to want to cancel a hotel booking on the strength of a dodgy review from a year ago?

[clam]

(Apologies if you've read this on my other thread), but have just made an on-line booking for a 2-bedroom apartment in New York between Christmas and New Year. It was around the same price as it would have been for all four of us to squash into a 2-double-bedded hotel room, but DH is an awful sleeper and it could be tricky with 3 of us breathing at him during the night!
Just checked on Trip Advisor and found, from a year ago, some dreadul reviews, citing cockroaches, a rat, and some dodgy bedlinen. There were photos of the cockroaches and dust bunnies. It could be out-of-date, and things have improved, but I may well spend the next month anxious that it'll spoil the trip. What would you do? Start trawling the internet again? In which case, any recommendations?

cancel and start again.
what is your budget?

actually I would see what you can find first,b efore you cancel. have you looked at the alex hotel (apartments)

Were there any positive reviews at all?

Do you know the date of the poor reviews?

I have to say that I treat Trip Advisor reviews with a very large pinch of salt. Try looking up somewhere that you have liked/stayed at before and then read the reviews. I sometimes wonder if people have actually been to the same place!

Well, some OK ones, but the last one in particular was waful, dated October 2997, with nothing since. IF ic ould be sure that things have changed, I'd stick with it, because in all other respects it suits us, but I don't fancy staying somewhere grubby. (not that I'm particularly precious, but even so).
I agree about Trip advisor... we stayed in a fabulous hotel in Thailand this year which had mixed reviews. Thankfully, I didn't read them until afterwards. That's why I'm wondering whether to take much notice.

Can you contact the owner via the site and as him for a response to the reviews and if things have changed since.

Can you contact the owner via the site and as him for a response to the reviews and if things have changed since.

That's an idea, hulababy. ALthough do you think he's likely to say that there are still cockroaches around?!

True, but you could ask specifically what he has doe to improve things. You could even get him to agree in writing to a refund IF you do encounter any problems. Maybe the threat of losing a booking might scare him enough.

OK. Will do. Thanks.

agree with I'm worthit -tripadvisor not the best (I've been very nervous abotu a couple of places following reviews and all of them were no reason to worry - the one where it was sodding awful had universally good reviews). contact the apartment owner...

Personally I'd cancel it. We stayed in an appartment in Boston because it suited us much better with DS, frankly it was awful. Bare wires hanging out everywhere, shutters not closing properly, all very dirty. I do think in the UK generally we are quite spoilt about accomodation as I have never had anything like this.

Also I'm a bit surprised about criticism of trip advisor. Its only as good as what people type in so totally up to you what you do with the info. If the reviews are universally bad though I think I'd want to stay somewhere else.

clam where is it? We went to nyc last july and stayed somewhere with extremely mixed tripadvisor reviews (some quite alarming) and I worried hugely before we got there but it was honestly the nicest place I have ever stayed, although not for everyone. Some of those reviews are written by people who book something quirky and individual and then complain about stupid stuff like ice dispensers etc. Depending on the age of your family we got the most amazing suite at the chelsea hotel - two massive double bedrooms, big sitting room, well equipped kitchen, two bathrooms. Lovely quirky furniture, brilliant staff, couldn't have been friendlier, wonderful location. I am so glad I took the risk in the end. It was also much cheaper than two double bedrooms, or even worse, us all squashing into one room (hideous thought with two teenage boys)

Trip Advisor is known as Trip Assassinator in our house - some of the places we've stayed have been given rubbish reviews, but have turned out to be very nice. I think that you have to keep in mind that each review is one person's opinion and that one person's heaven can be another's hell!

Oh agree trip advisor not to be trusted.
I nearly cancelled a holiday to Majorca alcudia as the review was so bad, but travel agent told us we could not change without losing all our money, so we went and it was a fabulous holiday and NOTHING like the reviews.

It's not unreasonable to worry, but I'd take reviews with a large pinch of salt. We have just travelled across the US and made I think fifteen or so bookings. Mostly the reviews were OK, and accuratish, but one place we stayed at had one really bad review (dirty, small room, poor service etc). We had a big airy room, it was very clean, service was great etc. Whether that reviewer really had a bad experience, was very picky or had a grudge, who can say. But like most people we didn't make any comments, and that's the thing, I'm not sure who the people are who did leave the reviews, so difficult to say if you would agree with their opinions.

We stayed at the Hotel Pennsylvannia in NYC a few years ago. Discovered tripadvisors reviews too late. It was just like the shining with some added additions ie cockroaches etc.

Have always found tripadvisor reviews to be spot on if written by Europeans. Take a pinch of salt if written by Americans (do not mean to upset any Americans).

I wouldn't worry too much.I read a few reviews on TA after I'd booked apartments in Spain and got quite worried.However,they were lovely and quiet and clean-nothing like the reviewer had described.

Have you googled to see if the apartments are reviewed elsewhere,like Holidaywatchdog?You may get a more balanced /up to date view.