Has nothing to do with the beaches, it just helps to highlight that one mans paradise is another mans sh*thole. Has always been this way and always will.
Nick 1.
Do not be the least bit concerned about wasting the company's time and money. They have plenty of it, and they are not concerned about wasting your time and money.
An interview is a two way process. It is as much for you to look at them as it is for them to look at you. You cannot make a calculated decision without coming here. What you read here is not that relevant, as you don't know yet whether you will be one of the guys that love it or hate it.
By the way, you won't be wasting too much of the company's money because they make you pay your own way here. That, in my opinion, is the single best indicator of how the company will treat you in the long term.
They say all the right things, but words are cheap and airfares expensive. That sums it up for me.