Can we trust the Reviews on TA?

I have been enjoying Tripadvisor for a while now and I think it is a wonderful premise and very helpful to travelers. But…..I was scrolling thru some of the reviews for Lodging on this site (Gatlinburg %26amp; Pigeon Forge) and would just like to encourage anyone that posts reviews to respect the intention of the site and be honest and truthful. I notice that a lot of the reviewers are never seen on the forums, which I found a bit strange.

Anyway, back to my point. I find it hard to believe that one review of a motel raves it’s amenities and the very next review tears it apart on the very same points and both within days of their respective visits. One says “spacious rooms” the next says “rooms so small I had to go outside to change my mind” One says “the beds don’t have fitted sheets” the other says “this is not true, they do have fitted sheets” One says “perfectly clean” the other says “disgustingly filthy”. This seems to happen a lot, and on many different motels/Cabins.

Now I know a lot of factors could attribute to conflicting reviews…Bad day for the help ….partial renovations, unexpected equip failures, etc. But forgive me, no ones standards are that far apart. In many cases someone has to be lying for whatever reason.

I don’t really know my point of this post other than to thank the “regulars” on TA for their honest and informative reviews and to keep them up and to caution everyone to read the reviews closely and disregard the blatantly biased ones with obvious agendas, They are usually pretty easy to spot.

And if you are going to post a review…..do it with the meaning of the Tripadvisor site in mind….good or bad but honest, unbiased, helpful reviews to assist travelers in making good decisions.

Can we trust the Reviews on TA?

There have been a few cases that I have wondered if the review was of the correct property. I suppose if you weren%26#39;t careful you could select the wrong property from the list when you search. I%26#39;ve learned to read all or most of the reviews and throw out the few that are either extreme.

Can we trust the Reviews on TA?

I think some of the reviews are suspect.

If you read through the reviews for Charleston, SC for the Holiday Inn, you find that it is very suspect. Well, at least I do. No hotel gets that MANY reviews. They are almost all glowing and mention the concierge. Sorry, but I smell a rat.

In other words, I think some people write reviews with their own agenda and some people are just overly picky.

I think that%26#39;s why it is a good idea to read the reviews but also check the forums and ask questions.

Anyway, I agree with you.

lovegb,

I know what you are saying. We waited till the last minute to make plans to be there for Christmas. I booked a room at the Sunspree. But before I did I looked at the reviews. I found the same to be true. One would say very clean very nice.And another that it was run down and filthy.What are you to believe? Well I took my chances and booked it anyway. I guess we will find out when we get there.

gatlinburglover

Vickie

Vickie, i believe it depends on the room you get at the sunspree.We stayed there, the first room was the rooms that are by the outdoor pool.Those rooms are in my option pet rooms.They are by the dog walk.Are room smelled like wet dog and the carpet was dirty.We looked at some rooms because at the time I had an infant.The manager was very understandable with me.We looked at the rooms in the main building but it was just so loud because of the indoor game room and pool.We finally decided on the tower room it looked like it had just been remolded and quiet.We did not have any problems in our tower room.You may want to request a tower room.I hope that helps.

sweetiepie,

Thank you for all your help. I will request a tower room.

gatlinburglover

Vickie

Yeah, I was one of the ';awful'; writers for Sunspree. We hated it. It was very cheap and nasty. Our room faced the street, so stay away from the rooms facing the street. We%26#39;ll never bother staying there again anyway.

This was summer of 2002, maybe you%26#39;ll have better luck.

We%26#39;ll be in Gatlinburg the first couple of days next week! :)

Vickie please let me know how the Sunspree was.

I promise I will give everyone my review when we return :~} we will be there Dec. 23rd thru the 28th. I hope it has changed alot since the summer of 2002? We decided to go at the last minute .....and well you know how that goes.

gatlinburglover

Vickie

My husband and I travel to Gatlinburg at least once a year and so we always give an honest answer on lodging,restaurants and attractions

after trying out those places several times.

However I do understand what you are saying it is rather difficult to know what review to take to heart. My husband and I also have stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree and never will again.

I hope you have much better luck then we did.

Our room was small,dirty and located in a very

dark area. I love animals but the smell was awful we planned on staying here for 5 nights but checked out after the second night. It was summertime and the outdoor swimming pool was filled with dirt and tree branches when we told the lady at the front desk she never said anything and gave us the cold shoulder. There are many better places than Sunspree Gatlinburg.

I stayed at the Sunspree back last summer. We had three nights free, checked out after the first night. There are better hotels in Gatlinburg to stay at.