suze

KVR~ You can trust us on Seattle, both Fodor's and the TA forum. We've got a really good group that support both places. We won't steer you wrong suze... in seattle

musicfan

I am researching Austin, Texas right now...according to TA, the #1 Rated Hotel there is a Super 8! Really??? I guess that gets back to Graziella's comment above about the 5*'s lumped in with the 1*s.

ziggypop

Well a super 8 is better that a motel 6 isn't it!!? I do not trust a review that is 5* witten in perfect grammer. Maybe that is my B.S. meter trigger but perfect grammer and a first time reviewer gets no cred with me. I also start with the worst reviews and work my way up. I definently give the reviews too much credit for my hotel choices. I agree with Melissa, the trip reports are the 'real' reviews.

nanabee

I will check TripAdvisor, but I don't take their reviews seriously. We made that mistake once for a trip to Australia. We stayed at an expensive spa/resort that had rave reviews. It was overpriced and a terrible place.

Now that I think about it, this place was written up in Fodor's book on Australia and got the max stars too.

Scarlett

mlgb, I realize that . I am lucky, our forums had some really nasty people who only seemed to come on and post when they saw opportunities to argue/mock/sneer at other posters. Fortunately for the rest of the posters, TA warned/banned them.
And the Buenos Aires forums are a nice mix of locals and visitors and one ex-pat ( me) so they generally all like to talk about what they like and I always like bossing people around so we get along fine.
The Portland Oregon forums were not so nice. There were some real nasties there, same motives, only posting when they can/could slam another poster. And there is also the issue of spending.
You can get a whole mob of people who are budget travelers and they will attack someone who can afford something a little more expensive .. that isn't helping or advising, that is personal and forums are not the place for that.
But I am talking about the Travel forums, not reviews.
I know one poster who also posts on Fodors and I know for a fact that many/most of her meals and visits to hotels are in her imagination.
So you have to read a lot and come to your own conclusions with other sources added in.
Which in my opinion is at almost as fun as the actual trip .. I love researching trips : -)

Aduchamp1

Just because someone is nasty does not mean they are wrong about their travel opinions.

The TA listing for NYC restaurants, is as screwy as it gets. At least 1/2 the people do not know of which they speak and it is dominated by visitors who hardly list any restaurant that is not in well trodden areas.

Lexma90

I do check hotel reviews on tripadvisor, but I'm realizing I don't look at the reviews from the perspective of "real" or "fake." I'm look for specifics, and more objective information, which would tend to be the real reviews. For example, instead of "fantastic stay," I would prefer to read, "the rooms are clean but smaller than average." Or "great location on the ocean, but there's a street running between the hotel and the ocean."

I do look at reviewers' photos, especially pictures of the bathrooms. And when we stay at a place that hasn't been reviewed much, I always insist that we take pictures of the bathrooms (DH thinks I'm crazy for doing that). Reviewers' pictures tend to be more truthful than the hotel's pictures.

I don't really look at rankings, as what people are looking for in a hotel really varies, between business hotels, family-friendly places, chains vs. boutiques vs. family-owned. Rankings might be good or bad for that kind of hotel. A good ranking for a chain hotel doesn't make it a place that I'd want to stay at, most of the time.

suze

The photos are my favorite part of the hotel reviews. I love seeing snapshots of what the rooms really look like. Can't fake that.

happytrailstoyou

I would prefer to read, "the rooms are clean but smaller than average." Or "great location on the ocean, but there's a street running between the hotel and the ocean."

Good point.

HTTY

KVR

I agree. I rather see pictures than read the review in some cases. My husband thought I was nuts when I started taking pictures of our hotel rooms and bathroom. I told him "inquring minds want to know." The last few years I started taking pictures of the food we ate. If it's not a AI, I also take pictures of the resturant and the surrounding area. I got some great comments on our Key West trip last July. I do give more credit to reviews that are backed up with pictures. One of the reasons why I started my picture site as well as just wanting to share.

And, thanks Suze for your help as well as the others on our Seattle/Alaska trip. Keep the info coming.

Melissa5

musicfan: We loved our stay at the 1110 Carriage House Inn in Austin, Texas. We stayed in the Cahaba room with King bed and our private bathroom was right opposite our bedroom in the hall but this was never a problem. Tressie is a great hostess/owner and her breakfasts are wonderful, something different every day. I don't think I've posted my Austin, Texas trip report or reviews yet. Have fun!

Fake negative reviews also appear on tripadvisor. I agree with the idea of ignoring the "ranking" of the hotel or b&b on tripadvisor... I only consider the tripadvisor reviews written by travelers with real histories on the forums. This has worked very well for me. I also use guidebooks and forums.

I do write glowing reviews for places that deserve it. Since I do a lot of research, many of the accommodations that I stay in are great, happily!

Aduchamp1

The photos are my favorite part of the hotel reviews. I love seeing snapshots of what the rooms really look like. Can't fake that.
__________

Sorry, but they can.

You do not know when they were taken.
A good photographer can make the room seem larger.
You do not know which room is being photographed.
There can be one renovated room.
And now there is photoshop.
Etc. etc

suze

OK. Let me restate that. It takes a lot more effort and talent to fake bad hotel room photos, then it does to write a fake bad review.

Giovanna

I think they're talking about the photos that people who stay in a hotel, etc take and post along with their review. They'd have no reason to fake the pix.

bradleyturton

I am an owner of a B&B which is reviewed on TA. It has been mentioned here that some don't trust reviews by those with only one contribution or a small hotel with many reviews.
To address this, I actively ask guests to post a review when they tell me they love my B&B. Many of these guests have never heard of TA and some rarely use the internet for anything beyond email. But a few of these net newbies take the time to sign up to TA and write a review for the B&B because they loved their stay and they want to help the little guy survive among the big companies. Not all single reviews are suspect.

suze

I don't necessarily distrust a single review. It's when it is so extraordinarily BAD or over-the-top exceptional (like beyond belief fabulous) AND a 1st timer... yes then often I am suspicious.

J62

We now seem to be getting fake trip reports on Fodors - check this one out.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ip-from-ny.cfm

Shanti

It's not the first time there's been fake reviews on Fodors. A couple years ago, I took a tour in Spain. The owner/guide asked
me and the other women on the tour how we had heard of him. I told him that I had heard of him via the Fodors Europe forum. A few days later, a fake review of his tour appeared in the Europe forum and I'm assuming it was from him.

I have no idea why he had to post a fake review as there were already very positive - and honest - reviews about his tour. It just made him look bad.

bkluvsNola

As a student of math and statistics, in general, this is my take. Paying off someone to write fake reviews may help in limited markets, but when there are several hundred or thousands of reviews of places in larger cities, the law of averages kicks in. A couple of 5* reviews when the average from hundreds of people is 2*s is not going to alter the overall rating. It's for this reason that I trust the ratings in say, NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc... However, if I'm going to a small town in the Midwest and there are only a couple of reviews of a place, it would be silly to base my selection on that criteria as both could be from the owner.

mlgb

The abuse is more typical in the small markets where just asking your guests to write a review is the best way to boost your ranking, you'll have 200 reviews vs say 30 or 40.