In a remarkably ballsy move, Hawthorn Suites has revamped its website to include actual guest reviews and ratings. These are gathered from the brand's electronic surveys.
From the official press release, Allison Solomon, VP of Electronic Marketing and Distribution for US Franchise Systems, Inc says:
"Today's travelers are seeking the advice of their peers. By adding guest reviews and ratings to our hotel information, we're ensuring a balance of facts and opinions so that guests are secure in their decision to stay at Hawthorn Suites."
Naturally, we were curious to see what kind of reviews would be posted. So we checked out the site for the Hawthorn Suites in Manhattan Beach near LAX and found this review, along with a five-star rating from "Keith":
I would absolutely stay at this hotel again. Excellent staff, very clean rooms, great location, super parking and internet. Excellent!!!!
Keith - El Paso, TX
And we found another glowing review and five-star rating at the Boston property:
I want to express a very positive comment to your group sales staff. I was extremely impressed with their service.
Sarah - Boston, MA
Now, we're not saying these reviews are fake. We bet they are very real. It's just that they are just all spectacular and we wonder if Hawthorn will ever let the not-so-positive reviews in as well.
How do you say "Desperate much?" in Chinese? That's what we would say to a few of the hotels that have been offering reporters cold hard cash in return for favorable coverage of their properties.
The main offender is the Gehua New Century Hotel, which is the 2008 Beijing International Media Center and official host of the non-accredited media. The hotel was offering reporters 200 to 300 yuan ($145) and more for favorable coverage.
Once verified by the public relations department...media can claim 500 yuan for a "positive" article on the hotel of 100 to 500 words in length and 1,000 yuan for an article of between 500 and 1,000 words.
"We want to extend our reputation through the opportunity of the Olympics, it is necessary to promote our brand," PR manager Zhao Xiaoda told Reuters by telephone on Monday.
"I understand it is different from international practice. It was a decision of the PR department not the hotel."
Well at least the PR director is being honest about it. However, there is some concern that the practice might be happening at other Beijing hotels. So be on the lookout for any glowing Beijing hotel reviews this summer.
A recent trip to Ronda had us staying at Hotel San Cayetano, which came highly recommended from both previous guests and guidebooks. At 60 euros per night and the promise of free WiFi, we were hooked.
Of course, we're always skeptical of a hotel with all glowing reviews, though we must admit, much of what impressed other visitors is still true: the hotel is in a great location, close to the city center, with rooms that are tastefully decorated (though the lobby isn't much to look at).
But given all that--and here we borrow a line from the timeless classic "Clueless"--the hotel is a full-on Monet.
Our room, as one of our travel companions dully noted, "reeked like Easter eggs that had been hidden too long." The other room reserved for our group featured that oft-coveted amenity of mold on the ceiling. The WiFi, while free, just barely worked.
And though hardly the hotel's fault, it would have been nice to know that opening the windows to let in some fresh air for all of five minutes also lets in a slew of flies. Consider yourself forewarned.
Overall, the stay wasn't horrible. Staff was friendly and the beds comfortable, but to all those glowing reviews Hotel San Cayetano has gotten, we say whatever.
The Leading Hotels of the World may want to create a subdivision called The Crappiest Hotels of the World--that is if the consortium continues to allow Miami's Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Coconut Grove to be counted among its ranks.
Upon our first visit in 2006, back when the hotel was a Kimpton property, we liked it, given its chic design, in-room 42" plasma flat screen TVs, marble baths and 4,500-square-foot spa. At the time, the only downside was that the rooftop pool had not yet opened.
But recent guest complaints--of which there are a lot--say the hotel "gets dirtier and dirtier by the day," "is not worth the price," gives "sinus infections" and that staff "have no taste," recommending Hooters and The Cheesecake Factory as good lunch options. Other guests complain that current construction produces unbearable noise, through curiously, there is no mention of upgrades on the Mayfair's web site. In fact, the only press info we could find was a glowing review of the hotel from 2005....
So we turn it over to you, dear readers, to help us sort through this mess: Is this hotel crap or are these reviews simply daft? Tell us what you think in comments below.
· "While the concierge service Quintessentially puts all of Manhattan at your fingertips." · "the epitome of elegant simplicity" · "attention to detail"
We find the mention of the bath's "wonderful Waterworks features" to be a red flag as well. And when was the last time you reviewed a hotel and said "the suites offer a distinct refinement"?
Another thing we noticed when checking this review out was the "I recommend this hotel for:" category on the right-hand side of the review. And pretty much every possible traveler demographic was selected. Here's the full list: Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists.
But perhaps the most obvious sign is that the hotel "reviewer"/account executive gave the hotel a 5.0 rating (the best) for everything.
So beware all you hotel PR people, web readers are smarter than you think. Oh, and if you try that over here and we catch you we will execute your member account in a hurry.
The Kirketon Hotel in Sydney's Darlinghurst district was once voted the Coolest Hotel in the World by Conde Nast Traveler but recent reviews suggest a place that's not so cool. So we put our refereeing skills to the test.
The hotel is located in the city's Soho-like neighborhood of Darlinghurst which is where popular restaurants and nightclubs exist and it's close to just about everything fun and hip in town. So you know the location is good. Plus being in such a trendy district the decor is what you would expect from a boutique hotel here--modern, minimalist with dark colors and just plain old cool. The price is also right with room rates averaging a US price of $114.
But when it comes to the rooms, things start to get a little hairy:
The rooms I had (had to switch because of noise) were a bit smelly (carpets needed cleaning desperately) and the cleaners did a pretty bad job in general (i.e. not washing the bathroom floor, etc...)
To be fair, that's what we do here, this reviewer loved the staff and the hotel's low room rate.
Another reviewer claims:
The room was small and had a slightly grubby feel to it. The combination of no window and "minimalist" decor gave it the feel of a prison cell. Worst of all was the airconditioning, which for some reason didn't want to move from its ultra cold setting. After a night of huddling together to keep warm, we decided to check out, forfeit the next night and find somewhere else.
Again this reviewer also praised the staff but said the low-price was too much for a "country motel with no windows and nothing on the walls."
Another point against the hotel is the lack of an elevator, so if you are coming from oh, let's just say, Los Angeles, you probably don't want to get off a 15-hour flight and haul your bags.
Yet, there are plenty of reviews in favor of the hotel, mostly for its location, friendly staff, cool bar, and the hotel's management has done a good job establishing a presence on TripAdvisor addressing most of the big complaints.
In the end, the Kirketon is probably a good hotel for an Ozzie making the trip into Sydney for a night. Or for those with a strict hotel budget and who probably won't be in the room much anyways. Oh yeah, and for those who pack lightly.
There's been some buzz going around lately that travel writers haven't really been giving us the full truth about the destinations they've been visiting. Mostly because the hotel or it's PR department is paying for their trip.
So we've pulled out our dusty referee whistle and looked closley at the reviews for Hotel Arcangelo. Recently, MSNBC Travel writer John Frenaye at this hotel in Rome with his family and found it great:
The room was fabulous, the daily breakfast was more than adequate and the service was sublime.
Hmm, but our research says that the rooms are dirty, the staff can be rude, and well, see for yourself on the breakfast:
The breakfast is basic continental and just about adequate, with tasteless coffee, no choice of cereals. The ham had ants running about on it on some mornings.
This was just one of several breakfast complaints and there were far more criticisms against the cleanliness of the room.
What can we say? We side with the majority. Although there is a chance that Frenaye did just happen to hit the Arcangelo on a good day. Either way do your research pre-booking.
Jamaica can be a hit or miss destination. We found here however, perhaps the most interesting account of a Jamaican stay yet, at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort where a guest felt like he was starring in the Truman Show. To make things worse, it was an all-inclusive resort.
Firstly, I had never been to an all-inclusive hotel, or the Caribbean before, but I found the whole experience to be like living in the film The Truman Show. It's like a false reality planted into the middle of a beautiful, but impoverished Island. I & my wife spent 14 nights on honeymoon at the Jamaica Grande, from 26th June - 10th July 2006.
Can I also add that some of the reviews here appear to be written by either employees bigging themselves up, or hotel management.
This guest went on (quite abundantly) to add that the "business room" with internet service was hardly as it was advertised to be. It was instead, ancient computers in a room that was open an hour or two each day. The description of the lazy employees leaves us bewildered then as to how the employees would have gotten the energy to write "good" reviews of the place--especially given the state of their "business room".
On dear disappointed guest, there's so much to tackle here. False reality, false advertisment of a business room, false reviews on TripAdvisor. Of course, the latter is the risk you run when you publish hotel reviews without a net, but you have to admit there is some damn good stuff over on TripAdvisor, we are there all the time.
Our role in all this? We are constantly trying to keep the hotel review game on the up and up --- of course trying is the key word here, those hotel review carpetbombers are a sneaky lot, but we set them straight when we can. Remember what your history professors said--study the source and maybe you will be able to tell if someone's telling the truth or just stirring the pot--of course the comments are complete guerilla warfare, which is why they are just that--comments.
How do we do all this? You help us. So comment below the hotel reviews with your yeas, nays, and tightly honed fake spotting skills to keep us on the straight and narrow, will ya? Or email us if you are more of the wham, bam, thank you mam type.
In a remarkably ballsy move, Hawthorn Suites has revamped its website to include actual guest reviews and ratings. These are gathered from the brand's electronic surveys.
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by juliana
There's been some buzz going around lately that travel writers haven't really been giving us the full truth about the destinations they've been visiting. Mostly because the hotel or it's PR department is paying for their trip.
Jamaica can be a hit or miss destination. We found here however, perhaps the most interesting account of a Jamaican stay yet, at the 
