In Reply to: it really helps if you narrow it down... posted by stephjoy on Monday, 10. October 2011 at 13:38 Bali Time:
to do lately with TripAdvisor also is to take more note of the '3 pip' reviews.
I find they often tend to be a bit more impartial, perhaps even a bit more honest sometimes and will talk openly about both the good and bad points of their experience whether it be a hotel or restaurant.
Some of the the '1 pip' reviews are written by people that have either had their nose put out of joint by some trivial mishap (in which case the reviewer will often try to find fault at every turn and/or 'overdramatise' the review for effect) or their expectations of the place just haven't been met for some reason, so sometimes a scathing review doesn't always paint a true picture in my opinion.
The same is true about '5 pip' reviews. I've been to quite a few places that have rated highly and walked out scratching my head wondering about the sanity of some of the reviewers.