Hey, what just happened? Thank you Fodors for
the improvements to the site.
Aloha,
k

The "travel lounge" thing will take some getting used to though...

If people really use the rant and rave category, the rest of the forum should be most informative rather than a series of ax-grinding diatribes.

Bob:
Indeed. It will also be interesting to see the data, i.e. how everyone weighs in on their favorites. I'll certainly be using that information for our family's vacation planning!

As far as O'ahu recommendations, I noticed that the reviews aren't totally current. Hotel W (under new management since last year) isn't listed, and there's no mention of the new spa at the Hyatt. I was happy to see Manoa Valley Inn included, though. It is a very pleasant neighborbood B&B in a historic home near the university, and quite moderate in price.

In the restaurant category, Sansei Seafood and Sushi Bar just opened at Restaurant Row, and didn't make the list yet, but it's really outstanding! Generally, Fodors' assesments should please, and answer a lot of often-asked questions.

Aloha!
k

Wow! I'm glad you folks are enjoying this new site, but I'm sure not. I just spent 15 minutes trying to find the U.S. forum. I can't access the home page at all - it simply won't download - and it was a hit or miss for me (on blank Xs) to find the forums. I looked for an email address for Fodors so I could issue a complaint, but - you guessed it - it's hard to find something on a blank page.

Cool site. Almost had a heart attack when the old address came up blank. I thought maybe Fodor's had finally had enough of us.

Does this revised site mean Fodor's has renewed its commitment to the site so that I can count on it for many years to come? I hope so.

Wow! This new site is great. I love all the new features. I'll never get any work done now. Yes, I guess this does represent a big commitment from fodor's. Thanks.

I am very upset that they did not consult me regarding making these improvements. I could have given them more lists of web sites to post regarding travel issues.

I don’t like the fact that I get an email from Fodors.com every time someone responds to my messages.

Cindy, I had met the marketing director, Natalie, in NYC a couple of months ago and she stated that Fodors.com were planning to improve their web site. So, they’ll be around for a long time, as I will!

I'll be around for a long time also, especially at www.noach.com

Looks nice, hope the idea of a rant-n-rave forum will draw off the ranters and ravers, but I doubt it.

But what happened to the idea of splitting off Hawaii?!!??? Really tired of logging on in the morning EDT and having the entire US forum dominated by Hawaii posts made from the west coast -- and I suspect they're equally tired of having Cape Cod and Florida posts dominate the evening forum.

The Hawaii posts are made by travel professionals who post questions and then answer them so they can plug the hotels, restaurants, tour outfits and everything else they are paid to promote. Ever notice that the same questions are asked over and over? And that the board will be full of Hawaii posts in the morning, like charley said? And each a separate question too, as if we are to believe that thirty people all logged on at once to post thirty different questions about Hawaii every day. Yeah, right.

Move the Hawaii section and I think we'd see an end to most of the travel pros lurking here. Then the rest of us can share travel info without those never-ending "compare the Marriott and the Hilton on Maui" type of posts clogging the forum every day.

Hi there --

Thanks for all the feedback. We're glad people are mostly happy with the new site.

As for splitting off the heavily trafficked U.S. and European forums (oops, Travel Lounges!), that's still in the cards. We couldn't make all the planned changes at once.

Yours truly,

Danny Mangin
Editorial Director
Fodors.com

The posts attributed to me in this thread are forgeries. Surprisingly, there is indeed a noach.com site but it is not mine.

Thanks, Danny Mangin, for your reply to queries re:further revisions. And thanks to you and Fodors for new format -- generally a nice change, although you may find you need to array the non-regional sites along the same "arch" on the left side of the screen to get people to notice that they're there.

Susan -- I hope your problems with finding the site have settled down -- I had no problem going to my "old" bookmark, fodors.com/forums. As for getting email when someone responds to your posts, that's optional and can be switched on or off when you post your comment/question.

Hi Danny. I like the new format too but have noticed a couple of little things.

First, when I'm on the Travel Lounge Home page, why are there two separate places to post the Grab Bag Hometown messages? If I click on "grab bag" on the left there is a short thread on hometowns there, then there is another place on the right to post a response to "what's so great about your hometown?". Shouldn't these be combined into one thread?

Second, it seems like it should be easier to get around within the "Rants and Raves" section. For example, if I'm planning a trip to New York and I want to check restaurant reviews there and then check lodgings, it would be a lot easier if there were a direct link between the two so you could go straight from New York restaurants to New York lodgings, instead of having to back out of restaurants, select lodgings, then click on the destination again.

Just a couple of suggestions -- otherwise I think it's great. Thanks.

I'm happy with the revisions, once I too recovered from the shock of having the sites disappear from my favorites' and figured out how to relocate them. My question: 'Rants & Raves' says that the individual locations are rated by Fodor's, but I'm not finding those ratings . . . There seem to be no ratings until someone (a Fodor's comrade???) posts a rating. Am I missing something? Thanks for keeping this forum interesting . . . and maybe if we ignore the malcontents, they'll go away???

Harriet:

Fodor's publishes reviews, not ratings. Only the hotels/restaurants appearing in their review sections appear as choices in the "Rants and Raves" section. They have pasted the same original review into the particular facility's "Rant.." site. I noticed they have not, however, included the "Fodor's Choice" highlight in the "Rants..." section.