There are a whole raft of travel review sites out there. The most well known is undoubtedly Trip Advisor. And a whole lot of people use them to form opinions. Big mistake. In an unscientific survey, here's the breakout for every 5 reviews. 2 out of 5 reviews are actually written by hotel/resort staff (I'm not kidding). "It was the best resort ever/it was the most amazing vacation I've ever had/everything was perfect". Another 2 of 5 reviews are written by people who would never be happy under any circumstance (and/or by competing hotels/resorts- again, I'm not kidding). "It was the resort ever/it was the worst vacation ever/everything was horrible". 1 of 5 reviews is maybe worth looking at. Here's a better way to get a review that is a real review: talk to someone you know who has actually been there. Better still, talk to a travel agent who has had several people go where you are thinking or can make a strong recommendation based on your needs. Tell them what you are looking for and put them to the test! And, when you get to the hotel/resort and something is wrong, deal with it (don't put up with it if it bothers you). When I first go to my room, I quickly figure out whether or not it is what it is suppose to be. If I don't like the room, I turn right around and go back to the front desk and tell them to change it. If there is something worse still, I talk to the manager. The point- don't overthink your holiday or trip before you leave based on reviews. Especially reviews that are fiction! If you think that your trip is going to be lousy, it probably will be!
