Reading reviews are a must, in my opinion. They are especially important thing to look at before choosing a place to stay at. However, one thing to always keep in mind is that reviews are EXTREMELY subjective (I have to constantly remind myself of this because I rely on them heavily). You can drive yourself mad reading the negative stuff. Take it all with a grain of salt and while they are extremely helpful, just remember that it's incredibly subjective and your expectations, YOUR standards can be completely different than that of someone else's. Also, often times it could just be that their experience was a negative one, for whatever reason (a bad room, bad service, food they didn't like) but the experience might be completely different for you.
People are compelled to write reviews for two reasons: Was the experience awful? If so, they want to write about it. (People like to complain, it's our nature! ESPECIALLY on vacation when you want everything to go smoothly, and it rarely does)
On the other hand, was the experience amazing? If so, more than likely they too want to write something. So you're more than likely going to get both extremes. Again, take it with a grain of salt.
My FAVORITE site and the one I recommend everybody go to is http://www.tripadvisor.com./ It's a fantastic sight. Not only can you review hotels, you can review tours, "activities", "things to do", restaurants, the works... It's a great sight when you're preparing for your trip, because you can type in the city of where you're headed to (or hotel) and then you can browse through the site by clicking on "Restaurants", "Things to Do" (My personal favorite, it gives you ideas on what to do in the area and what people rate them as) etc... the list goes on. Another great thing about it is many travelers post pictures on places or hotels and you can see what they captured. This gives me an idea of what I should expect to capture on film myself... (I'm a little 'photography happy' when I travel, as I'm sure you already know) and all in all, it's a fantastic site. Check it out!
A great example of a review that went wrong was... when I booked Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas as a surprise weekend trip for Jesse. The reviews I read on Ceasars were AWFUL. I was driving myself nuts: "Did I pick the right place?" "What other hotel should I have chosen?" What was worse was that I couldn't discuss it with Jesse really - it was a surprise! So I had to suffer in silence and doubt my choice. I decided to stick with it and see for myself... MAN WAS I HAPPY I DECIDED TO STICK WITH IT. We LOVED everything about Ceasar's... Everything. The room (We were upgraded for free). The location. The restaurants, I could go on... So from that experience, I truly learned my lesson. Read them - it's essential, but do not go mad over them!!! Reviews are our friends, but they can also be your enemy! And that's my two cents on THAT. :)
Visit the destinations of your dreams. Stop resisting. Take the plunge and GO. Your mind and your life will be enriched by the experience. For now, truly, the world is your oyster.♥
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