Oh F**K - going away with parents on holiday and have just seen reviews on TripAdvisor

[Maisiethemorningsidecat]

Lovely parents (both pensioners) are paying for us all to go away to a 'country club' resort for a few days. I've just been onto Trip Advisor and was shocked at many of the comments, so rang place with some (very polite, honestly) questions. Am now reeling at the attitude of the recpetionist (ob. the same receptionist mentioned on TA).

Parents are on their way there - they have further to travel, so are staying overnight somewhere else tonight. Dad is bipolar, difficult character at the best of times, and am now terrified at what's ahead of us. Do I phone and warn them, or just grin and bear it? What they think they've booked (at great expense) and what we appears to be in store are 2 very different things.

So upset

Have a good time!

Thanks! Have just been to the supermarket, stocked up on v lovely food and am raiding the wine stocks for the good stuff. If all goes belly up, I shall be too stuffed and too drunk to notice/care!

My very good friends have been going here with family for years and love it. And they have v high expectations of holiday normally. Am sure will be fine

Anstruther fish bar is really good Maisie, as is the chocolate shop in Pittenweem here - when you go, ask for a Caliente - very small & £2 but it is liquid choc with a hint of chilli - wonderful

ooh those are quite old reviews though aren't they

a tenner says you'll all have a lovely time

Fufuflina - really? honestly? That is fab news! What do they say about it?

We've been to the Anstruther fish bar before - it's great, isn't it? The Cocoa Tree sounds wonderful and the Caliente delicious - will definitely pay it a visit as we want to 'do' the Neuk on one of the days.

Am feeling very smiley tonight now, thanks to you lovely lot

Oh, my sister had a very lovely hen weekend there, OP. I couldn't go as I was unwell, but it was a huge success including with my mum and my sister's now MIL.

That's great LittleCheesy - it's sounding better and better...

Mary, I think you're right - TA can be offputting, so I'm really hoping we'll fall into the positive review camp

Our very favourite hotel (we go every year) has loads of shitty reviews on TripAdvisor - it makes me laugh as we LOVE it, and I know these people who complain must be either incredibly fussy, or completely high maintenance, or daft as a brush. LARGE pinch of salt, is my advice...

I hope that you have enjoyed your trip, and that your fears were not justified. Trip Advisor is a very useful travel website, with extremely knowledgeable posters on forums who can help with planning your trips. I always read reviews before booking a hotel.
However, remember that reviews are written by ordinary travellers, who may go with different expectations. Some pay budget prices, then complain that a hotel does not have certain services.Some only write about things they did not like, and forget about the good. What one person may see as tired and old fashioned, another may see as traditional or cosy.
American visitors do have different expectations to Europeans I think. They are used to having more services as standard, in hotels in the US.You only have to read some of the reviews of hotels in Paris, where many Americans complain about rooms being very small ( quite usual in some European countries).What they consider a 3 or 4 star there, is not the same as here.
Sometimes people have a bad experience due to lack of planning and research, and choose unsuitable accommodation for their purpose. One poster may have had a lovely room with a super view, and paid extra for it. Another poster may be moaning about a small room, facing a brick wall, but actually paid a reduced price.
If the same comments crop up repeatedly in reviews, I assume they are genuine, whether good or bad. As FPT says, older reviews can be misleading, as a hotel may have changed hands or have been totally renovated.
Trip Advisor have now changed their rules, so people can now write updated reviews without the previous one being deleted.Also, reviews should be written within 3 months of date of stay/ visit. This is a bit difficult to check though of course.TA do try to spot fake or malicious reviews, and delete them.
Hotels can actually respond to comments by reviewers, and set the record straight if they feel it is necessary.
Sometimes it is worth sending a private message to a review poster, asking for any further information that they did not write in their review.
I must say that if I believed some reviews of Disneyland Paris that I have read, I would never go there. I have actually been going for 18 years, and love it!

Just wanted to report back - we had a great time! Lovely house, great facilities, well maintained grounds and (in the main) very friendly, helpful staff. It was great to see mum and dad, the kids had a blast, and we had a good nosey round the local area.

Only drawback was the cost of the electricity - the tarriff was set very high, our 4 bed house was 'heated' by electric convector heaters, and it was freezing!

Thanks again for all the reassuring posts

So glad that all was well, apart from the heating! Hopefully you can now write your own review on TA to counteract the bad ones.