I get what you mean about having too much critique about where you are going , it almost makes your arrival an anticlimax or underwhelming , I think having all the info and tips is great and some good photos but some do take it to the level of being really pessimistic and including a photo / or 4 paragraphs about a bit of mould on the grouting in the shower which is so minuscule they probably used the macro on their camera .

It's so easy to over analyse everything , does it really matter , it's still the simple things that make us most happy , I still get really excited about holidays , and when I get to the airport I find I can just " switch off" and get into holiday mode and that is a lovely feeling , I think that I work hard over the year like many people do and find holidays a good way to recharge the batteries , I'm sure you will enjoy your holiday and have a good relaxing time and at least it will be hotter and sunnier than here !!!

Yes I think I agree.
A report that informs about, eg. broken tiles around the pool, or staff stealing etc are valid points, but honestly I have stayed in quality hotels in the UK that have bathrooms with a bit of black mould showing around the seals etc, and to expect a cheaper hotel abroad to be better is a bit optimistic.
Holidays are for having fun and whilst a nice hotel is a plus I don't spend that much time in the room anyway.
As long as it is as clean as is reasonable and not infested with wild life i am usually satisfied, indeed with the prices I am prepared to pay a tent would probably be good value.

andy/del, thats exactly what i mean, i often wonder what these people's own bathrooms at home must look like, rather like the ones that arnt even plumbed in at the B&Q showroom if the critisism over the hotels offering is anything to go by sometimes! ive decided to take the 'reading between the lines with a pinch of salt' attitude in future, i will of course review my hotel on HT on my return, and i promise not to moan about my bath towel having loose threads around the edges (!) i'll be too busy enjoying myself for that...

I'm actually staying in a tent ........in Dubai in November not cheap though !!

http://www.al-maha.com/gallery/guest_rooms

Scorpions????????
edit
Oh come on, just had a look at the link.....hardly tents
looks fantastic, probably no scorpions either

I hope there's not scorpions But there are oryx and gazelles that come up and drink from the pool ( I'm guessing that with those horns they could puncture my inflatables !!!! ) I've dreamt and wanted to go there for years , and much prefer a natural setting to the bling and noise of the city , I'm really excited and looking forward to it .

well said emmacat I totally agree there is just no pleasing some people like you we are going away Saturday to Bulgaria staying at a hotel we have stayed at 3 times it has been slated on other sites but we love it like you say don't read the reviews make your own mind up have a nice holiday

yes we have been to hotels of all qualities, yes if your desperate to find something wrong then you will, a small amount of mould [especially on internal bathrooms] is common and difficult to totally control, the odd cracked tile/damaged fitting again is common place, provided the place is clean, dry and comfortable who cares,
A common complaint especially around Greece is the Fly bins, it seems only the Brits complain... again bathrooms are normally adequate size for use, yet people complain why ! do they want to do ballroom dancing in there..

At the end of the day , it's a balancing act between what you pay and what you get, if you pay £9 per night for a room then dont expect the same as you get for £25 per night ""Simples""

And certainly don't expect what you'd get for £250 a night which seems to be the yardstick that some base their complaints on!

SM

I do agree, we have stayed in all sorts over the years. Having stayed in a five star, I then don't feel cheated in anyway if I stay in a 2 key apartment the following Holiday. I know what I have booked and am content with it.

It's not like I'm buying the place lol ! I'm only hiring it for a week. Currently looking at some pretty basic rentals in Minorca, as it's more about the specific location we want to be in than the apartment.

Cat among the pigeons?

From Wizard

At the end of the day , it's a balancing act between what you pay and what you get, if you pay £9 per night for a room then dont expect the same as you get for £25 per night ""Simples""

Probably the correct viewpoint.

We have stayed in accommodation of all categories, from simple rooms in Greece to 5 star, around the world.. No one likes to moan or complain, as doing so can certainly tarnish a holiday experience. However, by not pointing out "problems areas", you can cause the problem to be perpetuated to the detriment of other peoples enjoyment.

I think that it is quite fair to point out cleanliness and hygiene problems. I have complained in the past, but I believe that it has always been about higher priced 4 or 5 star hotels. In recent years we have had a disgraceful room in expensive 5 star accommodation (very well known and respected hotel) in Bangkok, where the bathroom was VERY mouldy, carpets stained and blood or red wine or vomit on expensive furniture. I find that to be totally unacceptable and worth pointing out to others.

Similarly we have had problems in a respected hotel chain in Bali - on two visits the bathroom has smelled of urine and has been in need of a deep clean.

Unfortunately, if you don't mention this in reviews, you are being unfair to others who may, rightfully, expect high standards (strangely enough we will be re-visiting that Bali hotel, very soon).

In my view, it is better to mention the shortcomings (where they genuinely exist) and let the reader decide what they expect, for the price that they pay.

Just my thoughts

Enjoy your holiday emmacat - we certainly will

Cheers

Peter

Pete

what i do is e-mail any problems found [with pictures to the hotel manager] on our return

I have a favorite hotel in Cuba which I have visited every year for the last 5 years. Last year there appeared to have been 90% of the British guests bombarding the rep with complaints, so much so that Thomas Cook phoned me the day after my return to ask if we had a complaint, to which I said no, in fact I'm on my way to the TC store later to re-book for 2013. The attitude of those who drank 3 rum filled coffees for breakfast followed by 8 beers during the day in the swim up urinal (sorry swim up bar) followed by 6 cocktails in the evening show then blaming the food because they were sick the next day did annoy me, but I decided to look at it the other way and be pleased that there's no way they'll be returning the following year.

I could care less if there is a tile missing in the bathroom, if there is a thread pulled on the carpet, I do care that the resort is clean and that the staff are professional.

Nonetheless, on another competitive forum you'd be flogged for complaining about a bad picky review! Discussion on the type of compulsive complainers is always healthy.

Well said emmacat,nothing irks me more than unnecessary complaining.
I read a review years ago on a hotel we had booked in lanzarote,the reviewer was really slating it.I got a bit worried to be honest,well I couldn't fault it at all,we had a great great time.
Have a lovely holiday .

PeteB, I don't think that anybody would disagree with you that no matter what you pay you should be able to count on a clean bedroom and a hygienic bathroom. The complaints which get me are of the type where someone has booked a basic family orientated 3* AI and then complained about how boring the buffet was by the 2nd week and that there were too many kids running around ! If you want a Cordon Bleu a la carte dining experience every night you should expect to pay a lot more than you would for a mass market mid-grade AI. I think that some people are simply unrealistic about just how much (or perhaps that should be how little?) their money is going to buy them.

But the ones that really get me are the numerous variations of 'there were too many foreigners and not enough Brits in the hotel'. Especially when the foreigners are citizens of the country the complainer is visiting - shock horror 'name your nationality' actually go on holiday breaks themselves in their own country! Or similarly when the complaints centre on the 'foreignness' of the food and that the hotel didn't cater for British visitors enough ie the food wasn't British enough. Travel abroad and you will always run the risk that you will encounter different people and different food to what you are used to! Do your research first and if you want 'Britain in the sun' book a destination that will give you that! Don't book somewhere that is different and then complain that surprise, surprise it IS different! Rant over!

SM

When we booked our Golden Triangle trip with a local Indian company I very nearly made a big mistake as I started to look at TA's reviews of a heritage hotel we were booked into in Jaipur. I contacted the company and said I wanted to change the hotel. I was assured by the company owner that the reviews were ridiculous and the place was fabulous. He promised that if we arrived and didn't like it, we could have our choice of hotels to move on to. I'm glad we were reassured, it was a magical stay and made our trip. Some reviewers obviously didn't appreciate they were staying in history. The hotel was beautifully kept. If you want modern- then book it!
(I do usually take reviews from TA with a big pinch of salt but in this case the tour was incredibly cheap so I had begun to doubt the hotel choices made by the company.)

I tend to do my research of suitable accommodation first and then take a peep at the reviews once I've narrowed my choice down.

If there are loads of similar complaint issues the first thing I do is check when the people were there as I've often found if there are groups of people who travelled together or all "club together" as a group of complainers then you will generally find a lot of bad comments all clumped together in the space of a couple of weeks of the return date.

But you can more often find some glowing reviews either side of the complainers dates. If that is the case then I wouldn't have a problem in choosing the hotel.

Sadly, it's always the bad reports that often receive more publicity and web traffic. People tend to remember the negative views rather than the positives, which must be a constant headache for those hotels who constantly check reports on TripAdvisor and respond back to the comments.

And here is another grumble.
Why do people ask on forums for help with a problem....and then never tell you if the advice worked for them?
I was reading some of the posts on holiday complaints and very few actually come back with the results.

I must admit to do quite a bit of research before I travel, to make sure the area, hotel etc is right for me - i.e. I don't want a Hotel slap bang in the middle of young party crowd (been there and done that), so I do look and well written reviews are helpful for such things.

I do agree about some reviews, I somethings think they are written to get their name in print rather than being helpful.