Does a Bad Restaurant or Hotel Review on Land Prevent You From Going There?

I've learned to discard the one-star reviews (generally tend to be ranters) and five star reviews (generally tend to be fanboys) and pay attention to the 2 and 4 star reviews. Generally, these tend to be more fair, stating both the good and the bad.

If an establishment has an inordinate amount of good or bad, I may check out the 1 or 5 star reviews to see if there is a recurring theme that is also mentioned in the 2 and 4 star ones.

It depends on how many bad reviews a place has. Some people will find anything to complain about so if the majority of reviews are positive it usually is okay. And I also look at what the complaints are. It might be something that would bother somebody else but wouldn't bother me. If I see a lot of complaints about cleanliness I definitely will not go to a hotel or restaurant.

One time I was looking for a cheap hotel in Galveston before a cruise. I found one with horrible reviews. I figured that a hotel that bad couldn't still be in business, so the reviews must be fake.

I was wrong. The hotel was that bad.

Since, I have paid attention to the reviews. I don't necessarily look for 5 star reviews, but an average of over two is a must. (I look more for cheap than for nice).

Amen----We have avoided cruises due to bad reviews. One I recall was on Silver Seas to the Galapagos Islands. My wife noticed an attractive cruise offering on Silver Seas, we have always wanted to visit those islands. I checked out quite a few reviews of the ship they use down there and it was enough to discourage us.

However, one has to be careful. I prefer to be skeptical about negative reviews. One excellent experience in this regard I won't forget. Before a four week long Pacific War Cruise we took on the old Regal Princess I ran into a number of negative comments regarding features of the ship that appeared legit. We booked anyway. Boarded in Tokyo, and as usual I get out of the cabin while my wife puts everything away. So I do my recon of the vessel then. Much to my delight all the not- so-good comments I was concerned about on the ship proved to be insignificant or just plain fabrications. Having to kill more time I stopped by the little "Hole in the Wall" bar and ordered a drink. Except for the bartender the only person in there was a fellow nursing a drink over in the corner. I told the bar-keep that I was really happy with my first impressions of his ship. The guy in the corner was listening and said "I hate this ship"--"If it was up to me I would torpedo it"---"The only reason I'm on here is that my wife wanted to come." After about three weeks into this wonderful voyage for us I happened to walk by the same bar, the same guy was still there, drowning his sorrows.

I always do research on any place my wife and I travel to. If there are more negatives then positive then it is ruled out but sometimes you need to take reviews with a grain of salt as there are just some people that can never be satisfied. Those people just need to stay home!

So many factors go into why one person loves a restaurant, hotel or cruise and another person has a very different experience. Sometimes everything just seems to go wrong for one person and not for another. I look for trends and read the most recent reviews. If service is said to be slow I go at an off peak time. I try to stay away from busy nights at restaurant and peak vacation times for hotels and cruises. Just because there are some bad reviews, doesn't mean that i won't try the restaurant, cruise line or hotel. I read so many poor reviews on MSC but I decided to try the cruise line anyway. I had such a wonderful time that I booked another cruise with the company. My second ruise was just as enjoyable as my first one.

I depend more on what friends have to say.

We read them and weigh them for content and reasonable problems that might occur. There was a hotel we had used many times and had very good experience with, however, the last time it was so bad that we will unlikely ever stay again. I like to know what folks think about the experience even if it is bad. For example, if the weather was the cause of a ruined a vacation that wouldn't deter me; but if the customer service for simple requests or questions is pitiful then I might find an alternative.

Now I am looking for the recipe on the Mint chutney that was served with the lamp my son had the other day. Recipe comes from the Med.--any ideas.

I have a membership in a group that reviews restaurants in Edmonton. We are all pretty fair in the kitchen so we learn recipes and try them at home or when we meet. Bad reviews do not always complain about the food. Every time we review looks at food we do have a good understanding of what can go wrong. We are all very strong on the customer service aspect, and when a place fails on service it fails big time overall,