I never trust what is posted on lots of sites as I feel you must average out what is being said. As the same in holidays what some people love is a holiday from hell for others.

I'm not going to name sites but I have seen several posts about places I have been to that are blatently lies. One suggested they went to the restaurant, ate this and that and it was all terrible. The problem with the review which instantly made alarm bells ring was that fact that I've been their at the same time and none of the food mentioned was on the menu. I did some searching about and found a website with the menu on from about 5 years before and those dishes were on that menu !

Another post about the same restaurant (where we have been on several holidays and always have good food and good service) gave it a bashing, going on about how dirty the kitchen must be, how the owner gets his fish and chips from the chippy around the corner etc.. but the start of the review states quite clearly that the person has never been to the place before, went to look for it and it was shut when they got there.. I've contacted the site telling them its not a review and it needs removing, but its still there (as is another one from a few years ago that also suggests similar rubbish and again is obviously untrue)....

Double ended sword. I use TA and like the site, and do reviews, but the problem is the ones that say poor service or accusations are only part of the story?

Personally the only review I trust is my own. Each of us has different expectations, likes and dislikes. A hotel that someone raves about only means they personally thought it was great. The same applies to those that get negative reviews. Yes I do trawl the various review sites seeking information but unless every review is negative I decide for myself. It is not much of a problem these days as we do tend to revisit the same hotels. For a change we have been to Majorca (came back Saturday) and we hope to go back as it ticked all the boxes FOR US I have posted a review here- http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/spain/balearic-islands/mallorca/sa-coma/protur-palmeras-playa-apartments/

I only post reviews here on HT. One particular advantage when doing my research are the members of HT, who I have found over the years to tell it as it is. If an HT member says it is good or bad then it is usually right - all we need now is for everybody to take a few minutes to pen (or write) a review each time they go away. I did send a copy of my review to the hotel together with a link to HT. I have received a very nice reply thanking me.

Now there is an idea. When you post your review then copy it to the hotel with a link to HT. In a short time we could quickly become the only place to visit for a review that tells the truth.

Happy holidays.

fwh

Unfortunately its just a fact of life , This site has lots of hotel and resort reviews and some will contain false information. Trip adviser has loads as does every review site on the net.

Many people seem only post a review if its bad, just look at the number of first time posters in the complaints section here.

I think the secret is to read lots of them and its not to hard to get a general picture of what its really like.

I've always said to read HT reviews with an open mind.. I feel it's important to get to know the reviewer on the forums if at all possible as you need to know someone's expectations. Some people will be satisfied with a 2 star hotel offering basic accommodation and services but someone who expects 5 star at a 2 star hotel will rate it totally different.

Nice idea re email to the hotel Frank, I'll have a word with the powers that be to see if that can't be incorporated into the approval section of the reviews.

Van

I remember when I was on holiday in cattolica in 2006, and in particular one set of couples, they didnt like the hotel

Small meals, and cold, bed were very hard, manager was a sour face

Most of there fact were almost right, meals were small portions, and very tasty, but not cold; beds, yes there were hard, but thats italy for you; Manager a sour face, not quite, he just a very busy person

And at the time it was one of the cheapest hotels you could get from airtours 2 weeks half board for £575, now I tyake these couple were more a kin to the higher life style...so there no pleasing everyone

fwh wrote:

Now there is an idea. When you post your review then copy it to the hotel with a link to HT. In a short time we could quickly become the only place to visit for a review that tells the truth.

Vanlaywan wrote:

Nice idea re email to the hotel Frank, I'll have a word with the powers that be to see if that can't be incorporated into the approval section of the reviews.

I think this is something one of the travel companies does, if you leave a review of the hotel, some hotel manager reply to this, even taking in suggestions from holiday makers

to quote part of your reply Van "Some people will be satisfied with a 2 star hotel offering basic accommodation and services but someone who expects 5..... " We got to a hotel that is roughly 2 star rated and get far better service, better looked after, more relaxing atmosphere than the top ranked 4 star we got put in when our flight was cancelled - the 4 star was too rigid, breakfast is 7 to 10am (even though we had been up for over 24hours due to the delay etc and it was about 6am already and everyone needed sleep).. we managed to drag ourselves out of bed by about 9:30 and found our way to the restaurant to find it was poor quality serve yourself buffet style food (the worst breakfast we've eaten in Cyprus bar far !) compared to freshly cooked when you want it that we get in the 2 star hotel..... was very thankful into that insight as I now know higher star ratings in no way mean better !

There is another problem with reviews, a large portion of people will only review when they don't like something, but not when they have an it's ok or good review.

I'm more the other way, I review when its been good, I feel a bit bad about putting a bad review up as it might have been a one off or getting off on the wrong foot etc (which is why I didn't submit a review of the hotel we only spent a night and day in etc)

There was a time when HT members would not think about not posting a review, but somehow many of us seem not to do so, particularly if like ourselves you go back to the same hotel(s) year after year. And yes I admit I am one of the guilty ones.

We really need to make the effort if we want HT be the place people look. If you check at the bottom of the main index page you find on a regular basis that there are only 6 or 7 members logged in yet there can be 80, 90, or more GUESTS. These are the nameless people that actively check HT for information. Probably many of the one post wonders are drawn from there. Only when they have a problem do they join and post. We need to ensure that all these nameless ones see that HT is such an important site they need to join in and share their knowledge and experiences and one way to do that is post reviews. Or are you frightened that your secret paradise might be over run?

fwh

I always put an "honest" review up on here (and TA!!) because I know from personal experience that the Tour ops. won't put any negative comments on their sites!!
Yes, there are personal perceptions of what is expected of a 2*,3* etc in terms of Customer Service,food etc but there are certain basic things which ALL hotels should get right - ie food that is edible if not gourmet, a basic level of hygiene/cleanliness, no obvious safety risks etc.
If I'm looking for a new place to stay when I go thru' the reviews I look for :-1. Plenty of reviews made by users with multiple reviews/posts 2. Up to date (no more than 1 year old at most) . I ignore the obvious outliers ie the glowing reviews that read like a T.O brochure !! or the ultra negative one time poster review. From experience I ignore the comments about hard beds, unsmiling front desk staff, lack of choice of food, not enough poolside umbrellas but take notice of multiple posts about dirty pools/beach/sea, room cleaning, inedible food etc
May be I've been lucky but in 35 years of holidays "abroad" I can only remember one really disastrous hotel/apartment - a few that haven't met my expectations, and fortunately many that have exceeded my expectations!!

Reviews are great for gathering basic information and worries after you have booked. but the thing to remember is your opinions are different to others
Never Never use reviews to pick a holiday as i have checked many hotels after i have booked and wished i could change but when we arrived they were nothing like the review said ?
as i said some people find fault where others wont.

madasharley wrote:

Never Never use reviews to pick a holiday as i have checked many hotels after i have booked and wished i could change but when we arrived they were nothing like the review said ?
. :sun2

How do you choose a hotel then?

I recently chose accomodation in South Africa based purely in the reviews that I read on the various review sites, what other method is there in choosing hotels when going to places that you haven't been to before?

On TA it seems that it is possible to post a review of a place you are yet to visit that seems bonkers, i was reading the Lanzarote forum over there and a load of the regulars were reporting it to TA management to get them removed. It seemed like the staff from in the accommodation were doing it. At least on this site you cant post a review from abroad so there is far less chance of fake ones coming in from the management/staff or others with vested financial interests in the accommodation.

Doe

Seems like a daft idea to me Doe, TA has become a monster with the sheer volume of posts on the site and not enough safeguards. As you say it's where HT has the advantage with not allowing reviews from abroad. I wonder if I would be allowed to review a german hotel here on HT.
I do still use TA extensively though when choosing a new holiday destination or requiring updates to places I've been before. Hopefully a new and improved HT can give the other review sites a real run for their money.

Judith wrote:

I wonder if I would be allowed to review a german hotel here on HT.

Yes you probably would Judith provided you posted it under your username.

We use a lot of criteria before we approve or delete a review. Yes one of the criteria is that we don't accept reviews posted from the country where the accommodation is located. However that doesn't apply to the UK otherwise we wouldn't have any reviews for UK hotels.

It's the one post wonder singing the praises of or rubbishing a hotel and posting from the country where it is located that we look for. One could be the owner and the other a rival. We would use our discretion with established members.

Having dealt with TA and witnessed first hand its review moderation process, I can say without doubt this is why TA is having issues. During my time with Holiday Watchdog and now seeing the moderation process of reviews here on HT, the best way to moderate a review is to read each one and take it on its own merits. Sadly the press in the UK occasionaly like to send fake reviews to websites like ours to see if theirs gets posted. Then they take you down in the media. I can proudly say during my time with HWD, we were NEVER caught out by the jurnos, purely becuase every review was processed and read in full.

Waffling a bit, but what I am saying is HT may not be the size of TA but we do have quality control on our side and the consumers (thats you guys) trust our reviews.