The beauty, craftsmanship, and environmental emersion definitely hold up against the passage of time. I think lower ratings on HoT stem from the tremendous jump it took in game play when it was first released. If you approach from the original release, GW2 forward progression, the leap in game play and map layout is staggering. By approaching it from reverse, you have the benefit of experiencing the content with the latest specialization builds and the inevitable power creep, putting you in a better position to handle the maps complexity and challenges. In addition there is the invaluable assistance mounts give for navigating the maps. Imagine starting out those maps on foot. No gliding (although basic gliding was picked up pretty quickly), or mushroom bounce abilities, or nurloch wallows, etc..
All that said, there are still many that question the mental stability of those responsible for the tangled depths map. 🙂