Do's and Don'ts of reviewing a hotel?
 

I'm in the process of writing a review on The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam. I want to make sure it's done right. What are the Do's and Don'ts of reviewing a hotel? when taking pictures in public places do you make sure no other guest and employees are in the picture? Do you need hotel permission to post detailed pictures of the room and the public areas? I'm new to this and want to make sure I don't cross any boundaries.

There really aren't any rules to this - do it how you want to do it, and don't get hung up with trying to follow a specific procedure. Did the room really blow you away? Then show us pics that capture that feeling. Was the restaurant sub par? Show (and tell) us why.

You're right about photographing other guests and hotel staff though - it's polite to keep recognizable faces out of your pics. I have, however, asked certain hotel staff if I could take their picture to include in my trip report (because of stellar service), and I haven't been refused yet.

Have fun writing it up!

I like when I read reviews in which guests compare and contrast reality with their expectations, rather than just give a description. Anecdotes help! So, "I expected to be blown away by the size of the king room based on the pictures, but there was only 4 feet on either side of the bed" really helps me understand what was delivered.

Most importantly, if you ramble on (and there's nothing wrong with going into detail), divide it up into paragraphs. I skip over reviews that are one giant block of text :)

Say prices instead of saying "drinks were expensive". Everyone's interpretation of expensive!

Be sure to specify the room type you reserved, the room category you were given, and any applicable elite status or other relevant details such as FHR or Virtuoso bookings. This crowd seems to want to know whether your elite status was voluntarily acknowledged (and thanked) at check in, which matters to me only if I'm being denied published elite benefits.

I would also steer clear of complaining about things that are completely outside of the hotels control.

While looking into a hotel in Cabo a few years ago, a few people left negative reviews because it was unseasonably cold and they were unable to make full use of the outdoor pools and the swim up bars, as if the property was really happy about a week of 40 degree temps!

Along a similar vein, don't mention other guests in the review. Probably less of an issue with luxury hotel reviews though unless talking about how the staff interacted with the rowdy ones and children being disruptive.

This is a common pet peeve when I'm looking for hostels to the point where I sort reviews negative > positive to see if they're actually talking about the features or about how there was a fat and hairy man in their dorm which is definitely not a hostel feature and they need a place to sleep too :(

I was about to post the same thing. My example was going to be complaining about the booking site you used when the issues with it had nothing to do with the hotel. kop84's is better.

+ 1 to this excellent advice. I want to add regarding pictures - I often put up detailed reviews on Tripadvisor with many pictures and I have never been contacted by a property asking me to take them down. I mean, it is helpful for other guests to see pictures rather than just read a description. I would never post a picture of staff without their express permission or other guests (so I take pics of public places in quieter times).

+1 ^

Yes but that can be a general comment on the resort and the reason for going there.

Having gone to Eilat on the Red Sea in the expectation that the Red Sea was pleasantly swimmable 12 months of the year, I was very disappointed to discover that the sea water was too cold to be enjoyable. That does need to get into the assessment of a beachfront hotel.

I beg to differ. A quick Google search shows that the average January daily high in Eilat is 66°F/19°C, a bit higher in months to either side. That's the high, so it's cooler most of the time; and, since it's the average, one should expect about half the days to be cooler. This is something one can easily check before traveling to an area in the expectation of lying on the beach in the sun. It's hardly the hotel's fault if one doesn't, and shouldn't be cause for a negative hotel review.

If one were reviewing January travel destinations for beach aficionados, it would be different.

It's your review. Do what you want. There's UN mandate for how to review a hotel.

If you want to do a good job, check out some professionally written reviews and ape their style and presentation. Do not check out TripAdvisor as the reviews there generally are not worth the paper they're (not) written on.

Speaking of aping pro reviewers, anyone know if Business Traveller's online reviews of flight service are written by contracted reviewers, or just paid for as offered by freelancers?