wrenwood

It's in Karen Brown's book, and Charming Small Hotels, but I find nothing here or on TA, which makes me hesitant.

tarquin

Are you going to Glyndebourne Opera?

Old Whyly is an Alastair Sawday B&B, so it should be nice although I have not stayed there. Another place in the area where I have stayed is Hailsham Grange in Aylsham. It is absolutely beautiful with a gorgeous garden, and the host Noel Thompson is very nice indeed.
www.hailshamgrange.co.uk

janisj

I never use TA for B&Bs -- well, almost never. The place only has 3 rooms. The chances that any of their very few visitors even know TA exists is pretty small.

It isn't like a small hotel that will have as many guests in a week as a small B&B will in a year. Or a large hotel will have as many guests on one night.

And even if there were TA reviews, good or bad, I'd take them w/ a grain of salt simply because of the very small sample size.

So I wouldn't even consider TA/lack of TA as an issue . . . .

wrenwood

I decided to stay further north.

Hi janis ~ I do actually use TA even for small places. Both of these places only have 2 bedrooms, and we stayed there because of the great reviews and were not disappointed. Priory Cottage, near Bath, probably gets a lot of customers because of it's location, but Raymont House is a little more rural, and still many excellent reviews.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...n_England.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...t_England.html

And you are certainly right about taking reviews with a grain of salt. When terrible or poor reviews are given, I've begun checking the reviewer's contributions to see what they say about other places. And I don't penalize a small B&B for a limited number of reviews. TA is only one tool after all, but if you like a place's website it's nice to see good things on TA (or here!)

Anyway, I guess I won't be staying there so I will never know! It does look nice.

Tarquin, thanks for the link on Hailsham, ann had posted it on another thread, I was considering it also until I decided to stay further north. (near Sevenoaks area)

janisj

If there are reviews - then fine. But my guess is the VAST majority of UK B&Bs don't have reviews on TA.

I guess my point was not to ignore them necessarily, but not to worry if there are none

tarquin

I have run a B&B for 5 years and would hate to think potential visitors have discounted me because my place, not to mention my village or even part of England, does not appear on TA. I suppose I could badger my guests (who usually at least APPEAR to be very happy here) to write reviews but don't feel it would be very cool.

janisj

tarquin: Not to worry IMO. Fodorites are sort of a special group. Much deeper into internet travel sites. I give travelogues and teach travel classes and in some I do a sort of needs assessment before we get started -- asking how many are are on-line, booked accommodations/travel on-line, have used priceline, are familiar w/ TA/Fodors/Slow Travel, those sorts of things.

When I started out maybe 30% were on line, now it runs about 85-90%, but still WAY less than half have ever heard of Trip Advisor. My guess is maybe 15-20% tops.

wrenwood

I agree with all points. In fact I was thinking of starting a thread about what people look for on internet sites, searches, etc when they are thinking of booking a place to stay.

If in looking at a web site the property looks absolutely perfect for my needs and the owner is good about email replies etc, I would probably take a chance with a booking, especially if it were a small B&B, or in a more rural untouristed area.

I do think having a good website with pictures of the bedrooms, bathrooms etc is necessary. Travel is expensive, and no one wants an unhappy surprise when they arrive. My pet peeve lately has been looking at pictures of a B&B or Inn and they have 2 pictures of the accommodations, and dozens of pictures of flower arrangements, champagne glasses, cats and dogs etc.