How to objectively evaluate hotels or restaurants by reading online reviews.

I like to focus on the negative reviews first. First, if I find more than 10-15% of negative reviews, I need to be convinced that staying at the hotel won't be a disaster.
Agree, that some reviews can be discounted based on strange or unusual facts.
I remember looking for a hotel near the Miami Airport. One hotel was in a great location with great fares, but had a lot of negative reviews. However, I noticed that all the negative reviews were over a year old. Further research was that the hotel was under renovation and those reviews were from stays prior to the renovation.
We stayed at the hotel and our room was great, newly renovated and the restaurant at the top of the hotel was great.

Good point on evaluating reviews based on when the hotel was renovated.

Some other factors to consider : negative reviews of high end establishments, it’s possible that the clientele is more demanding that I am. For example, maybe the mini bar had cheap wine, or the coffee machine didn’t make the cappuccino hot enough.

Google street view: check out place and the neighborhood. Is it recent imagery? I’m looking at a place now and the hotel sign and parking area is in disrepair, however the images of the hotel look good. Maybe it’s not something they prioritize or perhaps it’s reflects on the place as a whole ?

We have so much more information available to us than in the past. You can see how valuable travel agents were back before this time.

I review room options mainly on booking.com. A quiet night’s sleep is always number one on the list. The last BAD night was in Prague 2018 in a RS tour hotel where the bar and street noise blared on til 4am. Had the hotel change the room early the second morning by before the tour started. Second priority is an elevator-an age related need. The other priorities change with reason for the visit. Location, bed comfort, cleanliness, laundry, kitchen, price. Our apartments or rooms average over a 2 to3 week trip about )100 euro. Yes, it takes diligence to meet this price in today’s market. We like simple accommodations and often stay with Europeans who look for the same value package…simple room, location near public transport or edge of tourist area, maybe simple breakfast and reasonable cost. We set our itinerary then the hard work of reserving rooms starts. We also prefer reservations to have free cancellation. And yes, if the comments sound alike and too good, the reviews are discounted.

I tend to pay more attention to the negative reviews than the completely positive ones. If the negative comments are specific and consistent, then I generally believe they are legitimate reviews (not the competition attacking a rival). I recently stayed in a beachfront hotel with multiple complaints about the noise from attached bar/restaurant. The complaints were justified.

As another person commented, it's also important to determine if the problem was a temporary one or perhaps one from a few years ago that doesn't show up in recent reviews. Another factor is that some people write negative reviews based on features that don't matter to me, such as availability of room service, concierge services, etc.

I am particularly interested in reviews when using short term rentals such as from VRBO.

Mostly I go through booking.com.

Some things are very important to me such as location, breakfast, elevator, wi fi, TV, etc while other things have less importance. Oh and how could I forget personal safety.

But I have noticed that one review can be glowing and will say something like best hotel ever while another review says "worst hotel ever. Bugs were all over the wall, etc."

Still reviews are very important to me and they play a very important role in my decision to book.

But has any one but me considered that some guests who give very high reviews night be a relative or friend with a different last name and from a. different city. There might be no noticeable link to the manager or owner of the establishment.

On the other hand, perhaps a guest who gives a scathing review might be someone with a connection to a competitor trying to harm the establishment or someone who hopes that the owner or manager might give them something because they had such a bad experience.

I use Tripadvisor reviews, but with a skeptical eye. Things I watch out for:

• remember the people most likely to leave a review are those with an axe to grind. Most satisfied customers just don't bother;
• don't just look at the number of stars. Read the negative comments. Usually you'll find that the negative experience was either (a) the travellers own fault; or (b) unreasonable expectations;
• I hate to say this, but I generally disregard negative American opinions of European hotels. They are used to large rooms, room service and underground parking, and often complain that small European hotels are, well, small European hotels.

Positive or negative, I tend to evaluate based on what's important to me. For example, the hotel/bed and breakfast we stayed in Sorrento a couple of years ago had some negative reviews because it was in an apartment building and when you walked in, the first thing you saw was the eating area with the hotel rooms surrounding it. That was apparently a turn-off for a few but to me it didn't matter. As it turns out that hotel and that trip was one of our most memorable.

As for worst review ever; I can't recall the name of the motel but it was in Hollywood. Consistent reviews of a very bad neighbourhood and more than one review complaining about bullet holes in the walls and furniture, and other complaints about transvestite hookers soliciting in the parking lot. For the record, these complaints would be important to me.

I treat hotel reviews differently from restaurant reviews. For hotels, i look at reviews on sites like Booking.com that restrict reviews to customers who actually booked and paid for a room, even though I know that leaves out people like me who tend to book directly with the hotel. My priorities are price and location. In order to find rooms at the price I want in a desired location, I know there will be trade-offs so I read reviews to decide what I am willing to give up. If I will not have a car, then I am not bothered by complaints about parking. I am not a big breakfast eater, so breakfast is not a deal breaker. I don't care much if the decor is dated. If am looking for a single room, I can live with cramped size but if I am sharing a room, then room size is important. Reliable internet is a priority; reliable air conditioning is important in hot weather but not in late fall or winter. I usually start by looking at the 3 and 2 star (out of 5) reviews. If the negative comments are true, would it bother me? With this approach, I don't believe I have stayed anywhere I would not return to.

For restaurants, I don't find google or tripadvisor type reviews very useful. I tend to rely on guidebooks, food blogs, food critic reviews, and personal recommendations including ones on this forum. If I am trying a restaurant that I just stumbled across, I may check ratings just to make sure there are no obvious red flags.

I start with the lowest rated reviews and only reviews of less than 2 years to see if there is a pattern. It's easy to discount complaints of no AC or coffeemaker when the hotel listing clearly doesn't mention those things. Also, did the guest give the hotel, restaurant, tour guide an opportunity to correct the situation?

Even more important than the review is any response from the owner/manager. I recently came across the reviews of a restaurant and the hostility in the owner's response to every review that was not glowing was alarming. I don't care about the other rave reviews at that point. That restaurant is not getting my business.

I, like others, use Booking.com mostly.

We look for location and price range first, then important amenities next, depending if we just want a hotel for a couple nights, or need a kitchen and a washing machine for 4 days or more.

Then we look at overall rating. While not detailed, it does give a good sense of overall satisfaction, generally speaking, an 8 or 9 rated places is not going to be an issue, but you do need to consider the number of reviews, or sample size.

From there, like others, I usually look at the bad reviews, as much for entertainment as information. Yeah, don't care that the desk person did not smile, the provided shampoo was of cheap quality, that there was no kettle (even though none was advertised), and the other hundred silly things people bring up.

I do look for noise issues, serious cleanliness issues, safety, etc.

I take everything with a grain of salt, I realize that all of those reviews, even my own, were written by the average idiot, with their own weird likes and dislikes, and may be having a terrible day, or so enthralled with their rose colored glasses that they are myopic.

We too concentrate on negative reviews, what the complaints are, and how old the review is. Occasionally some are valid and I take note of those. I often laugh at what some of the complaints are, like small elevators in a 90 year old hotel.

I don’t pay much attention to glowing reviews.

I just use Booking.com. Unlike TripAdvisor where I could go right now and review any hotel, Booking only gives you a link to add a review after you stay there. I filter on a rating of 8+, a private bathroom and hotel (sometimes a B&B). Then I use the map feature to go directly to where I want the lodging located in the city. It’s very easy to narrow it down to a few choices, read the reviews (I look at 1’s & 3’s) and make a selection. I won’t stay at any place with less than 30 reviews on Booking.

I stay in a lot of small hotels and B&B’s that would get bad reviews in the US for tiny showers, quirky features, etc. But those can be the norm in some tiny Italian cities. I care about safety & location most of all. But I do find a lot of really nice places! ….not necessarily expensive. Today I am in a fantastic, beautiful hotel in Cadiz, Spain with a modern bathroom and it’s $150/ night including breakfast.

It is very rare for me to not give a top rating to a hotel or B&B. The Booking reviews give a very good indication of expectations, and the staff tends to be kind if I take the time to learn some of their language. I read once that someone didn’t think it was fair to give a top rating for a small place, but I am only rating it compared to their listing.

I find people review hotels negatively by comparing them to other hotels they’ve stayed at that are way more expensive, so I always look at whether the hotel offers what I want at that price point. A lot of negative reviews can be discounted this way.

I tend to look at the newest ones first, and then look at the negative reviews. For the glowing reviews, I will check the reviewers other reviews. I do the same actually with the negative ones. There are some people that just can't be pleased. This method gives me a good indication and so far it has not failed me. I do notice some reviews are ridiculous IMO, such as saying there was no washcloth at a place in Europe, etc.

I don't use Trip Advisor to base my decisions on restaurants or hotels at all.

I scan some reviews or comments in English, German, and French to get a more comprehensive picture of the hotel that piques my curiosity , mainly how far from the train station on foot, breakfast, room offerings, etc. in terms of price spent and value.

Complaints I mostly ignore, not interested in them unless a pattern shows up. ...then maybe?

One thing I look for is repetitious items. One of my favorites is when I read that a hotel's AC wasn't working that week or night and I see that same statement all throughout a couple of months or more. This tells me the hotel advertises AC, but always says it "just broke".

Same with certain complaints about noise. Repetition of the same complaint over a period of months or even years is big warning sign.

I look at the 1 and 2 star reviews to see if there's anything that's a dealbreaker for me.

I place far more weight on reviews by people who've posted a lot of reviews. If a really negative review is someone's only review, then I don't give it any credence, unless there are a number of other reviews with the same complaints. And if a review is all negative, especially if it uses a lot of hyperbole, I dismiss it. I don't see that reviewer as objective, but rather as someone with an axe to grind. Also, if someone is giving a one-star review because they cancelled and didn't get a refund--well, they didn't even stay there, did they, and they likely didn't read the cancellation policy when they booked. When I look at the 1-star reviews on Trip Advisor for the place you mentioned, at least one of them is for this reason, some are by people with only 1 or 2 reviews, and only two have more than 20 reviews. On the other hand, of the 5-star reviews I glanced at, although there are also many reviews with 1 or a few contributions, one reviewer has over 2000 reviews, another has 162 reviews, and another has 280 reviews. I'd feel confident that these reviews are not fake.

If there are no dealbreakers in the negative reviews, I'll read the 3 and 4 star reviews. These usually have a mix of good and bad, and, again, I make sure there are no dealbreakers. I don't expect perfection, but it can be good to be aware of potential issues (e.g. a lot of stairs).

I'll also do a search for certain keywords in all the reviews (e.g noise--not always a dealbreaker, but nice to be aware of ahead of time).

I also dismiss reviews that complain about what I think of as petty things, or things I don't see as negatives, at all, just because they might be different than what North Americans are used to. These might include having two twin mattresses to make one king bed (common in Europe) or having the toilet separate from the shower/bath room (fairly common in Paris). To me, these kinds of "complaints" show that the reviewer isn't very well-travelled or likes things only if they are the same as at home.

A place that has no negative reviews might have "fake" reviews, or it might be a really good place. A couple of places I loved were like this. Again, looking at how many other reviews the reviewers have posted can help.

Reviews are helpful, but, as you say, it's important to evalutate the objectivity and credibility of the reviewer.

For hotels (much less often for restaurants), I at least look at the reviews and grades on Trip Advisor. I specifically look to see if the number of excellent grades are several times greater than the number of good grades. If a hotel has 500 excellent grades and 400 good grades, I am not comfortable unless price is the driving factor. If a hotel has 500 excellent grades and 100 good grades, it checks a box.

I also look at the grades for the different categories, especially location, and read the reviews for the past year or so. Many negative grades concern a booking dispute. But some highlight issues staying there, such as a recent review about construction across the street that begins early in the morning or bars next door that make sleep in the rooms facing the street difficult.

And for hotels in Europe, a great source is the RS forums. You can do a Goggle search to see what others on these forums have said about a hotel property and start a new thread on the appropriate forum asking about the hotel.

It is interesting to read different people's approaches. I had not thought of looking at a reviewer's pattern and number of reviews.I am curious: Is there a way on Booking.com or other verfied reservation sites (hotels.com, expedia) to check to see other reviews by a given review writer? On Tripadvisor, where anyone get post any number of reviews of anything, doesn't a very large number of reviews by a given reviewer signal a greater chance of fake reviews?

I focus on what is important to me--location, noise, overall feel of the hotel and how the staff tends to treat people, and try to winnow out random negatives vs ones that are mentioned consistently. I tend to leave positive reviews--because I have been incredibly lucky in my hotel choices over the years, I guess, and that's probably because I thoroughly investigate my choices on at least 2-3 platforms.
You can always tell the reviewers that have unreasonable expectations or did not take the time/money to book a room that is adequate for their needs--there are small rooms, but usually larger can be had for more money--learned that one early on.

I don't mention one-off things like the hotel in Edinburgh that had a fire alarm go off several times in one night and it never happened again, but though I loved my hotel in Rome I felt it prudent to mention the hotel across the street with a roof-top bar and loud music til 1 am--perhaps only an issue if you stayed at the front of the hotel, and were there in shoulder season and had several warm nights with no A/C yet so had to have the windows open. As a solo female traveler I do mention how I felt about the neighborhood and how the hotel handled safety; needing a card key to get in the elevator and upper floor corridors is a positive, to me.

"On Tripadvisor, where anyone get post any number of reviews of anything, doesn't a very large number of reviews by a given reviewer signal a greater chance of fake reviews?"

I don't usually find that to be the case. For instance, the reviewer I mentioned with over 2000 reviews has over 600 helpful votes. That's usually a sign that the reviews have enough detail that people found them very helpful. Also, if I glance at her other reviews, a lot of them include photos. Bots don't usually provide specific detail or personal photos.

Speaking of photos --- I cannot match my husband's excellent method of finding us the kind of restaurants we like in Italy (I hear him muttering about the "distribution" sometimes), but I can do pretty well by myself using Google maps. I narrow the options by location and by ratings above 4.4, then look at the photos. The photos reduce the options dramatically, since I reject any restaurant that seems at all fancy and in which the cooks have been making my food into works of art. Then I look at the menu, checking for red flags and making sure there is a vegetarian dish or two. Then finally I read the recent reviews, with a skeptical eye.

Apartments and B&Bs, yes, pretty much the same method --- it's quicker and easier for me to look at photos first. Well, "first" after filtering for location, washing machine, kitchen, top reviews, etc. If most of the photos are of the pictures on the walls, fake flower arrangements, the tourist sites of the town, cute knick-knacks, etc rather than photos that tell me about showers, beds, interior stairs, etc I look no further.