WillTravel

It is frustrating to research hotels that do not have any reviews, on this board or anywhere. But I have been using the following method. Look for other hotels that are on the same street or otherwise within a few blocks (use http://www.mappy.fr, and I think http://www.multimap.com and http://www.mapquest.com can help in other places). Then look up the reviews for those hotels on TripAdvisor and elsewhere. Venere.com also lists hotels by zone, and you can look up reviews of surrounding hotels there also. In many cases, you will get a hint about what the surrounding area is like.

Another thing to do, at least for Paris, is to use the feature at http://www.pagesjaunes.fr . Enter the address and look at the photo, and then use the arrows to move up and down the streets around the hotel. That will give you a hint about the area.

I also go to http://groups.google.com and enter the hotel name. Sometimes there is an offhand mention or a brief review that someone has posted on USENET.

Then, of course, you can always post here and get helpful answers .

Underhill

Another approach is to get 2 well known guidebooks and use them to cross-check hotels you're interested in. For France I use the red Michelin guide and the Gault-Millau, both of which have extensive listings and are updated annually, unlike the books devoted more to sightseeing and restaurants. Once I've whittled down the list of hotels I start checking for on-line reviews and prices.

JonJon

It is even MORE frustrating to read some of these "on-line" reviews which have subjective statements such as, "the service wasn't very good" or the "food was bad" or the "hotel was charming." THIS is helpful??? What would be more helpful would be knowing something about the "reviewers" which we'll never, perhaps thankfully, see or read.
And, sometimes the "recommendations" here are just as bad such as the now infamous Switzerland statement about only going there for the mountains.

And as to the hotels on the same street...uhhhh, I recently stayed in one of the top-rated hotels in Munich and it was across the street from a sex store. I somehow think that "just as good because it is located close by" method is somehow flawed.

WillTravel

I'd never say the hotel itself was just as good because it's located on the same block. But at least you will get an idea about the location if a reviewer for a close-by hotel says the immediate area is convenient for reasons X, Y, and Z.

elaine

I have a rule of thumb that these days if I can't find any comments from past hotel guests, it comes off my list. I check here on this forum, the fodors rants and raves listings,and tripadvisor. There are too many great choices in most cities to worry about one unknown hotel. I don't want to be the pioneer.
If it turns out later to have been called a gem by someone braver than I, then I'll consider it for a future trip.

I evaluate the comments by how specific they are: if one complaint revolves around a possible one-time occurrence (e.g., the air conditioner in our room didn't work, or, there was construction going on outside) then the other positive comments will have more weight with me. On the other hand, if I see a recent comment about a place being dirty or shabby, or that the place is a 20 minute walk from public transportation, that's a pretty strong turnoff for me.