Any opinion on TripAdvisor?
 

I use the TA site often enough but have seen numerous negative comments on these very pages. I assumed all comments were traveler generated, not from the hotel, so had a bit more authenticity. Maybe i'm wrong. Do you use TA and what's your take?

Yes and quite a lot when planning travel. To get the information that I want I normally "weed out" first time poster's opinion on reviews and take note of hotels or restaurants that have a lot of such posters.

I look for reviews by people who have reviewed a lot of places and average such opinion for a hotel or restaurant that I'm interested in. After 10 years using TA so far so good.

The travel forums on TA is also very useful normally with quick answers from their "experts" as well as other.

One thing that I don't count as important are the hotel and restaurant rankings. People either vote for good inexpensive hotels or the very top luxury one. Sometime the cheap have more votes and the top luxury one are lower ranked.

I like TA and use it often. Yes, all reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt but overall, a well-reviewed property, restaurant or site will give you a lot of info. Hanuman's point on cheap have more votes can sometimes sway ratings is spot on, so buyer beware...

I have used TA for many years. It seems like in recent years there are more and more one time posters giving reviews and I tend to skip over their reviews. I know I often get requests from innkeepers to pls review their establishment and I gather others do too and may make their first post. Also there has been a lot written about fraudulent reviews. I was contacted by an Asian company and asked to put my name on reviews and they would pay me. I didn't even have to write the reviews. I sent the email on to the admin people at TA.

As mentioned some of their forums are excellent and get a lot of activity. I don't rely much in their restaurant reviews. I think food is so subjective and the lowered price places tend to get the best reviews. I look at the restaurant reviews for DC where I live and in general don't agree.

so as others have said use it. But use it wisely.

I've heard from an innkeeper that if they pay a higher sponsor rate, they get more "points" when they are tallying the #1 hotels.

I don't like TA. I don't use it much so it's hard for me to weed out real reviews from the fakes - either positive or negative. I know that if I was willing to spend the time I could eventually get good info from it. I'm not willing to spend (waste) my time at this point. Every time I get on TA I run into a bunch of obviously fake reviews. It's not worth sorting though the garbage for me.

Here on Fodors, I have enough history - going back to the late 1990s - that I can sort out what is useful and what is not. I also have the advantage of "knowing" many of the regulars here, so that is very helpful in understanding what they have to say about places.

Their rankings of places make no sense at all - all types of places are lumped together, so the rankings are worthless. I consider the rankings to be disinformation. Anyone who remembers their college stats class understands why you shouldn't do rankings that way.

we use them often but you need to weigh the info carefully... there are 2 unnamed populations whose reviews we take little head in..

they are moving their hqtrs to my town next year so I need to be careful.

hotels and individuals, and restaurants often post both positive and negative comments about themselves and others using fake names.

Some boards & destinations on TA are much more active than on Fodors, so I use a mix of both.

As everyone else says, you need to weigh reviews in the context of what & how else the poster has reviewed. Posters registering to rave or rant and those who consistently seem to have expectations beyond the possible/ likely for the business/ location don't influence my decisions.

A well known poster who appears to travel in a manner similar to mine is a valuable resource for me - as is the PM feature.

I too use and contribute to TA. I have found the reviews helpful and accurate. I do realize that some reviews are to be taken with a grain of salt but in cases where you have scores if not hundreds of reviews and most are one way or another then I think you can rely on them.

I read some specifics about a hotel we used in Barcelona after our stay there which said to be wary of the receptionists as they seem rather pompous and that is exactly what we found too. I found TA after our stay there BTW. The point is there is some spot on info available and again if you are seeing a pattern confirmed by many reviews then I think it should be reliable.

JM2C.

The PM feature is great. Wish Fodors would do the same. Using the PM feature I have been able to get some very specific information that isn't always included in the reviews.

I use TA for hotel choices and rarely have I been disappointed. I like to read the hotel reviews as they contain information not only about the hotel itself, but also about the area surrounding the hotel and what is, or is not, available there. I agree that you have to weed out the biased/fraudulent reviews, but I have found that despite those, I get good info from TA.

I use TA but also check hotel reviews on Boooking.com as those reviews are only from people who have definitly stayed there.

TA is good for tourists who have tighter budgets than many of the posters on This forum. On TA you get more questions asking for cheaper hotels. When you only have 500 to 900 baht a night for a hotel with A/C and private toilet you sometimes take what you can get for the night. Then you decide if the hotel room is good enough for longer stays. Cheaper hotels don't always have fancy websites and checking the place out in person is a good idea if you can do it.

You also get more questions on TA for restaurants that fit fit the budgets of thrift travelers and backpackers who need to stretch their money out. Additionally more "cheapest way from "here to there" type questions.

I feel there is room for all sorts of travel forums.


Some reviews on "better" hotels that are negative are from customers who didn't think their butts were kissed often enough and felt slighted. Or these customers are just super picky and complain about everything - all the time! There may be some genuine complaints too. Likewise there may be some puffing in hotel reviews but you can pick and choose what you think applies.

I wouldn't book a whole month based on any review. Maybe a night or two to get the feel of the place. Don't like it move to another hotel.

Just had to chime in again...

I've had very good luck booking hotels recommended on TA, whether they are expensive or not. I've recently checked recommendations for India, Thailand, Malaysia and even Bhutan. I don't always follow them, but the more info the better. We stayed at an amazing upscale jungle resort in Belize last February that was never even mentioned on Fodor's and will be using TA recommendations for our Guatemala trip next February. Both hotel and restaurant recommendations for a recent Puerto Rico trip were spot on. I have been checking hotel reviews regularly for the places we are staying on our upcoming trip to Japan just to get more info, even though all of our choices have come from recommendations on this forum. Can't imagine not using it.

I used TA to help with my selection of an agent to use for our 2011 trip to Egypt. The agent delivered on everything and made the trip something my husband and I will long remember. We traveled not too long after the revolution so with the decrease in tourism some flights were canceled and the agent dealt with it all. I chose hotels based on TA recommendations and they were spot on. I also submitted my reviews.
For our 2011 trip to Greece we did not use an agent but did a DIY using TA info for planning, choosing, hotels, etc. Again a seamless trip. I also submitted my reviews to TA to help future travelers.

For most of my reviews I also included pictures so you can be sure I was there!

For our upcoming trip to Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar I am again relying heavily on TA.
TA forum is much more active than Fodor's but I have been using this forum also to help with our SE Asia trip planning.

I like the PM feature on TA as I was able to book a trip to the more remote temple sites in Cambodia for a great price. The guide had been recommended to me by a TA regular who used his services.

I read and contribute hotel reviews. But only that. Not for restaurants and definitely not for sites. Like how can "Dialogue in the Dark" be #2 of all sites in Hong Kong???

What I like are the pictures posted by travelers. You get the real scoop on what the rooms look like!

Good point about the pictures. I certainly look at them.

I also want to add that I now only write about the less popular properties, or if there's something unusual in my experience at the property - good or bad.

Yes, the pictures taken by the guests are very helpful. And I to only review the less visited places, unless a place was super special.

I use TA and always read a mix of reports . Sometimes you know the review will not bother you eg some compalin about small rooms in European hotels well most are. I am also a top contributor to the reviews so others can read your history.