I would and have done so Suzie, but in a nice way. I pointed out the positives first, but then said "in my opinion blah blah blah" When I read reviews, I certainly hope that they are going to be truthful and accurate, about any important points. For minor things, it's each to his own - what might annoy you or upset your holiday wouldn't necessarily upset me and visa versa.

Definately ! I think its important that people know what to expect from their hotel, either positive or negative, suzie, if the poster had already booked, they ( hopefully) would have read reviews beforehand and were just looking for extra comments .
That's one of the reasons H.T is here, for genuine holiday makers like ourselves to give advice, recall our experiences and sometimes reassurance .

If it were me Suzie then I would want to know the cons as well as the pros

I personally would tell them the negatives, which I have done on at least one review that I have given on here over the years. As you know we ourselves go away very soon, and upon our return if there are any negatives I shall put them in my review when I do it

If they have already booked suzi I would try to be honest by pointing out good & Bad in the hope they could overcome some of the negatives and be prepared . what I would never do is completely slate it and tell a member they should of done their research first .

In other words as honest as I can without being brutal .

I am always honest in my reviews

I would be honest too..but as blunt and as gobby as I am, I would also point out the good points. Also, a holiday is what you make it and that persons expectations and wishes for a hotel may be different to my own...so everything I disliked, they might love!
I would not give them the "you should have done your research" speech. That would be so patronising. There is no need to belittle a person.

I am always honest in my reviews..both good and bad points. There is no point in doing a review otherwise.

I would too and I would rather hear form someone if there were any bad points. If it was that bad then they could at least change hotels, rather than get there and not have such a good holiday.

I would point out though that they were just my opinions as something I don't like may be fine for someone else.

Kedi is right.Somebody who had already booked to go to an hotel that we found to be very badly described in the travel brochure was asking for opinions,I told her ,quite honestly that the room we stayed in had inadequate air conditioning in the height of summer,to soften the blow,I then told her that fans are available to hire in the supermarket under the hotel.I would not return to this hotel in August again but would consider it at a different time of year.I think my honesty was appreciated by the op but people who had stayed in May and October were telling her not to worry as it was fine.I think their views were misleading,as the air con was probably not needed as much then.
I think to be truthful about the downsides is right but if there is any advice that can be offered to avoid them,add that too.

Suzie, seems like I'm the only one like you here. I most definitely am honest in my reviews and will post in depth in reply to a request concerning a potential booking. However, if the poster has booked and thier holiday is imminent I don't think pointing out the negatives is going to be of any benefit to the poster. Certainly, when they get there they may well not find any problems- one man's meat and all that....

Tbh, I do wonder though why people come looking for advice after booking rather than doing research before

Tbh, I do wonder though why people come looking for advice after booking rather than doing research before

some people are not always in a position to do research beforehand though..or some people are not even aware that there are such sites as this one or TA..and all they have to go on are a couple of glossy pictures in a brochure.

Certainly that is how it was for us int he early days of taking holidays when the kids were young..before we had the computer and the internet etc....there are still people like that out there.

there are still people like that out there.

Unfortunately, there are... BUT we owe it 1)to this site
2) to all who come here
and3) to ourselves

To be as honest and impartial as possible... I've always tried to make my reviews as factual as possible, with pros and cons, taking into account stuff that happens from time to time that the TO/Hotel/resort has NO control of... When reading reports I bear this in mind as well and I find that the occaisional BAD report is more often based on personal problems or over-expectation

Consistantly BAD reports, however... now that's a different problem.....

ATB,J.

I've actually been in the postiton and booked a quickie break - read the bad reviews - went and was pleasantly surprised !!! I think my expectations were 'controlled' by the many negative reviews but it was the location we wanted and it suited us -so much so we returned (twice in fact) and have always been satisfied. Being made aware of the shortfalls made it easier to look out for them! I think you can always be honest wthout being rude or patronising and as has been already stated - my opinion is merely that - an opinion and it may be the total opposite to others.
I've also read reports on a hotel which were brilliant and all I can say is that we must have been in the wrong hotel as for us, it was definately short in meeting our expectations and we didn't experience half of what previous guests did (not only us I might add the reviews for 3 three weeks around our stay were all pretty negative) Must have had a staff strike or mutiny for that period!
The beauty and value of HT is that it really is TRUTH about HOLIDAY - we can't become liars (even by omitting upsetting experiences) just in case we upset anyone - by giving the facts of your experience and your overall opinion will help all us others gleaning information regarding their up and coming trips.
HT - always informative and fun!!

I'm glad to say that I haven't had any negative experiences worth mentioning in any hotel I've stayed (that's down to extensive research here) so I haven't had to curb what I've had to say to posters requesting info on them.

As I stated earlier, I would be inclined not to reply to the post had I any issues with the hotel they'd booked to stay in. However, I suppose you're right in that maybe I could tell it as I found it but express that it's my opinion only.

Sometimes it's so hard to know what to do for the best so I always work on - the best that I can do !!!

I know exactly what you mean as a few words could really put them on a 'downer' - however they've come to HT so they are looking for feedback and I'm sure from all the threads they'll see that there are positives and negatives for all hotels resorts etc.

I've really only had the one bad experience and even then it wasn't the end of the world so I guess we're lucky too

Here's hoping Fuengirola 3 weeks time Gardenia Park will also be a good one - I'll be posting about it when I get back

I'll be honest - the people who book something and then ask questions amaze me! Wouldn't it be a better idea to ask first? Not just hotels but agents and TO's. The standard question is basically "I've given this man £1000 of my hard earned money - can he be trusted?" - well it's a bit late now if he can't!

beware of the famous green company. last year 28 3 2010 my wife and i went to beniedorm . purchase bedding to the value £898 no problem there . but i was contacted January of this year saying my wife and i had won an holiday it was a cruse and stay in a 5* hotel and the cruse was around the Caribbean to the value of £4000. we payed the green company £590 why was i so stupid to fall for this scam . it was after i payed my money that i realised i was conned because we where offered a week in a 5* hotel anywhere in europe free as a thank you for the faith i put in the company. it was after reading so many bad reports about the famous green company i now have serious doubts if i will ever have an holiday or my money back . i have tryed to contact the company and i was told i would be contacted by the managing director iam still waiting.my credit card company are looking into this matter and have put it into dispute.

beware of the famous green company. last year 28 3 2010 my wife and i went to beniedorm . purchase bedding to the value £898 no problem there . but i was contacted January of this year saying my wife and i had won an holiday it was a cruse and stay in a 5* hotel and the cruse was around the Caribbean to the value of £4000. we payed the green company £590 why was i so stupid to fall for this ???? . it was after i payed my money that i realised i was conned because we where offered a week in a 5* hotel anywhere in europe free as a thank you for the faith i put in the company. it was after reading so many bad reports about the famous green company i now have serious doubts if i will ever have an holiday or my money back . i have tryed to contact the company and i was told i would be contacted by the managing director iam still waiting.my credit card company are looking into this matter and have put it into dispute.

I think this should be in Holiday complaints mate! Also what bedding was it for £898? Our duvets are normally about £30!!!