Tripadvisor

The best bit of trip advisor are their forums. You get to ask any type of question and those in the know tell you the answer...a bit like gransnet. I'v found good reliable car hire at the last minute. Where to park the car. Wether or not there are Mosquitos, how hard are the beds are. How far the beach is. I also write the odd review especially if it's positive or to give tips.

I did once leave a review in which, after praising the good bits, I said the service in the restaurant left a lot to be desired and not to eat there if you hadn't got plenty of time or were really hungry. There was a quick response from the hotel to say this problem had been rectified with a new manager. So Trip Advisor does work!

Just posted an opinion on Tripadvisor for the first time, about a restaurant in Paris. Having been delighted with it, as had most posters, I felt I should counteract two recent and in my opinion ill-informed criticisms. Since the restaurant was full of locals and appeared to be the recommendation of choice of the hotels round it, I don't suppose it is too bothered by Tripadvisor anyway.

Just thought I would agree with sunflowersuffolk: I use www.laterooms.com because you have to have booked through them to actually leave a review, whereas anyone can post on Tripadvisor even if they have never been there. I do think it's invaluable to be able to read so many reviews on everything these days! Hotels, restaurants, dishwashers, cars....I really think it helps!

I was reading in this mornings paper that hotels & restaurants are being targeted by "blackmailers" who demand free meals and rooms in return for not writing a bad review.

The problem is escalating by all accounts !

Bit much really !!

We always read trip advisor before booking a holiday and like others take comments with a pinch of salt, as opinions are a personal thing. Sometimes, aspects that other contributors praise are the very things that put us off and vice versa, of course.
When writing comments we always try to put the positive first and then make suggestions when things have not been up to expectations. I do think it is annoying when travel agents write inaccurate descriptions of hotels. Such a disappointment and waste of money. We try to book independently, unless there is a travel company deal to be had! X

You can generally get a good picture of a restaurant, hotel, venue etc via Trip Adviser.

I tend to look and see if most of the reviews are 5, 4 and 3 rated or if the top of the bell curve is lower down. Like Rosie I've been put off but certain aspects such as location or numerous comments about unhelpful staff or cleanliness, but I disregard the odd 'disgruntled of Leamington Spa'.

I believe that it is only fair to post a negative if you have raised concerns with the service first. If they do not respond appropriately then I think it is ok to put your opinoon out there. There are 'professional 'complainers out there who are out to make money though compensation I always read moans with caution!!

I am far from being a seasoned traveller Petra but do occasionally post on Tripadvisor. I mostly post positive comments and only once posted a (very) negative comment last year after taking my grandchildren away to a log cabin in a Lake District holiday park. We booked and paid for a luxury lodge it was very expensive for the 4 nights and I can only describe it as disgusting. I complained several times while we were there but was told they were fully booked and couldn't move us. If I could have afforded to I would have left and tried to find somewhere else to stay. I posted the comment to hopefully warn other people that their idea of a "luxury lodge" certainly wasn't mine!

I've posted a few times and use it to check out places when we're travelling independently. I've also been contacted a couple of times by people wanting to know more. So yes, Trip Advisor has been most useful to us.

I was thinking of making one after the restaurant we ate at on Sunday sent me a survey form which I completed and emailed back. In it I was critical of several aspects of the meal and I have yet to have even an acknowledgement let alone comments on my criticisms, which were substantive, not little niggles.

I think it's important to give our views because it's a good service to others who are looking to book.

We've made good use of Trip Advisor over the years and have never been disappointed in any of the hotels /restaurants/places that we've visited. So, I think it's only fair to put up reviews which might in the future help others. As an example, our travel agent wanted to book us into a fabulous 5* hotel in Thailand, but I'd read the reviews. Yes the hotel was amazing but it was a long taxi drive to get to any bars and restaurants. We were going to Koh Samui and chose a lesser starred hotel within a few mins stroll of fabulous restaurants and bars. [Anantara Bophut Resort - check it out, totally blissful]
You have to read quite a few reviews and then make your own judgement, I always check out comments on cleanliness and location.

We always read the review before booking a hotel and do take comments with a pinch of salt! Some people have unreasonable expectations e.g. no beach in Florence!!
Also I always write a review, knowing that other people will read it and then make their own minds up. Also, I feel that hotels and restaurants need to know what they are doing well and where they can make things better. x

Like you Stansgran I wanted to heap praise on British Airways but gave up. If I remember rightly (it was some time ago) the thing was so long winded that I threw in the towel.

If I decided to go to particular venue, I would not read trip advisor , what suits one,. does not suit another, and maybe a "leetle" peevishness , I really do not know .

However, I am in the happy position of not having to consult as I always go to the same place in February, and we could not be happier with what we get.

I always post for hotels and sometimes for restaurants find it very helpful to check before booking. Always read the reviews and try and take a measured approach. Find it interesting to see how people's opinions vary over what is important to them to them. There's a lot of stressing out there over sunbeds ,distance from rooms to restaurants and numbers of stars awarded to hotels. Found the site very useful before taking GC to a theme park recently as I was concerned over the suitability of rides for certain age groups.

I like to post useful comments on places/gardens visited and being older point out things like steep accesses, lots of steps, not suitable for children as often these items don't appear on visitor information. Tips as to good restaurants when on holiday, excursions not worth going on. Some comments you read about restaurants which you have visited and wonder if they went to the same place as you.

I've posted a few, including restaurants. They're not cast-iron proof, but I think, if there are enough, it gives you some idea.

If we've been out for a meal and really enjoyed it, or stayed in a B&B where the owners have made our stay feel special, the yes, I put a good review on Tripadvisor as it helps other people who are thinking of going there.
Likewise if we have had a dismal experience and not been treated well, then I put a review on that too.
I always check that site before booking anywhere, and take some comments with a pinch of salt, but generally I think it's great that customers/consumers can put their point across.

It can be helpful to double check by reading the reviews on booking.com or similar, because unlike Trip Advisor, you actually have to have stayed at the place before being invited to review.

I use Tripadvisor before booking anywhere, although as others have said
I always try to read between the lines. Some years ago I was looking for a hotel in Thailand and found one on Tripadvisor that had been very poorly graded because: it was at the top of a hill (okay by me); there were lots of stray dogs about outside (they're everywhere in Thailand); there was a building site next door (work carried out in the day only - when I wouldn't expect to be in the hotel anyway); there was a bad smell outside (the review was soon after the tsunami). I went ahead and booked the hotel and it was faultless in every important respect. Several years later it had the number one Tripadvisor spot for the area and rooms had more than doubled in price.

I always use Trip Advisor before booking a Hotel mainly to find how near it is situated to local transport.amenities etc,I do tend to look at negitive reports with the theory that you can't make everyone happy all of the time and will give relivance to that but if quite a few are discouraging I will give the place a miss.

I usually check before booking a holiday - the one time I didn't I had a terrible experience. I agree that a few bad reviews could just be that those particular posters had a problem that wasn't dealt with to their satisfaction. I do think that TripAdvisor can give a good general impression of what a place is like.

I have posted a couple of reviews of places we have particularly liked, one of which was a dog friendly pub so I thought my (good) review would be helpful to other dog owners. We do quite often check Tripadvisor when planning a trip, but try to make up our minds by balancing out the bad with the good reviews. If all the recent reviews were bad, though, I think we would give that place a miss. The odd bad review can usually be disregarded as you can't please all of the peopke all of the time so there is always going to be someone who is unhappy with what everyone else loves.