Oh, okay. So do you still want to post here, Alain?

I thought that NYT article (to mention the original post) wasn't very impressive overall -- I mean, it doesn't convince me there was any major problem going on. I think it only mentioned a few minor incidents and hotels that did that. Even then, I don't think there is anything wrong with a hotel telling a guest if they had a nice stay, they'd appreciate them mentioning it, but that isn't exactly a bribe. Just telling people about something they dan do if they want. I don't remember exactly how that article said they could bribe people anyway, as how could a hotel know who really wrote a positive review or if you did, how could you guarantee a hotel would pay you.

I like most reviews sites that I can find, and just read them carefully and evaluate them based on my own opinions as to what is important to me, and whether I think the review is believable or not. I use Tripadvisor a lot, and have posted on there myself (both good and bad) because I want to contribute since I use it.

I like it when management responds, as I think there are always two sides to every story. They have a right to say what they want as much as a customer. Of course they can just lie and say something didn't happen, but sometimes I think that is true, actually. As for response that one should complain on-site - that's a common mgt. defense and I think it's good for people to read that to let them know that if they have a problem, they should let mgt. know immediately.

I don't really find websites that limit comments to only people who booked through them to be as useful, but it wouldn't work on Tripadvisor anyway, as they are not a booking site. It just limits the pool of comments, although that's another source, so I sometimes read them, also.

I always post reviews of my hotel stays on TripAdvisor, as well as posting trip reports here. I consider it just good traveler citizenship. I think what one looks for is consensus in evaluating reviews, and I haven't been burned yet in booking hotels. More often than not, our accommodations, though always moderately priced, have been wonderful and have added to our enjoyment of the cities we've visited. Obsessing too much over the occasional ringer on TripAdvisor seems to me to be a waste of time.

Also, I'm often amused by posters on this site who act as if their choice of accommodations were a life and death decision.

Basingstoke,
I think the hotel in Prague you're referring to is the Hotel Kampa GARDEN, not the Kampa Island---although it is,on Kampa Island. We stayed at the Kampa Garden in October and based on your description I'm pretty sure it's the same place. I would agree with everything you said about it with the possible exception of the breakfast which I thought was pretty poor. The location was fabulous and the price was more than right.

I also use Trip Advisor along with other sources, like this one, and think you can develop a pretty good "radar' for a real review vs. a plant---or at least I've survived with my choices so far!

I can tell you that I know a woman who goes to Trip Advisor about once a month or so and posts a horrid review about a hotel she stayed in three years ago. (She booked a package, the airline was delayed, her luggage was lost and SOMEHOW that became the hotels fault. Then they upgraded her, but not all her family/friends.. Anyway her REVIEW has no basis in fact and she admits that she makes things up every time she posts... ) Based on that I try to be skeptical both ways on Trip Advisor.

I like the format of the reviews on Bookings.be Anyone use them? Do you find them somewhat reliable. I'm hoping so or I might end up in a shit hole next week :)

i DETEST tripadvisor. i got stuck staying in the worst hotel in paris b/c of their artifical rating.

p.s.: any review that focuses on how "the owners are so nice" is fake, no? who cares if the owners are nice!!

I disagree somewhat that the reviews are necessarily ALL unreliable on TripAdvisor. What I have learned is that people's perceptions, and expectations, of the same establishment(s) can vary widely. And while we're at it, is there any standard definiton of the following terms:

charming
rude
mean
dirty
clean
etc., etc., etc.

"who cares if the owners are nice?"

In a big hotel, probably nobody.

In a small, family-owned hotel or a B&B where guests have direct contact with the owner-operators, it's certainly relevant. Why would saying that a B&B's owners were nice (as in helpful, polite, etc.) make a review a fake?

The words snobby and posh also depend a bit on perceptions..I usually dismiss a review if they use the word snobby .

I read a review of a hotel by a person , who admitted they had never stayed in the hotel but used the bathroom in the lobby..rolling eyes!
OK, that is sure to convince me to stay/not stay there!

KT, you reminded me of someone asking me not long ago about some hotels in Paris..a part of a 3 country trip.
The request was for the hotel to not be unfriendly, they wanted warm and fuzzy.
One of my favorite hotels that is expensive and very nice, has people at the desk who take their job seriously, they do it well and they are very formal..the total opposite of warm and fuzzy lol.
But I would prefer that formal excellent service to a sloppy overly friendly staff who really are not your friends but want you to think they are..
So now I know that when I recommend "my" hotel, I have to say, they are not cuddly :D

princessre, what was the terrible Paris hotel?

Tamara, I've noticed that the reviews on Bookings tend to be more favorable than TripAdvisor. My guess is that more budget-oriented people use Bookings, so they aren't as picky as TripAdvisor reviewers. Also, more Europeans and Asians use Bookings, and TripAdvisor still tends to be dominated by Americans, who have a reputation for being more picky. The same is true for Venere reviews vs. TripAdvisor.

Trip advisor is like any other site. We get fake opinions here. They read like they have not been to that place but try to sound perky or maybe staid.

Very interesting thread and article. I use TripAdvisor, and I base my decision on the common denominators...if one hotel has rave reviews then a really bad one, I'm more skeptical.

I think a lot of it is competitors writing bad reviews, much more than hotels paying customers for good ones...

Scarlett, that just points out the subjectivity of these judgments. I'm with you-- I don't think of sycophantism as desirable. I, too, would prefer formal and efficient over cloying. But I've also been to B&Bs where the proprietors have been geniunely helpful as well as efficient. That, not warm and fuzzy, is what I think of as "nice," though of course others might want warm and fuzzy.

I recently became aware of a pair of reviews that were written by friends of the owners of the establishment who had really stayed there. Both reviews were highly favourable (no negatives at all) and sounded a bit fishy. I am sure they had a great time but my experience there might be just a little less than the perfection that was proclaimed.

I still think that Tripadvisor is a useful tool but it has limitations.

Anybody remember the Dr Abate episodes on here?

I don't see why hotels shouldn't be allowed to respond to negative comments, as long as they properly identify themelves. It's not like the customer from hell or the vindicative customer doesn't exist, and I most certainly would want to read both sides of the story if possible.

As for comments about the staff being nice being fakes, I don't see why there are more likely to be fake than any other positive comment. First, a lot of of people do care about the friendliness of staff (me, for instance) and second, if it were not the case, why would the hotel owners post positive comments about something nobody cares about? So, I assume that "nice staff" is as likely to be fake as "comfy rooms".

Maggie, you are absolutely right. The name of the Hotel is the Hotel Kampa Garden and it is on Kampa Island. My brain must have been having a non functioning moment. Was there still construction at the Estonian embassy when you were there? At the Hotel, I certainly have had better breakfasts, but I thought it OK, particularly when the price of the hotel is considered. The is not much you can do to ruin a hardboiled egg. At least they had them.

Maggie -- me again. I just re-read your post and see that you were there in October. The hotel had only been open for about a month then. Perhaps the breakfasts had improved between the time that you were there and our visit in November. The hotel did seem to be on a learning curve.