No one wants to go on holiday only to find that the hotel that looked amazing in the promotional pictures is actually a rat-infested hole. That’s why we rely on TripAdvisor and its users to tell us which hotels, restaurants, and attractions to go to. These helpful customers are important for businesses as enough positive feedback can boost a place’s popularity and bring in new customers. But like Amazon and Yelp, TripAdvisor is also the home to funny, scathing, and sometimes otherworldly reviews. We went through TripAdvisor ourselves to find some of the best.
Wonders of the World
Seeing the wonders of the world is on every traveler’s bucket list. But if you can’t get to see them right now, then a visit to their TripAdvisor reviews page is the next best thing. For example, one user complained that the summit of Mount Everest was too far from the parking lot and also mentioned that the mountain isn’t suitable for children or pets – good advice. Meanwhile, according to another reviewer, the South Pole is far too cold, but at least the penguins are friendly enough.
Reading the reviews of man-made architectural marvels is also a lot of fun. And some travelers certainly don’t hold back in their comments. One user wasn’t impressed by the work of Antoni Gaudí – describing Barcelona’s La Sagrada Familia as looking like the loser of a cake decorating competition. Another reviewer also advised avoiding the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco due to how often it gets destroyed in Hollywood films – making it a real safety hazard.
Hotels From Hell
When someone warns you that a hotel has poor service, creepy vibes, and dangerous elevators, you know it’s a place to avoid. Fortunately, TripAdvisor user Chris was talking about The Hollywood Tower hotel – the Twilight Zone-inspired Tower of Terror ride at Hollywood Studios theme park. But real-life hotels can be far scarier. For example, a terrified user was convinced that her hotel in Saudi Arabia was haunted, claiming to have seen a ghost in her room. Her kids weren’t convinced, though. They were more than happy to stay in the hotel and watch Tom and Jerry. At least they didn’t have to worry about a mouse.
Avoid the Belgrove Hotel in London, which was deemed a “psychological experiment” by one reviewer. Parts of the building were falling apart, and there was a hole in the bathroom that was repaired by what the guest described as “brown mud” – we hope it was mud, anyway. Indeed, no one wants to stay in a place with unknown substances. Like this hotel in Denver, where one room included a mysterious stain that they could only guess was an “overripe banana chunk” – the picture they attached is truly disgusting.
Of course, you want your accommodation to be safe as well as clean. So, if you have to sign a police waiver or deal with a hotel attendant behind bullet-proof glass, you should probably look for a new place to stay.
To Eat or Not To Eat
Occasionally, TripAdvisor’s review system gets manipulated. Sometimes you even have to check that a restaurant is real, like the famous case of the man who made his garden shed the number one hotel in London. Once you’ve verified that a place really exists, then it’s time to check reviews so that you don’t get any unwanted surprises. Take the example of a user who found a dead cockroach in their gin and tonic – certainly not what they had ordered.
Sometimes a trip to the restaurant can get a bit uncomfortable too. Like this one reviewer vacationing in Sicily, who had to watch their Italian waiter have a heated family argument with his own brother. When they left, they had a handshake with the quarreling family’s daughter that made them feel like “an American diplomat shaking hands with Vladimir Putin.”
Not as Advertised
Expectations don’t always meet reality. That was definitely true of one person who toured the Pentagon and complained about the inept security, which is not exactly reassuring when you’re in a country’s military headquarters. One other user really should have known what they were getting themselves into – who would have thought that a Roman history museum in Wales was “just living on its history”? Sticking with the Romans, one reviewer was disappointed that despite being rumored to appear at the Colosseum in Rome that day, Julius Caesar didn’t show up.
All of that is better than going out on the glass Skydeck of the Willis Tower in Chicago to find out that the ledge next to you has a crack in it! If you don’t want to worry about falling through broken glass, how about a relaxing trip to the beach instead? Well, one reviewer complained that Tumon Beach in Guam was too sandy. At least the water wasn’t too wet.
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