What sources do you all trust for hotel recommendations?
Jun 24, 2012, 4:33 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 22
What sources do you all trust for hotel recommendations?
Are there any hotel guides (print or online) that people here really trust and rely on?
I read the Conde Nast Johansens guides, but suspect sometimes the hotels pay for coverage. Does anyone know that?
I also like the Mr and Mrs Smith guides and the hotel tips in the Luxe guides. I also look out for hotels on the Centurion Magazine website.
Anyone else have good experiences with any other guides?
PS. Yes, similar versions of this question havebeen asked already, but are a couple of years old. Travel changes o quickly that I was curious to hear people's current thoughts and hopefully get some tips.
I read the Conde Nast Johansens guides, but suspect sometimes the hotels pay for coverage. Does anyone know that?
I also like the Mr and Mrs Smith guides and the hotel tips in the Luxe guides. I also look out for hotels on the Centurion Magazine website.
Anyone else have good experiences with any other guides?
PS. Yes, similar versions of this question havebeen asked already, but are a couple of years old. Travel changes o quickly that I was curious to hear people's current thoughts and hopefully get some tips.
Jun 24, 2012, 5:39 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Tampa, FL & Guanajuato, Mexico
Programs: United, Delta, Southwest, AA, IHG, Starwood, Hilton
Posts: 152
This forum, the Fodor's forum, and if you throw out the high and low, TripAdvisor can be useful. Easy to game though.
You can find really detailed reviews of the best hotels in Latin America at that link. Travelfish.org is great for Southeast Asia.
Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report is really trustworthy, but you have to pay to subscribe.
Johansans and the like are paid programs: the company pays a hefty fee to be a part of that reservations system. Same with Leading Hotels of the World, Small Luxury Hotels, Preferred, Design Hotels, Tablet, etc. etc. So you're never going to read anything negative on their sites, that's for sure.
You can find really detailed reviews of the best hotels in Latin America at that link. Travelfish.org is great for Southeast Asia.
Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report is really trustworthy, but you have to pay to subscribe.
Johansans and the like are paid programs: the company pays a hefty fee to be a part of that reservations system. Same with Leading Hotels of the World, Small Luxury Hotels, Preferred, Design Hotels, Tablet, etc. etc. So you're never going to read anything negative on their sites, that's for sure.
Jun 25, 2012, 6:03 am
#10
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: LGW, LHR, CGN
Posts: 118
I use Tripadvisor, but since I tend to stay in budget hotels I'm not really reading to find out if the service is good or the restaurant is nice. I tend to just look at user submitted photographs to get an idea of the quality of the room, and scan the reviews to make sure there's no glaring problem that gets mentioned a lot.
For that level of insight, Tripadvisor is pretty good. When I have stayed in higher end hotels I've found that I tend to disagree more with a lot of the reviewers (maybe it's because I go to a lot of touristy places, but I care mostly about WiFi, access to printers, and having a quiet room where it's easy to sleep - that stuff often gets overlooked in the reviews I see).
For that level of insight, Tripadvisor is pretty good. When I have stayed in higher end hotels I've found that I tend to disagree more with a lot of the reviewers (maybe it's because I go to a lot of touristy places, but I care mostly about WiFi, access to printers, and having a quiet room where it's easy to sleep - that stuff often gets overlooked in the reviews I see).
Jun 25, 2012, 7:14 am
#12
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: MEL, PER, PBO, occasionally ships, oil rigs and other places that no sane human being should ever find themselves
Programs: IHG RA, PC Plat, QF Plat/LTS
Posts: 804
Here and TA. Lke someone else said, on TA I usually throw out the very high and very low reviews and otherwise look at the most recent.
The printed guide books are ok but are often biased and outdated not to mention very limited in variety.
The printed guide books are ok but are often biased and outdated not to mention very limited in variety.
Jun 25, 2012, 10:44 am
#13
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: UA 1P
Posts: 545
That said, I have been let down by TA a few times. Most recently I showed up at a Sheraton that had been soundly praised by seasoned reviewers and was disgusted with the condition of the property. I ended up switching hotels, which is something I rarely do.
Jun 25, 2012, 1:55 pm
#15
Join Date: Jun 2006
Programs: Various
Posts: 6,526
It only covers the hotels that you can book through the website (which is a substantial limitation, admittedly), but I have come to rely increasingly on the reviews on booking.com, particularly in Europe. The reviews are from guests who have actually stayed at the properties, and have a numerical average assigned. I've found that hotels with over 80 or so reviews and a score of 8.5 to be quite good (at least by my standards).