I will be spending 2 nites in Venice from May 12 - MAY 14. I have searched and searched and find that almost every single review has a 5 or 4.5 star rating on trip advisor and other web sites. How much weight should I give these reviews? Are the hotels themselves writing most of them? I can't believe every hotel in Venice is that good. Any ideas or help would be appreciated.

I've personally written an excellent review of the Hotel Antiche Figure in Venice (I mean the hotel was excellent, not the writing. Well, the writing was pretty damn good too, now that I think of it. )

We stayed there in 2005 and loved it, as did our friends who stayed there the following year, plus someone else on Fodors. I can't speak for the other reviews but I know mine is truthful!

hi, acblaze,

have you tried searching this site or slow travel for recommendations?

places that get regular raves reviews here are locanda orseleo, [near san marco] and la calcina [in dorsoduro].

good luck,

regards, ann

I've written some pretty positive (but not all positive) reviews of my hotel stays on Trip Advisor. Some of us just like to rave about good places we've found. Then again, I used TA in the first place to do research and in general wasn't disappointed with any of the hotels and B&Bs I stayed at in Italy.

In Venice, I stayed in a terrific apartment called Ca' Maria I found via cross-pollinate.com (no TA review; I don't think TA includes single apartments to be reviewed). It's about half way between the train station and Rialto. I didn't WANT to be directly adjacent to the busy touristed areas so this location was great for me (still plenty around but less busy than Rialto or San Marco). There's a full kitchen in case you want to prepare your own meals from the local markets.

Reviews are all personal so things the reviewer liked you may not agree with. It's taking a chance. Anything is possible and a hotel's staff may be writing nice reviews for their hotels. But I doubt it happens that much.

I would ignore the rankings and ratings, but deep-dive into the commentary. It's great when photos have been posted with the review.

I stayed at A La Commedia Hotel a few weeks ago and had a great visit. The hotel was very nice and the staff couldn't have been more attentive to our needs. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

I also agree you need to examine the reviews carefully. Very occasionally, you notice language that sounds a little suspect, but for the most part it's fairly obvious the reviews are written by travelers just like us.

I particularly scrutinize the negative comments. If the postive reviews outnumber the negative reviews by 10 to 1, I don't give the negative review too much weight. Sometimes people will give a hotel an extremely low rating based on unrealistic expectations. (For example, bathrooms in Italy are small, sometimes really small; and the buildings are old, sometimes really old. Ergo, don't expect a big bathroom with flawless plumbing.) Sometimes, a reviewer will give a hotel very low ratings in every category (room, cleanliness, etc.) when his/her complaint only relates to one aspect of the stay. (OK, we get it, they're pissed off. But rating the room or cleanliness at 1 or 2, because an employee screwed up, when a 4 or 5 is more accurate isn't being helpful.)

Yes, I know what you mean! My own research for a Venice hotel took me to tripadvisor, venere, fodors & other web sites. When hotel reviews from travellers are consistently good, IMHO it comes down to where you want to be & how much you want to spend. Service is another factor that is important to me. When I read raves about the owners and how pleasant & helpful the staff are, I pay attention!

In September, 2008, my husband & I will be staying at the Locanda Orseolo near San Marco based on our criteria. www.locandaorseolo.com

Good luck!

2010