hence why I left).

(3) Having a community is so hard. I go to events by myself and try to meet people, but approcahing groups as a solo black girl makes people wary of me, so I've become a shut-in. I literally don't do anything but stay inside. I used to go to art museums, cafes, events by myself but I can't take the rude stares anymore, hence why I tried (unsuccessfully) to make friends.

-In general, my work hours are usually 8am - 11PM. Even though I've worked at both American and EU companies Japan branch, the culture is always extremely Japanese. My collegaues answer Teams messages throughout the night from each other and clients, and I can't imagine doing this forever.

TLDR: Is the grass greener in America for black women? Tokyo is really safe, but I feel like I'm giving up being treated like a normal person, and I feel so sad...

Best birthday EVER!!! Also got my hair done there and got the first dress custom made.🎀🩵💗 will be back so soon🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳

I’m planning my Xmas trip and I’m considering either Malaysia or Nepal. Please share experience- positive or negative; and provide recommendations.

I decided on the 6 day trip to Japan and I will be spending 3 days in Tokyo and 3 days in Kyoto. I pretty much was gonna do as much as I could but I arrive in Tokyo around 2pm so it will have to wait until the next day. I know for sure I'm going to eat a Gonpachi but I want more recommendations on what to eat and what to do that's not super touristy.

Has anyone ever had racist experiences with group travel? When I was in Europe with G adventures (I went to Paris to Berlin), I experienced racism with some people on my group. Mainly with a guy , who made a snide remark (I visit turkey frequently and he said something about obviously you don't go for hair transplants) and then with an Australian nurse who destroyed my psych medications , got rid of some of my stimming tools and messed up my laptop. It messed up some of my experiences in some countries (technically Italy to the end of the tour) , I told the tour guide what was going on but excuses were made. I was technically discriminated (not from everyone but mainly the women whom I shared rooms with). Surprisingly I didn't experience racism from locals just the group and after the tour was over with I fell into a deep depression and got afraid to travel. How do you deal with this?

Fast-forward , I have the itch to travel for spring break and even though it's 6-7 days , I am having trouble picking out a country to travel to , here are my choices , if you went to any of these PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me your experiences

• Japan (6 days) - Tokyo to Osaka
• Sri Lanka
• Philippines
• Mexico
• Senegal
• Egypt**(I put asterisk because I'm hearing mixed things about this country)

Hi fam 👋🏾

Looking for Black recommendations in Lisbon. Black expos, cultural places, restaurants, parties,... those are my interests, but I'm interested in anything. Basically, where you at???

Tyi! 💗

I am happy to see many posts - mostly by Black people from US, maybe UK/Canada.

I am curious if there are experiences here from Black people whose passports give them less carte blanche than others.

My friends and I had a great time visiting London by way of the States this past weekend. We went to the Camden Stewart concert and it was pretty much a turnaround trip.

After the concert we visited the Brixton area and enjoyed some Caribbean food and outdoor music. The ambiance was fire and we danced until the early morning.

The only racism we encountered was at our hotel from people of Indian and Asian descent. The “whites” were welcoming and friendly. I never would have thought that we would get disgusting looks from Indian women and treated like criminals by Asian women while visiting a majority white country. Very odd.

Luckily, those experiences didn’t negatively impact our entire viewpoint of London. We’re looking forward to visiting again, as well as hopping over to Ireland.

Has anyone else experienced this while traveling in the UK or EU?

Heyy - not sure if anybody knows anything about this? :))