Blind Faith recommendations

I use recommendations by Rick and people who post on this forum as a starting point. Sometimes, I look at other guidebooks as well. I compile a list then I check out each one myself using the hotel or B&B's website, Trip Advisor reviews and Booking.com reviews. If none of them grab me, I will do a search on Booking.com. If I can, I'll book with the place directly, but if not, I'll book through Booking.com.

I never use accommodation advice RS or any other travel writer, blogger, etc. Instead I tend to stay at two hotel chains (Marriott and Accor) that have served me well for over 45 years. I recognize that some on this board are pro local hotels and somewhat opposed to chains. I find that the consistency of experience and travel benefits outweigh any negative aspects of global corporations.

My personal Blind Faith recommendation is "Can't Find My Way Home." A true Winwood classic.

I rarely take accomodation or restaurant advice from guidebooks. I just haven't had much luck with them.

I tend to forego "charm" for hotels that offer me frequent stay points and benefits. I'll take comfort and air conditioning when I'm traveling to insure a good rest. Plus the points can be used for free rooms in expensive areas. (Are you listening NYC?)

I lean towards IHG, Hilton and Hyatt. I used to like Marriott but I'm tired of paper thin walls and poor service. I'll probably replace them with Accor or smaller chains that might not offer points.

For hotels, I check reviews on Tripadvisor and Booking.com.

For restaurants, I'll note suggestions on forums like this but also ask locals once I get to a location.

I put blind faith in nothing.

Gee when I saw the title I was going to recommend the first side of the album. Specifically, Can’t Find My Way Home

EDIT 1: Guess no one remembers Blind Faith. Poor Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker.

Allan, one small correction (actually kind of big) - she was encouraged to post her review by RS staff that she contacted first. Her first impulse wasn’t to come complain (although we see that a lot).

But in answer to your question, we all put faith in someone’s recommendation. I prefer to put mine in a combination of reviews, pictures, location, and my own quirkiness. Probably Rick’s recommendations are generally solid enough, but they are also generic AND are for what he likes. I occasionally pick hotels for other people and I don’t pick the same ones that I do for myself.

I have stayed in a couple of his recommendations (and never taken a tour) but, while just fine, they didn’t do anything for me. On the other hand, I recently stayed in a place I loved that I think IS in his book because my hostess told me about him knocking on her door incognito (WAY back before internet) pretending to be looking for a place to stay. I don’t own the guidebook for this country to see if my place is still there; but if it is, it has been ages ago and theoretically it could have easily gone downhill (it hasn’t).

And no offense to anyone here but I rarely use recommendations from here either, although I have come across a few real gems (for me). But that is why I also generally dislike making lodging recommendations…..

I do like your analogy quite a bit.

it’s only one kernel in a large bag of popcorn, and I have a lot of kernels to get through

Once in 2019, used a RS recommended hotel in Florence on blind faith. Never again. We could actually see the sky through a hole in the ceiling in the bathroom. I'm not kidding. I don't even look at his hotel recommendations any more. I decided that Rick has different standards than I do. I have been much more satisfied finding my own hotels since then on.

Well, considering that I find that Marriott Hilton etc. in Europe are way more expensive than other options And also often very poorly located while I’m pretty loyal to them in the United States, I’m not at all loyal to them in Europe. I will stay there if I could stay for free using my rewards, but if not, I’m going to stay at someplace else more than likely.

But I don’t rely on Rick anymore than I just rely on any one review. For example, the statement above about Marriott having thin walls and poor service. I do have a favorite Marriott in London and Paris that I have used for years when I have points and neither of those have either of those problems. Generalizations about any place generally don’t work so you need to research the hotel you’re looking at and see if it meets your needs.

I’ve also developed my rules for reviews. When I’m reading reviews if it starts the statement about how they didn’t expect an upgrade because it was their anniversary birthday honeymoon random event they made up, but one would’ve been nice. I quit reading. Obviously, they expected an upgrade or they wouldn’t be writing about it and now they’re going to find things to complain about because the hotel didn’t realize how special they were. if the review complains about how the airline lost their luggage and the hotel didn’t help them, ignore the review. I’m sorry that you can’t tell the difference between the hotel and the airline but I can. (same rule applies for any complaints about taxis, etc. in the hotel review). if everyone in the hotel was rude and mean to them- ignore it. If everyone you meet at any location or place is rude to you, you may want to look in a mirror. ( I’ve been to some hotels with some rude front desks. And one of those was a Rick Steves recommendation in Paris, but the maid was not rude and the evening clerk was not rude.) if the airline canceled their flight or for some other reason, they didn’t show up for the reservation and the hotel won’t give a refund - Ignore the review. You need to read the terms and conditions of your booking and understand them. Most hotels now have a 24 hour cancellation so if you just don’t show up, you’re not getting Refund. They were holding a room for you so They couldn’t sell it to someone else. They deserve some compensation.

If a reviewer is on social media and they’re unhappy, that’s actually probably a good sign, imho. Several years ago I met a social media wannabe and literally when she gets to a hotel, restaurant etc. she stops and tells them how many thousand followers she has and about her social media presence and then expects upgrades, freebies etc. When they don’t do that she proceeds to go on social media and trash them. Obviously I no longer talk to this dingbat, but I don’t think she’s alone. . I’ve stayed in one social media popular hotel in Florida. Horrible service and way overpriced but cute places for your Instagram and TikTok videos and they advertised that they would help you with your social media posts. They just don’t help you with anything else. ( if anybody is going to lake Nona, let me know I’ll give you the name of this resort)’

I have taken many hotel and restaurant recommendations on the forum and all have turned out to be great. But, I will check the website, location, and menus.

The Marriotts I was referring to are in the USA.

I have to be honest Frank since this is a Europe forum I think it was logical for me to assume that you were talking about hotels in Europe.

Not so much an issue of blind faith, but a heavy dose of skepticism. In the end after you've done your research your decision is still has an element of faith.

I do like forums as a jump off point, a place to see what folks are talking about and what information is getting passed around. I don't read guide books, but if I did read a RS recommendation for the Astor House, once I hit their website it would be a hard no. No booking engine, no way to see room rates or availability by dates and no secure reservation/payment system.

Usually when I'm contemplating towns to visit, Google Maps is part of the early search. Where is the train station, what hotels are near to the station and attractions that are a reason to visit. I'll go on to hotel websites, look at photos/videos and build my list. I won't book AirBnB nor through booking.com or any third party. When reading reviews, of course there's the need filter. I don't start with the 5 star/bubble/thumbs-up reviews. I dont need to start with the praise. I'll note the ratio of bad to good reviews and start with the thumbs down reviews. Is there a common theme to the complaints & criticism? Overly dramatic or emotional reviews get skipped over. Someone stays in a hotel that is a structure built in 1470 then complains about the lean of the room floor? It's a 1470 structure, what do you expect? Skip. Are the criticism and critiques reasonable? It's after I've whittled down my list that I take that final leap of faith and book a hotel.

I've mentioned that I like Locke Hotels. Each time in London I stay at Broken-Wharf. So, when I made plans to visit Manchester I of course made a reservation at Whitworth Locke.

Admittedly this was years ago, after my first trip to Europe (early 2000s). A traveling friend told me that when she stayed in hotels that RS recommended, she was pleased and when she chose the hotels herself she was not pleased. We've done a mix over the years.

I would trust specific recommendations from specific people on this Forum. Many of you have given sterling recommendations and I respect your choices/advice. But I feel as though I know many of you after years of reading your input.

I agree with those who double-check recommendations at various other sources like Booking.com reviews, and I like Google Maps reviews but have cynicism about Trip Advisor. Just reading hotel, apartment, and restaurant websites often gives me clues to confirm what reviewers have said. Reading black and white in a guide book without further delving in (blind faith)? No way these days when we have so many ways to research.

Guess no one remembers Blind Faith. Poor Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood
and Ginger Baker

If you are old enough to rember Blind Faith you may be too old to remember Blind Faith.

I find that Marriott Hilton etc. in Europe are way more expensive than
other options And also often very poorly located

Agreed. I think Marriott is starting to do better with their Moxy, AC and aloft brands.

I like to pick my hotels, and then check the relevant RS guidebooks to see if they are included. It's about 50/50 for the places covered in the books.

Poor Ginger Baker. Eric and Stevie did just fine after Blind Faith.

Well, it depends on the review. There are members here on this forum who write very cursory reviews of hotels. Sometimes it’s just the name of the hotel, or maybe three or four hotels with no description. Sometimes it might be a complete sentence but there’s no reason listed why a particular poster liked that hotel.

However, there are those here who really go all out with hotel reviews. They not only give a nice description of the hotel, but also explain why they like what they liked, whether there were any issues with the hotel, and whether or not they would go back again. Usually these reviews are at least a paragraph.

Those are the hotel reviews that I pay attention to. The one sentence listings I pretty much ignore.

Interesting, because I read Rick’s books throughly, I have never used an accommodation recommendation from him. Part of that I am sure is that I tend to stay in apartments. I do use and have been happy with restaurant recommendations.

I have used accommodations recommended by forum members. Most recently I stayed in an apartment in London mentioned here. Of course, I also read the reviews. I was very happy with my choice and would stay there again.

Poor Ginger Baker

LoL I share my birthday with Ginger Baker

Research everything to death….

This topic resonates because I was trying to decide if I wanted to offer a hotel recommendation to a poster looking for a place in Palermo. They were looking for a 4-day stay before their RS Sicily tour. We were in a similar situation in 2022 and loved the place we chose ( B&B Delle Vittorie), but weren’t sure if our criteria matched the poster’s. Since I’ve been on the forum a long time, I do get a sense of who has the same travel style, so I’ll take a look at their recommendations, but I still do the research to make sure it will fit us.

The point of making sure to include relevant information as to why we make a recommendation is well-taken, and also to give specific information when looking for one.

Guess no one remembers Blind Faith. Poor Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood
and Ginger Baker

Guess absolutely no one remembers the poor old bassist, the now late, Rick Grech who was formerly in Family and after Blind Faith joined Winwood in the reformed Traffic. Here endeth today’s rock trivia!

I deleted another post where I was too critical of Rick's guidebook recommendation for that particular hotel.

I came to this site through enjoying Rick's PBS TV shows on Youtube, but I've never read one of his guidebooks. His hotel recommendations and where the tours go seem a bit out of date. I think we're all guilty of a bit of nostalgia; I know I can be nostalgic for travel I did 20 or 25 years ago. Rick seems a bit stuck with the type of places that were feasible to run to a standard decades ago. It's a bit of a different landscape now. There's other alternatives in the same price bracket as Fawlty Towers.

I don't think I have blind faith in anything I read, whether it's the news or travel recommendations. I think one has a few sources that they decide are credible, either in person, on a thread here or something in the media. It takes time to build up a degree of trust. As an example, Time Out's website is somewhere I have that degree of trust for London reviews; they've maintained a good standard since the days of print. Conde Nast Traveller was another recently that I assessed as being very in touch with London for North Americans, obviously with good correspondents on the ground.

Well, considering that I find that Marriott Hilton etc. in Europe are way more expensive than other options And also often very poorly located

I find it to be the complete opposite! Of the city trips I've taken just this year the Hilton I stayed at in Riga was next door to the Museum of Soviet Occupation (one of the best museums in Riga) and within 2 minutes walk to the closest square in the Old Town. The Radisson Blu in Gdansk was right on Długi Targ, possibly the most picturesque and most visited street in Gdansk. The Westin in Warsaw was ideally located to where I wanted to visit and the Hilton in Istanbul was a 10 minute walk to the Grand Bazaar or one stop on the tram located directly outside.

The big chain hotels have the resources to buy buildings and build hotels in the prime locations yet they also build hotels in locations that are also beneficial to their customers such as proximity to airports, conference centres etc.

I tend to stick to the big chains partly due to loyalty status which means upgrades, lounge access etc but also because of reliability and continuity. I know that I'm going to have a good, comfortable bed (I even know the differences between a Hilton, Marriott and Radisson bed so know what to expect) which is a big deal for me, I've stayed at too many private rentals to know that beds and pillows, bedlinen etc are of a lower standard to what I find comfortable. I also want a good bathroom, a shower with decent water pressure and enough room to move around comfortably. I would never book a stay at the Astor House hotel referred to in another thread simply based on the photos displayed on the website, the place doesn't look like it's been updated since the 80's and that's a red flag for me.

I use Booking.com to start for hotel reviews. Then I look for reviews on other platforms to see if similar reviews exist. I never use guidebook recommendations, especially Rick Steves guidebooks for hotels because they are just not my style. Charm and a central location are not always necessary to me. I have stayed in very nice and quiet hotels away from the central part of town if public transportation is readily available nearby. A fifteen minute tram or metro ride can save a lot of money per night and the hotels are much more modern and quiet plus most likely their AC does work. Fifteen minutes isn't a big deal for me personally. Trust me, there are locals working in those hotels as well as the ones in the central part of town and they are splendid to talk to about their city.

I also rarely book direct with a hotel, much to the disagreement of many here, unless the hotel has a secure booking website. I would never fax, email or mail a credit card number to anyone. My attitude is that if the hotel cannot get into the 21st century with a reservation website, what other surprises do they have when I arrive? This may be an unfair general assessment and there are exception to the rules, but most horror stories that people post here say things like, "I can't get an answer even from the owners even though I email them every other day."

I think your strategy for getting just a kernel here and there is a good approach. I do the same for restaurants as well.

I use a real variety of sources to find lodging and restaurants. I prefer smaller mom and pop type places for both of these, but there are some pretty darn good Marriotts etc too. One that specifically comes to mind is in Dresden, the Gewandhaus Marriott there is excellent! Prime location, not expensive, and just overall perfect, IMO. My husband used to stay there every month pre pandemic, and I tagged along once and was sold. When we planned that trip he said he would not even consider anywhere else, which was not like him, so I went on blind faith there. He did good;)

I remember years ago planning a trip to France and we were taking my mom along. I found The Muguet and it was perfect, and then saw it listed in the RS book after I booked our stay. It had to laugh because on another forum, someone was basically bashing RS and saying they would never stay somewhere that he recommended, but they were recommending this same hotel. Sometimes you just gotta smile and walk away;)

Mr É's point is important. There is no way any review or guidebook could possibly identify "the best" of anything without trying all possible options multiple times, continually. You have to accept the limitations of reviews and use your experience and judgment. I guess some people skip the preliminary discussions in the RS guidebooks and go right to the lists. They're probably not the right guidebooks for you if you don't buy into his style.

I've stayed in several RS suggested places in the UK and Germany, and on tours as well, I've been happy with them, quirks and creaks and all. But I understood the reasoning and limitations behind them - location is Rick's primary criterion, not comfort and luxury. It's part of the travel experience to me - local flavor I wouldn't get at a US-chain hotel.

I stay at Marriotts in the US as well, but then we need cars to get around anyway, so central location is less important. And mom & pop hotels are less reputable places to stay.

The post about the Aster House was a good service to RS. I was told by one B&B operator that someone from RS stops by once a year to check on the prices and any major changes, but I can't imagine the expense of doing a regular thorough inspection of each and every place mentioned in all his guidebooks. It seems to me that RS needs and wants that feedback from users.

But blind faith - no.

We recently visited Italy and stayed in hotels in Venice and Ortisei recommended by numerous Forum posters. Both hotels were wonderful, both were locally owned and family operated and neither was in the RS guidebook. While I did some further research before booking, I generally relied on the Forum posters and was not disappointed.

Not quite ended…..I saw Winwood twice in concert and Clapton once……I’ve never forgotten them, just amazing.
I do all my own research for trips, and generally don’t follow other people’s recommendations,especially for restaurants.
Not a foodie, it’s just fuel to me.

I'm surprised how many people don't have faith in the RS hotel recommendations. Maybe a broader post for another time is what else from RS needs an update. His guidebooks are still my go-to for guidebooks when it comes for practical information, and his Snapshot of the Amalfi Coast book was extremely helpful. I didn't use his recommendation for a hotel in Sorrento though; but then I didn't use any that I read on hear either. However, advice on the area in Sorrento to stay from you posters was extremely valuable. I would have made a big mistake if I had gone with my first choice and stayed up in the hills about a 15 minute drive from town.

I'm surprised how many people don't have faith in the RS hotel recommendations.

Is there a reason I should give deference to RS hotel recommendations or raise RS above any skepticism, and not vet those recommendations in the same manner I would anyone else's suggestion?

I don’t think people are saying they don’t have faith in Rick’s recommendations. Some of us are saying those recommendations may not be right for us and that’s a very legitimate statement. There are probably people on this forum who for example, in London would only be happy at the Ritz. Rick is never going to be happy at those places. It’s just not his style - that doesn’t mean his taste is wrong. It means he is a human and one of the nice things about Rick and his books is he gives his opinion and he hires people who think like he does.

I’ve Recommended a budget hotel in the Latin quarter of Paris several times. It would not make ricks book because he has moved beyond it, but it is still a bathroom down the hall hotel and it still exist and it’s dirt cheap but Rick knows that most of his readers don’t want that anymore so he’s not going to list it. He only has so many pages. (He’s already got the paper as thin as they can make it. )

Before any trip, I read a lot of guide books and some magazines . And I’ll be honest I actually do trust Rick’s opinions more than a lot of others because I do think they actually go look at the hotel restaurant etc I’m pretty sure that some of them are just listing out hotels and I’m also pretty sure that some of them are getting paid to list out those hotels.

Rick admits he has a bias and he focuses on areas he likes etc. if you don’t want to stay there or if you have different requirements for hotel, you’re going to have to go beyond his recommendations. It’s not the end of the world. The world is not one size fits all

Of course, sice last night I can't get the song out of my head! Also, was it Blind Faith, Cream or Traffic who recorded "so Sad"?

On RC hotel recs: I look at them but have never stayed in a RC rec hotel. Didn't connect with them whether it was location or dates or just the look of the place. I have sometimes done walks.

So Sad was George Harrison.
I’m So Glad was Cream.

And……we’d better stop reminiscing and get back to travel!
(Though we are sort of “time-traveling”….. ;) )

This thread is getting a Strange Brew of responses.

I recognize that some on this board are pro local hotels and somewhat
opposed to chains. I find that the consistency of experience and
travel benefits outweigh any negative aspects of global corporations.

I'm on the fence on this one. Hotels are so important to the quality of a trip that consistency of a chain is comforting, but I also love quirky. Much to my wife's chagrin who is very much on the upper scale chain side of the debate, I've started to seek out Inns over pubs while in England. We stayed at one in Winchester with garish blood red hallways, but also the cosiest pub I've ever been in. In the Cotswolds the door to our room was barely over 5' tall and I had to duck (unsuccessfully a couple of times) to not bang head. Neither were any better than 3 star but I tell more stories about these two hotels then any other I've ever stayed.

This thread is getting a Strange Brew of responses.

I deleted my music reference so I would not get in trouble for being off topic again.

But the on topic responses prove a point. No two like the same. The best accommodations in ___________, one will send you to the best 3 star, one the best B&B, one the best AirBnb, one the best 5 star and they are all correct.

So how good are RS' references? As good as his taste I guess. Well the taste of whoever puts the list together.

I did stay at one of his hotels in Budapest once. Turned out it wasnt to my taste. Others love it.

We frequently stay at RS recommended hotels. I usually find that the description in the guidebook is accurate. I usually pick out a few hotels in the guidebook, check out the websites (looking at what they say about breakfast, in particular) and choose one. I can’t remember a hotel we really didn’t like, but we’re not very fussy people. Is this blind faith? Maybe, but it seems like an efficient use of time in planning a trip. I spend more time figuring out how long we’ll stay in each place and how we get from place to place (we usually use public transport).

I recognize that some on this board are pro local hotels and somewhat
opposed to chains. I find that the consistency of experience and
travel benefits outweigh any negative aspects of global corporations.

I'm on the fence on this one. Hotels are so important to the quality of a trip that consistency of a chain is comforting, but I also love quirky.

Not calling anyone out, but these thoughts are commonly stated on various forums, so I am curious, what is local vs what is a chain? can a chain be local? Does it matter the size of the chain? How do we determine such things? And are we painting ourselves into a corner?

I think we have all stayed in a great many variation of accommodations. I have enjoyed the family operated independent hotels, accommodations operated by churches or universities and chains.

But the one thing about so many of the big chains anymore is that they are not all corporate owned/operated, rather they are franchised properties, where the asset owners are paying for the benefit of brand and all that association brings. In turn the customer gets the brand consistency. The Brand 123 hotel in City X, may very well be owned by a locally owned and operated hotel franchised with an international brand name, it may have at some point in its history even been franchised by another brand. What about hotel groups that may only be a few properties or a regional brand?

I do not ever see myself using chains like Premier Inn or Travelodge, I really do like Locke Hotels. What I do not enjoy is the cookie cutter sameness and I do like the uniqueness or quirkiness of many independent operations. I have a reservation at a pub/restaurant & hotel. It is local but the owners also operate a second location in the same town just a couple blocks away and a third in another near by town.

VAP,

Your post just reinforces the fact there is no right or wrong place to stay. Stay at a Marriott, NH Hotel, Premier Inn, Helga's Hotel or on top of a local restaurant or bar. It's all good.

I think the OP really was asking do you take recommendations from guidebooks like RS or others on blind faith or do you verify those recommendations by checking out those recommendations by researching sites like Trip Advisor, Booking.com and other review sites, etc.

I am sure some people will take recommendations on blind faith because it is RS or another trusted guidebook. I personally will start there, but do check out reviews everywhere i can to see what others say about a hotel and restaurants for that matter. You know, "trust, but verify!"

I am curious, what is local vs what is a chain?

Good point VAP. One of the Inns over a pub I stayed in was the King's Arms in Chipping Norton which is owned by Arkell's Brewery. It licenses a considerable number of pubs in England and many have Inns overtop. Are these chain hotels, chain pubs, local pubs? It's certainly not a Best Western type of chain.

You may wish to research the ownership of the accommodations to ensure that the money stays in the community.

You may choose to never stay in inner city accommodations as they displace locals and destroy the communities for the locals. Especially bad are Boutique Hotels that take entire apartment blocks out of the housing market.

If either of those apply to you then my recommendations and RS guide books are not going to help you.

Like others I do a combination, and as one other person noted, I like the hotel listing section in the RS book because of the description of the neighborhoods. I do research his suggestions, and most of the time, they do not fit my needs. What has been working rather nicely for me as of late is looking up the suggested hotels in the neighborhoods that I like, and then using the maps apps to search around for other hotels in the neighborhood and researching them. Has had success with the finds that way in various places visited.

Thinking about it, I'm more likely to book a chain hotel on blind faith than I am something independent because I have this expectation that the quality will be consistent. It's probably misguided blind faith because the first two chains I think of when it comes to my European adventures are Motel One and Premiere Inn. I've stayed in each exactly once so not much to go on. Our stay at Motel One in Glasgow was beyond our expectations considering the price, so on blind faith we will seriously consider it again in a different place. Our Premiere Inn was in Lewes, England and I'd categorize it as 'good enough,' which means I'll consider it but look elsewhere first. If I'm considering an independent hotel or even a B&B or AirBnB I definitely ramp up the research to make sure it's going to meet my expectations; which can vary from trip to trip.

I tend to read the RS recommended hotels, then cross-check with Google reviews and often another guidebook such as Lonely Planet. This method has worked very well for us over the past 20 years using Rick Steves expert advice.

Isn't all travel based on blind-faith, though? It seems that sometimes we look at sooo many reviews on TA and from this forum, and then book something completely different. And of course there are reviews we wouldn't consider, whether it's differences of taste, price, etc. Our process has been refined to each of us doing 'some' research, then narrowing down hotels to 3 each before choosing. For me, I like my own bathroom and always check to see if there's a hair dryer. For my husband, there needs to be a breakfast and coffee. We're headed to Spain soon and we found it easiest to join the Catalonia hotel group for the discounts in hotel reservations. That made the decision much easier!

Over the years I've learned one has to be willing to be uncomfortable in order to travel. Things don't always go smoothly or according to plan. Weather happens. Travel hair is a real thing. We might not be feeling well. All the things. The RS forum, books, and tv shows have been helpful and are usually my jumping off point.

Blind faith would be coming to forum like this, asking for recommendations, and basing decisions on what some anonymous participant chose some time ago. Yet people do that all the time. At least with RS recs, the standards and descriptions are pretty clear. It's OK if people want better.

I haven't been on a RS tour since before Covid. I think RS values locations (in the heart of the crowds) and his relationships with the owners over comfort. I have found some of his recommended hotels need to be physically updated. Since my age starts with a "7", I do need a comfortable mattress and a room with good air flow and quiet at night.
Funny, on our RS Switzerland trip, we spent a night in Bern in a modern hotel with a casino. It was a very updated hotel with great beds and hot water pressure. By the end of a trip, I do like lots of hot water pressure and crisp linens.
I balance the RS recommendations with the more recent booking.com reviews.
Happy travels to all!

Isn't all travel based on blind-faith, though?

I said it earlier in th thread, in the end after you've done your research your decision is still has an element of faith. But,

Blind faith would be coming to forum like this, asking for recommendations, and basing decisions on what some anonymous participant chose some time ago.

To me that's blind faith -- taking that anonymous recommendation from a source you know nothing about. With RS there is at least some tangible track record.

Over 7 trips to Europe, I''ve used 11 or so recommendations from RS guidebooks, and 2-3 from the forum. Early on (1997) the guidebook recs were based on "blind faith." More recently I've checked them with forum members and/or booking.com. All have been good to excellent relative to budget and my expectations at the time, with one exception. On our first European trip in 1997, one of our five RS-recommended hotels was not great (in Venice).

That's a pretty good track record, and in the past year I was happy with 3 RS-recommended properties in France and one in Switzerland (all supported by one to several forum members). I was also happy with two properties recommended on the forum this year, one in Paris, and one in Wengen, Switzerland. I do look at the experience of forum members in a country and at booking.com when I consider their recommendations.

Edited to add: I read the RS guidebook reviews carefully--I can usually tell from the review whether a recommendation will suit us or not.

We recently stayed at the Hotel Adler in Zurich. It was recommended by several people on this forum and is in the RS Switzerland guidebook. It was clean, the bed comfortable and we had no complaints. That being said, I do my research and never rely on any one review. Everyone has their own opinions on what they prefer in a hotel room. I still remember the person on here who recommended a hotel and feel so bad for her because someone sent her a horrible pm blaming her when they did not like the hotel.

I think RS values locations (in the heart of the crowds) and his
relationships with the owners over comfort.

Hotel Sonya in Rome comes to mind. I didn't realize it was RS recommended until after our stay last year. My review in my Trip Report was that it was good enough because it was convenient to the Termini and we were only staying overnight before heading to the airport. But because the room was so cramped and the shower was cruiseship size, I can't imagine it being adequate for more than 1 night. Imagine my surprise after doing some reading this morning that RS tour groups have stayed there in the past. I hope not anymore. If I was on my first RS tour and that was the first place I stayed, I'd be mightily po'd that I'd spent that much money on a tour and that was where I was put.

Allan, the RS Rome tour hotel we stayed (in precovid) was also very uncomfortable, small, sad linens, no charm, and we had to unplug the only lamp to charge our phones. Also, our room faced a small courtyard, and we were located over a very large metal gate that clanged open/ shut all night long, especially when the noisy motorcycles came in. The room had no air flow, even in April. (I have since learned to never stay on an inside courtyard. ) And the staff were definitely not friendly.
Yet folks here have recommended it. Perhaps some wings of the hotel were in better shape than others?
The tour hotel in Florence was very nice, and the Venice hotel was right in Rialto area, a bit basic, but acceptable.
The RS Tour Swiss hotels were all wonderful!