I would always use HT as I know it is truly independant and still beleive it to be the best review site on the net,

Spot on and exactly the point I was trying to make.
Please don't turn this into a slanging match against other Nations, their culture alone will make them different from the British and if they are silly enough to judge a whole Nation by the actions of a small group of people, then it is THEM that has the problem, not you or I....the same with the British judging them.

It has already been pointed out that Trip Advisor has a vested interest with Expedia and it is quite obvious to even the dimmest bulb on the xmas tree that TO's won't post bad reports and I have just highlighted that Travel Republic have held back my damming report of a hotel.

I'm furious over it TBH and it just begs the question......
Who can you believe ? and it's no use saying I like X site because neither you nor I, know if they are from genuine posters or a fabrication of the site owners.
How many negative reports are they holding back just to get a sale.?
Maybe if truthful reports were posted, then the industry wouldn't have so many claims for booking a hole.

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

great to see you back Chris. Ive pmed you but not sure if there getting through.

lyn

expedia may have a vested interest in TA but there's still plenty of lousy reviews for hotels on it. Consumers are sophisticated, if TA starts losing its independence in terms of the quality and openness of its reviews then they will go elsewhere.

Technologically TA is a more sophisticated site than HT with league tables for hotels in specific resorts and as such is a useful research tool. HT has an advantage in that it is more directed to the UK market, and is perhaps a bit more homely and friendly in approach.

Consumers are sophisticated,

And we're not here in Britain or HT.?

HT has an advantage in that it is more directed to the UK market, and is perhaps a bit more homely and friendly in approach

And maybe a bit more honest as hotel owners from abroad posing as holidaymakers wouldn't be able to post in here.

That's more valuable than sophistication can ever match and fancy sites with gadgets still don't necessarily portray the truth.

Sanjiiiiiiiiiii

Also I don't really understand how they do the 'Top Ten' ranking on Trip. Is it a voting system?

I booked a hotel in Sharm that was no 1 at the time I booked and by the time I travelled it was outside the top 10 It was only a couple of months between booking and travel.

Fortunately I had taken some (good) advice from on here and all was well, but it did make me wonder at how quickly it fell on Trip.

Doepsmc

Please do not misquote me, nowhere did I state that I had a low opinion of British holidaymakers, or prefer the opinions of Americans, in fact I stated that I tried to convince Americans and Continentals with whom I work that the behaviour of groups of drunken Brits noway represents the way a normal british tourist would act on holiday, the same way that a few reports by so called whinging Americans on the TA board should be taken as being as being a true representation of the views and needs of most American citizens..
I enjoy using the HT board , having gained some good info in the past and have hopefully been able to share some of my travel knowlege with other users of this board. Just as I enjoy using TA and find it an excellent source for gaining info for my travels.
Why you be suprised that I use HT is beyond me.

No offence intended Judith, I must of misunderstood your post as I interpretated it that you thought that TA was a preferable and more independant site than HT.

Doe

Doe

Didn't intend to give the impression that I find either site preferable, TA is usually the first site I look at because I normally take long haul holidays to destinations for which I find few reviews on HT, and I can usually find a report on TA somewhere that may help me. If I am going to a destination in Europe then I will often check out HT first, I think most hotels I have stayed in over the last few years in Spain etc., have been chosen through recommendations on HT.
As my late father in law used to say Horses for Courses.

Consumers are sophisticated,

And we're not here in Britain or HT.?

I did not assume any nationality for the consumer (ie forum user/ review reader) in my message, so they can be British and a HT member I merely stated that we the user are sophisticated in our use of such forums and review sites. If a review site is losing its independence then we would be able to spot it and would then treat with more caution.

I agree the league tables on TA should not be taken too literally, but then again they are a useful indicator of what people thought of a property. I mean I don't take too much notice of the overall ratings given on HT for hotels better to read the reviews and form an opinion of a property from the bulk of reviews.

At the end of the day it all depends on the independency of the reviews and the expectations a person has of a hotel/holiday.

The minute a review site is associated with a tour operator/travel agent/holiday provider that independency may well be questioned.

Unlike many other review sites, Holidaytruths is not a commercial website. It always has been a site run by volunteers to aid the traveller in making an informed decision on a particular hotel/resort/destination.

Whilst Holidaytruths is mainly targeted to the UK traveller it should be born into mind the expectations different cultures have about holidays. The Americans, from having spoken to some on their holidays, treasure their holidays to a greater extend, simply because the number of paid holidays they get from their employers is much less than ours. For that reason they want their break to be perfect. Whilst we can perhaps live with "less than perfect" and give a review a favourable rating, the Americans staying in the same hotel at the same time may well give it a lower rating because "less than perfect" is just not good enough. It doesn't necessarily mean that particular hotel is bad, it just didn't meet their higher than us expectations.

Mark

Must confess I have always thought without really giving it much thought that the review tables on TA were based on the star system used in the reveiws but now im wondering if I have in someway been a little duped . Just as an example the b+b we stayed at in Rome last weekend I chose solely based on on the fact it was voted 2 or 3 on TA and reviews were good. It wasnt available on expedia though and i had to book direct. Well yes it was nice,the customer service was good but as said before i believe this is mostly put on for the americans but on the whole I couldnt understand what all the fuss was about but now I know how the hotel keeps itself at the top of the list as this morning I received a lovely litte email from the hotel complete with pictures of rome and links to TA and Rick Steves asking me to leave recomendations on both. very clever of the hotel Im not going to bother as I think yes nice but not worth the hype and I could probably of got just as good at half the price.

maybe im in a bad mood this morning

Lyn
I don't think the rating system on TA is much use, although I use the site on a regular basis I usually just base my choices on the individual reviews.

I agree with Mark about the amount of paid holidays the Americans get, when I was still working my secretary was American and was paid by the american civil service, I was paid by the german government. I received 35 days paid leave plus up to 13 paid public holidays she received 10days paid leave and 9 paid public holidays, she had to work for five years before she got an extra 3days annual leave. No wonder they have huge expectations..

and no wonder you seem to see so many older retired americans Judith. Dont usually meet many on our travels, although large numbers in Rome last week and also in Normndy when we went. we love talking to tham makes a pleasant change . Just dont mention George Bush
I dont think I will bother using TA in the same way anymore. If booking a city break I usually start with their top list, read the reviews and work from there. now I think I will check recommendations here and hotel booking agencies first.get the prices then check ta for reviews and then if the reviews look good enough i wont worry about the numbered position anymore

lyn

It is also important to note the date the reviews were written, which is always absolutely clear on HT. Although certain things, such as the distance from the beach/airport etc. will always remain the same, other things, such as facilities, staff and food will change over the years, and what may have been perfect a few years ago may now have deteriorated considerably, whilst others, which have previously been panned, may have managed to get their act together, as I have found on occasions.

Lynwestie

now I know how the hotel keeps itself at the top of the list as this morning I received a lovely litte email from the hotel complete with pictures of rome and links to TA and Rick Steves asking me to leave recomendations on both. very clever of the hotel Im not going to bother as I think yes nice but not worth the hype and I could probably of got just as good at half the price.

Personally I think you should leave a review and say exactly that, that it didn't live up to the hype. I'm sure people would find that useful.

luci

Another thing that is worth considering with the one to ten ranking is cost. For example the hotel in Sharm that regularly comes out at No 1, is the Four Seasons, but it's nearly twice the price of most other hotels in Sharm and probably doesn't represent brilliant value for money looked at in the context of what the next 7 or 8 in the list have to offer.

I also agree with Aslemma's point on date of travel as things change over time, also a hotel that is good in say June or Sept might be stretched for facilities and staff in July and August.

I stayed in a hotel and the reps put reviews on holidaysuncovered they were moaning because people were giving the hotel poor reviews, I suppose they were worried about their job going if the hotel was dropped.

I would never go back to that hotel even if somebody payed me. Even though the hotel was bad I became good friends with one of the guys on the reception desk. The staff got free drinks when in the bar, if he was there I had a free night of boozing. When I went back to the resort I tried to see if was still at the hotel, but no luck. Not for the drinks but he was going to take us to a majorcan restaurant inland only used by locals.

One review a while ago did say exactly that Luci but of course i chose to ignore that one. I need to wait for a brave moment, but its difficult to put it without it sounding like a bad review which it doesnt deserve. like I say it was very nice but if it wasnt for the follow up email it woud probably be easy forgotten amoungst the hundreds of other very good reasonable costing hotels in Rome that no doubt deserve a higher ranking on TA.

I generally look on HT, HW and TA. The first two are very trustworthy (perhaps because they're English) and as such are upfront with comments. TA I find to be no more than reasonable, if a review is written by a UK resident with a lengthy list of comments, then it's worth considering, but I find US comments to be very blinkered and opinionated as though their view is the only one to count. I find that if you look at the review sites often enough you can get an idea of who you'll agree with and trust.