Tripadvisor

I post frequently. I usually wait if I think something needs saying and make sure it isn't in the heat of the moment. Generally I've had good experiences. We had brilliant service wit BA recently but the web site asking for opinions was impossible and I would have loved to say how good the service had been and Fly the Flag.

Yes I do - as I like to check the reviews myself before booking. When reading them, I take them with a pinch of salt of course, as you can see that some people all posting fabulous reviews on a particular place will all be first time posters - rather suspicious.

I try to be very fair and if I am criticising in some way, I also mention the good points - so far I've been lucky that no stay has been totally negative.

Once years ago when I put on a partly not great review (but not at all bad) the owner put a note on beneath more or less calling me a liar and insinuating I had never stayed there! I actually could prove I had, but just left it.

I tend to post when I have something that needs saying - whether good, bad or quirky. I also read reviews if I'm planning on visiting, eating, staying etc somewhere but take extreme reviews with a pinch of salt.

After a particularly awful experience I looked up a restaurant's Hygiene Rating only to find it was a '1' , which explained everything. So now I look these up and use them as a guide too.

I recently started posting on the site myself.

Stupidly I have been reading posts there for years but never got around to contributing my opinions.

Good and bad reviews are helpful I find, though I agree that writing posts in the heat of the moment should be avoided. I can always word things better when I have calmed down!

I do but not for pubs and restaurants, must think about doing that.

When checking up on a hotel there are usually too many reviews so I tend to just read the ones from the UK in the hope that we have similar standards. If I read them all I wouldn't have time to go there!

yes I do tend to post a review (not that we go away much these days) but!! I do like others, take with pinch of salt! an odd bad review I tend to disregard, but if mainly good reviews then I'm quite happy to go....some times I do think you can get a person with a bit of a grudge when things didn't go to their liking!!! as one instance shows! My DD got married this yr in Feb,,, the wedding was lovely everything was perfect and it was all combined in one place so no trudging around in the cold...but one member! of my OH family for some reason decided that they had not " ticked all the right boxes" and left a quite damming report about the place in question! and my DD was upset that this member felt like this..as all the other guests enjoyed and had a lovely time. so yes I think leaving the reviews does help but then you some time shave to read in between the lines,

I have posted a couple of reviews of places we have particularly liked, one of which was a dog friendly pub so I thought my (good) review would be helpful to other dog owners. We do quite often check Tripadvisor when planning a trip, but try to make up our minds by balancing out the bad with the good reviews. If all the recent reviews were bad, though, I think we would give that place a miss. The odd bad review can usually be disregarded as you can't please all of the peopke all of the time so there is always going to be someone who is unhappy with what everyone else loves.

I usually check before booking a holiday - the one time I didn't I had a terrible experience. I agree that a few bad reviews could just be that those particular posters had a problem that wasn't dealt with to their satisfaction. I do think that TripAdvisor can give a good general impression of what a place is like.

I always use Trip Advisor before booking a Hotel mainly to find how near it is situated to local transport.amenities etc,I do tend to look at negitive reports with the theory that you can't make everyone happy all of the time and will give relivance to that but if quite a few are discouraging I will give the place a miss.

I use Tripadvisor before booking anywhere, although as others have said
I always try to read between the lines. Some years ago I was looking for a hotel in Thailand and found one on Tripadvisor that had been very poorly graded because: it was at the top of a hill (okay by me); there were lots of stray dogs about outside (they're everywhere in Thailand); there was a building site next door (work carried out in the day only - when I wouldn't expect to be in the hotel anyway); there was a bad smell outside (the review was soon after the tsunami). I went ahead and booked the hotel and it was faultless in every important respect. Several years later it had the number one Tripadvisor spot for the area and rooms had more than doubled in price.

It can be helpful to double check by reading the reviews on booking.com or similar, because unlike Trip Advisor, you actually have to have stayed at the place before being invited to review.

If we've been out for a meal and really enjoyed it, or stayed in a B&B where the owners have made our stay feel special, the yes, I put a good review on Tripadvisor as it helps other people who are thinking of going there.
Likewise if we have had a dismal experience and not been treated well, then I put a review on that too.
I always check that site before booking anywhere, and take some comments with a pinch of salt, but generally I think it's great that customers/consumers can put their point across.

I've posted a few, including restaurants. They're not cast-iron proof, but I think, if there are enough, it gives you some idea.

I like to post useful comments on places/gardens visited and being older point out things like steep accesses, lots of steps, not suitable for children as often these items don't appear on visitor information. Tips as to good restaurants when on holiday, excursions not worth going on. Some comments you read about restaurants which you have visited and wonder if they went to the same place as you.

I always post for hotels and sometimes for restaurants find it very helpful to check before booking. Always read the reviews and try and take a measured approach. Find it interesting to see how people's opinions vary over what is important to them to them. There's a lot of stressing out there over sunbeds ,distance from rooms to restaurants and numbers of stars awarded to hotels. Found the site very useful before taking GC to a theme park recently as I was concerned over the suitability of rides for certain age groups.

If I decided to go to particular venue, I would not read trip advisor , what suits one,. does not suit another, and maybe a "leetle" peevishness , I really do not know .

However, I am in the happy position of not having to consult as I always go to the same place in February, and we could not be happier with what we get.

Like you Stansgran I wanted to heap praise on British Airways but gave up. If I remember rightly (it was some time ago) the thing was so long winded that I threw in the towel.

We always read the review before booking a hotel and do take comments with a pinch of salt! Some people have unreasonable expectations e.g. no beach in Florence!!
Also I always write a review, knowing that other people will read it and then make their own minds up. Also, I feel that hotels and restaurants need to know what they are doing well and where they can make things better. x

We've made good use of Trip Advisor over the years and have never been disappointed in any of the hotels /restaurants/places that we've visited. So, I think it's only fair to put up reviews which might in the future help others. As an example, our travel agent wanted to book us into a fabulous 5* hotel in Thailand, but I'd read the reviews. Yes the hotel was amazing but it was a long taxi drive to get to any bars and restaurants. We were going to Koh Samui and chose a lesser starred hotel within a few mins stroll of fabulous restaurants and bars. [Anantara Bophut Resort - check it out, totally blissful]
You have to read quite a few reviews and then make your own judgement, I always check out comments on cleanliness and location.

I think it's important to give our views because it's a good service to others who are looking to book.

I was thinking of making one after the restaurant we ate at on Sunday sent me a survey form which I completed and emailed back. In it I was critical of several aspects of the meal and I have yet to have even an acknowledgement let alone comments on my criticisms, which were substantive, not little niggles.

I've posted a few times and use it to check out places when we're travelling independently. I've also been contacted a couple of times by people wanting to know more. So yes, Trip Advisor has been most useful to us.

I am far from being a seasoned traveller Petra but do occasionally post on Tripadvisor. I mostly post positive comments and only once posted a (very) negative comment last year after taking my grandchildren away to a log cabin in a Lake District holiday park. We booked and paid for a luxury lodge it was very expensive for the 4 nights and I can only describe it as disgusting. I complained several times while we were there but was told they were fully booked and couldn't move us. If I could have afforded to I would have left and tried to find somewhere else to stay. I posted the comment to hopefully warn other people that their idea of a "luxury lodge" certainly wasn't mine!

I believe that it is only fair to post a negative if you have raised concerns with the service first. If they do not respond appropriately then I think it is ok to put your opinoon out there. There are 'professional 'complainers out there who are out to make money though compensation I always read moans with caution!!