A.M.

Hello,<BR>Sometimes a person will ask a question about, for example, a hotel that I have stayed at in the past, possibly over a year ago. Will my answer still be relevent even after a certain period of time? When is an answer "out of date?"<BR>A.M. wondering.

james

The recommendation is definitely out of date when it is passed on too you!!

james

The recommendation is definitely out of date the minute it is passed on to you! This is law no.1.<BR><BR> Law no.2 states that if you take up the recommendation, the hotel will be shockingly awful.<BR><BR> Law no.3 states that the original recommendation 'giver' lied in the first place to impress you, because they couldn't afford somewhere decent!!

Ellen

I think it depends on the aspects discussed. Some things like location never change -- a given hotel will always be the same distance from specific attractions or train stations, for instance. <BR><BR>Next-least-likely to change are the room sizes and general atmosphere of the neighborhood. The features that can be fastest-changing are those that deal with food, quality of service, and whether the rooms are in good condition. And information about rates is always inaccurate!

Marc David Miller

A recommendation is out of date when the facts change--a small museum could be wonderful, but if there is a new director after 30 years who has strange theories on how to present an exhibition it could be a nightmare, a bad restaurant might have a new chef (or even waiter!) who now knows how to serve the public, a hotel could be next to a new construction site (or even the latest strip for ladies of the night).<BR><BR>I take recommendations as guidelines--if I see the same restaurant mentioned in several books, then I think it was ok, and probably still is. Same for hotel, although I would say that hotels are more stable in that regard.

gonzo-al34

hey! any recommendation is a good one, as long as it's a freebie. james hits the spot, but sometimes it works, usually when the place is realllly expensive. its the cheapoz that change with the wind

cindy

as long as you qualify your information ("I stayed at this hotel 2 years ago and it was great) it sounds fine to me. I'm afraid that often people forget to include this kind of information when<BR>giveing recommendation. I'm glad you brough this up

Bob

If you come to this site all you are looking for is recommendations. Take em all at face value and then do your research. <BR><BR>No trip or hotel is perfect and many times you end up laughing and remembering the "surprises" on your trip more so than some expensive meal in a stuffy 5 star eatery. Just travel and enjoy!