Plese do not ask for a "great" hotel
 

So many people come to these travel boards asking about "great" hotels. And, legally, "great" is considered puffery; that is - it is so broad that it has no meaning.

Some people think only modern is great. And some people want superquaint, on an adorable little street, with a clanking elevator that barely holds 2 people.

Yesterday I spent about 15 minutes - on another board - telling someone about a couple of what I thought were great hotels - only to learn that there definition of "great" included an incredibly low budget. A waste of my time - and VERY frustrating.

So, when asking for information about a hotel, please don't ask abuot "great' or "nice". Please be specific and ask for:

A budget range
A location (if central or near a specific sight matters to you)
Modern - or typical/quaint - if either matters to you
Specific amenities that matter to you

Also - if you're trying to put 5 or 6 people in a room - do mention that up front - otherwise many people assume you're asking about a room for a couple.

Answering questions is a lot easier if the OP provides a little info up front.

What about best? Everybody wants to know the "best" way from [airport] to town. That really sticks in my craw. Especially when they say best and cheapest! HA!

The same goes for restaurant recommendations.

We need:
Location?
Budget?
Cuisine preference?
Romantic or hip?
Family-friendly?

And let me add to the list of hotel "criteria" that it's often helpful to list your own personal comparisons - for ex., I loved/hated the ________ hotel on __________ street in ________ city, and why.

Perfect example - just the other day, another poster and I were "discussing" the W New York on Lexington Avenue. She hated it, I liked it a lot. She stated her reasons, I stated mine. Neither is right, of course, but at least people reading the posts know whether they are more likely to think as she does or more likely to think as I do.

If you're used to, and demand, the Four Seasons, you're not going to be too happy at the Econo-Lodge. On the other hand, if you're used to, and demand, a hotel that doesn't cost more than $100 a night, you're not going to be too happy when the Four Seasons is the first hotel people recommend. (There is a thread going on the Europe forum about a bargain hotel in Paris. Great great price. The poster started by saying that for the price, she could overlook worn carpets and bedspread. Well, I know myself, and I would be extraordinarily unhappy in that hotel!)

I agree with all!

Although I don't usually spend a ton of $ on my accomodations b/c I'd rather be out doing things then sitting in my hotel - cleanliness is important, and proximity to what I want to do.

The rest is somewhere in the 'nice but not necessary'

nytraveler - Not just hotels - many posters ask all types of non-specific questions like, 'I'm coming to NY in three hours. Tell me where we should go and what we should see.' Some of the fodorites who respond to these types of posts have the patience of a saint, imo. People should do searches first and then ask specific questions. I don't want to sound harsh, but I think if we engage these non-specific inquiries, then we just encourage more of them. I've read many of your very helpful responses on this board and I don't blame you one bit for being frustrated. One solution is responding to specific questions only.

nytraveler,
you are so right on about these questions. everything is so subjective from person to person.
as centralparkgirl suggests, it is easier to be helpful with specific questions about hotel, food etc.
as they say.....one man's poison is another man's potion.

nytraveler, Along a similar line posts ask, for instance "Why are there no rooms for less than $250 in Seattle?" and, when told where such rooms are available the OP moves the goalpost complaining that the suggested rooms lack the necessary view of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains form a jetted tub for two. HTTY

Asking for a "great" hotel is about as useful as asking for a "reasonable" or an "affordable" one.

How the heck am I supposed to know what you think is "affordable"? To some people, $1500 a night is "affordable." It's very annoying and a waste of everyone's time not to give your max budget up front.

Great is considered puffery?

How about Super Duper then? Is that OK?

People need to state their budget, and any absolute "must haves"... then we can say if that is possible or not.

I won't ask for a great hotel! I will ask which one is the best bang for my buck :))

I'm sorry. I totally disagree. There are a lot of places that I can say without reservation which Hotel is the Greatest or Best. This applies to many towns and many area. I'll site three examples on three different types of trips. If said you were going to Disneyworld and wanted to stay at the best. Then no doubt it would be Grand Floridian. If you were going to Yellowstone and wanted to stay at the best Hotel, then it would be Lake Hotel. If you were going to Dallas and wanted to stay at the best. Then there is 2 or 3 that come to mind. Hotel Za Za, Mansion on Turtle Creek, Crescent Court. The best doesn't mean the best budget or most bang for your buck or even best location. It means what is the most luxorious. I fu

I fully understand your frustration and yes people are very general on here, but most people start there question out general and then work on specifics.

Here is my list of some great hotels.

Hotel Danieli in Venice.

Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

The Willard in Washington D.C.

The Mauna Lani on the Big Island, Hawaii.

The Empress Hotel in Victoria.

The Ahwahnee in Yosemite.

Hotel Haussler in Rome.

Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado.

My criteria: charm, location, personalized service, interesting cliental, unusual history.

While I'm correcting "clientele", let me add Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City to my list.

all these hotels are wonderful but also super expensive.
although i am all for being indulged, some people's idea of 'great' is not necessarily ultra luxurious.

great hotels can be found in every category of price and location. really depends on what qualifies as 'great'.
specifics in this case really do help.

same goes for food. i have read about some 'great' restaurants on the forum and honestly, i find them to be boring and predictable.
i am not into traditional cuisine and prefer something eclectic. that would be my version of 'great'

Super duper is at least as much puffery as great. And that's not my definition. That's a legal definition. There are works that are so general that the have no legal meaning - and great or wonderful or fantastic - all fall within that category. (Why do you think they use them for all those awful movies?)

If you say modern or clean or upscale- there may be certain legitimate expectations.'

But "great" has no meaning, except in the mind of the speaker.

Yes - but in this case the person wanted a "great" hotel in Rome in high season for under $150 per night. To me - that simply isn't doable - unless you definition of "great" is not the same as mine.

Some people think tht getting a 2* hotel at a 1* hotel is "great".

You've just made my point.

I would agree on a lot of those bests. But if your reqiurements are in a certain price range - those bests aren't an option and the OP means - but doesn't say "best in a budget range".

legal definition of super duper. hmmm

of course, Tony the Tiger say he's Cereal is Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaat. I disagree. lol

spiro, IMHO, you haven't responded to nyt's complaint. Those all may be "great", maybe even the "greatest" and maybe even everybody would agree if you did a survey. But that's not what people ask. Hardly anyone ever asks, what is the greatest hotel in Venice, or New York, or anywhere. They ask for recommendations for a "great hotel", which is very very different, meaning the hotels you listed would fit the criteria (sure they're great) but so would many many others depending on the poster's criteria - for price, location, size, bedding, service, etc. One poster might think a hotel can't possibly be "great" because it doesn't have room service, another because it doesn't have umbrellas to borrow when it rains (I'm sure the Danieli has both of those things :-).

Getting back to restaurants, here's another pet peeve.

OP asks for dining opinions on a not-so-good place that shows up with frequency in guidebooks. You reply that it's not a good spot and suggest other restaurants serving the same cuisine but much better.

OP posts trip report later saying how they went to the not-so-good place anyway and didn't like it.

Oy -- why did I bother?

Curiously, I'm not personally bothered if a poster asks a very general instead of a specific question.

If what the poster wants is vague to me, then I just ask back "What do you mean by 'great'"?

What bothers me is when people depart from civil discourse for no visible reason. This seems to happen more and more in an anonymous internet world.

Once in a while what happened to bachslunch annoys me too. Why ask and get very specific, honest responses and then totally disregard what others have said?

My favorite worst: "Where can I find a great hotel in Paris $80 a night."

I agree that people should be more specific when asking for an opinion or advice. Some people might be new to this process and start off with silly quesions.

That said, puffery is a statement of opinion. Asking if something is great is asking for an opinion. I don't see any problem with anybody asking me if something is great, or if I ask if you think this is a great place for me to stay. That's what these forums are all about.

When puffery becomes a problem is when someone is trying to pitch something for their own gain or advertising for somebody/something.

If I was paying you for advice, then my expectations would be much higher.

nytraveler: You're right, asking what's "great" in New York is silly because New York has everything.

If you're looking for a "great restaurant" in a small town, there might really be only one worth going to, well, besides the Mickey D's.

This is a great topic.

This is a super duper topic.

of course, some people wouldn't find this topic great.

I do understand getting upset when people put the word greatest with low budget. But when a poster asks for a great hotel at a certain price, what they are really asking for is the most bang for their dollar at a certain price. Lets face it, normally you get what you pay for. I still think this is the way most posters, especially new posters will start a post, just for the sake of starting somewhere. I do a pretty good research before asking anything on here normally. I have seen a lot of posts saying they planned their entire trip on this board.

bachslunch, I think your complaint also applies to everyone who is coming to NYC but looking for a great hotel....in New Jersey. I think on forums, as in real life, a lot of people are just looking for "advice" that matches the decisions they've already made. And as the saying goes, everyone who doesn't agree is a moron. :)

Agree with nyt, although sometimes I think it's just a rookie error. If I asked my friends, "What's a great hotel in Paris?" they'd know my typical budget and that I prefer location over amenities. When you ask on a board, it's easy to forget that the people responding have no clue what your usual tastes are!

Looking at a post from this morning, I'm reminded of another weird request -- "please tell me the cheapest and the best. . ." There are few things in the world that are the best when they are the cheapest. So which do you want?

Another favorite --"is the ______Hotel worth it?" How on earth can one person tell another if any expense would be worth it to them?

You're confusing people with the idea of puffery. Puffery only applies to a goods/services provider describing their own products and services. And since everyone will describe their product as great, super or the best, then it doesn't have to be supported by actual product research, and everyone can advertise using those terms. If instead you said that your dishwasher was the fastest food particle remover, you'd have to be able to back that up if challenged.

Puffery doesn't mean that people can't use generic adjectives. But the point is taken that great to you may not be great to me. However, I will say that invariably when people give their specific criteria for what they're looking for, others still ignore those criteria and recommend their favorite hotels irrespective of those criteria.

Other phrases I can't stand to see in a post: "What place is a must see?" or "What is a romantic place for a honeymoon?" Both are SO dependent on the subjective interests of a person, the questions are meaningless!

Yes - but the problem is that the OP often doesn't say best for x$. You can answer that - and it's still a matter of opinion - but within the ballpark.

But if the OP just asks for great - without any perspective around it - and they really want something in a certain price range - or near a specific sight - it's practically impossible to help them.

If you ask for great in Paris I'll send you to the Crillon or Georges V - not helpful if you want to spend $100.

<i>What place is a must see?</i>

Along these lines, I love the ones that say &quot;I'm going to NY for 1/3/5/7 days. <i>Are there any must-sees?</i> Not &quot;what is a must see&quot;, but &quot;are there any must-sees?&quot; Please tell me you're kidding!

I never respond to the &quot;must see' queries b/c I know that said poster and I have different world views, as that expression has no meaning to me.

Re: the posters who ask about some restaurant, are told it is just &quot;meh&quot;--an allusion to a lounge post :)--and are given other recs and then post back that they went to the so-so place and report it was only so-so....Well, I have to question the native intelligence of one who after *not* listening would come back to willfully expose themselves to a (deserved) chorus of &quot;I told you so&quot;.......

All that being said, most travel advice requested and dispensed on this board is a wealth of knowledge and, dare I say, kindness and I am grateful that we have it!

So when going to a certain destination how exactly should a person ask a question. Generally I am interested in Lodging, Things to do or see, and places to eat. I think most people ask the &quot;must sees' without doing much research and just want to know what the touristy things to do are.

<i>So when going to a certain destination how exactly should a person ask a question.</i>

Like mentioned above, for
Lodging: budget, neighborhood, style
Restaurant: budget, neighborhood, cuisine

Must-sees: tell us what your interests are. My must-sees are not always your must-sees. For me, since I like art museums, the must-sees in NYC would be the Met, Frick, MOMA, Neue Galerie. But this may bore someone else to tears.