Tripadvisor.com

I usually use this site all the time to check out a hotel and restaraunt before going however a recent experience has deterred me. I had a terrible experience at a turkish restaraunt which resulted in food poisoning. I had contacted the establishment in mooloolaba prior recviewing them and they didnt care. I wrote my review and tripadvisor took it down. I emailed them asking why to no response. The next day I see this business with a tripadvisor sticker next to their register. It's all a bit too suss for me. I dont like businesses paying sites for good reviews!

I use the website all the time for every accommodation booking I make overseas. I remember my first stay in Paris at a cheap hotel prior to using Tripadvisor and it was a nightmare, and it was then that I found out about Tripadvisor after googling that hotel and finding out that Tripadvisor already had comments about the hotel's 'dirty bed sheets' and 'scary location' - wish I knew earlier!

Since then I have used it religiously, however, I would recommend taking people's comments with a 'grain of salt' as I've noticed some people can be abnormally fussy or just have a one off bad experience. Usually I would read quite a number of the reviews for a hotel to get the gyst of a general theme (eg. noisy location, old building). Its also useful to see the hotel's responses to the various comments as it gives you an idea of the attitude of management to customer concerns.

I also like to look at newer reviews as the management/owners may have changed since or the hotel may be newly renovated.

Their online quotations with the various booking sites is a bit hit and miss because they just have too many, I tend to just stick to the ones I've used before such as expedia and hotels.com. The prices rarely vary between those sites.

Trip Advisor is an online service, www.tripadvisor.com.au

Trip Advisor tout themselves as "The World's Largest Travel Site" and I'm sure that's true.

They provide reviews of accommodation, restaurants, flights, attractions - anything to do with travel or holidays, you can find it here!

Want to know if that hotel you booked in Adelaide (or New York or Peru) is at the dodgy end of town or a party animals's paradise? Check on Trip Advisor.

I've used them for precisely that (although having already booked the hotel, felt a bit queasy reading all the poor reviews!) Worked out fine though!

I've also used them to check restaurants both locally and interstate, attractions around Adelaide, the Harbour Bridge climb in Sydney, Salamanca market in Hobart (although that one was just from curiosity, I live in Hobart!) I'm amazed at how many people provide reviews, and all the useful tips.

For example, I deduced from Trip Advisor that I should request a room at the back of my hotel in Adelaide, if I didn't want to be situated right over the nightclub - that was really helpful.

You don't have the ability to comment on reviews, but importantly, business owners have a right of reply, so you can read their responses to complaints. This can tell you a lot about a business too, the way the owner speaks to disgruntled clients and tries (or not) to placate and/or problem solve.

A very useful, I would urge everyone to give it a try.

Tripadvisor is a must website for anyone planning on travelling in Australia or internationally. Check out the experiences of other travelers regarding accommodation, restaurants, services and anything to do with a trip. I use it every time we travel to check out motels and restaurants along our route and have found some great places that I wouldn't have known about otherwise, as well as places to STAY AWAY from.

This site is a must go for anyone traveling abroad or even just checking out new restaurants. I love how users are able to submit their own photos because there's nothing worse than management putting up stunning photos of the hotel, but in reality it's dirty and messy. I've been using this for about 6 months now. I even use it if I'm at home thinking of things to do on the weekend or wanting to check out new restaurants.

If it's not on Tripadvisor then I don't stay - simple!
The reviews are often spot on, get to the point & have photo's to back up a review.
Establishments also get rewarded at the annual Tripadvisor awards evening - encompassing all regions worldwide & they are much respected by the large establishments - especially the Hilton chain.
Its a fair system that allows the establishment to respond to client feedback openly for all to see.

Looking for accommodation and want to know what others think? Try Tripadvisor. Use it for accommodation on trips in Australia and overseas to find out what others think of the accommodation. Need to be a bit careful at times as sometimes there are negative reviews that are not accurate and others that providers have inserted. However, Tripadvisor maintain they have a process of weeding these out. Have not been disappointed to date. Can also use the site to find the cheapest on-line from various on-line booking agencies