I’m sure there were times on our recent holiday when Mr R had good reason to become some what embarrased by his wife’s habit of taking photos of all the dishes we ate whenever we were out and about on one of our little jaunts. You may think that I click away so that I have a memento of the delicious food we enjoyed whilst away, but you’d be wrong! You see, I seem to have become a bit addicted to Tripadvisor!

I often use the review site to look for somewhere to eat or stay, and although I know that people’s views are subjective and shouldn’t always be taken as a true reflection of how well a restaurant, hotel etc perform, I like to think though that most reviewers are right! I can’t stand reviewers that nit pick, have an axe to grind or moan about something that is completely out of the propietors hands. Don’t whinge that the outside eating area was too chilly if you opt to eat there on a cold day! Sometimes people forget that these businesses are the owners livlihood and one down right nasty review can impact massively on their trade. Then again there is nothing wrong with a little constructive criticism where hopefully it will be taken on board and acted on. We all need someone at sometime to point out little niggles that we are oblivious about. A fresh pair of eyes can work wonders!

Prior to the likes of Tripadvisor we had to rely on the likes of guide books, brochures or word of mouth to find a place to lay your head or fill your tum. I wonder how many people in the past turned up at their hotel and discovered it was nothing like the photos or description in the brochure. There were and still are guides such The Good Hotel Guide and similar but to be honest I don’t want to buy a book only to discover that the choice of accomodation was limited and only gave the opinion of that one paid reviewer!

Mr R would probably agree that once we have decided to go away for anything from an overnight stop to a full blown holiday, I will spend hours doing nothing but trying to find “the” perfect accomodation. I have been known to still be hard at it long into the night deciding if the decor is just right in that hotel, or making sure the bed has no footboard so that my 6ft 6 husband can dangle his feet over the end of the bed in another hotel! I really am incredibly picky and Tripadvisor and the likes have been a great help. As yet we haven’t turned up anywhere and discovered that we’ve chosen a dud!

So, so far I’ve rambled on about using reviews but being me, I have to take it one step further and write reviews myself! I am, according to Tripadvisor, a senior contributor! That means I’ve written more than just a couple. My attempts at reviewing won’t have Mr and Mrs Smith quaking in their boots. Mine are, how can I put it..extremely amatuerish to say the least. But I enjoy writing positive comments and have rarely needed to criticise. Probably because I chose that place on the basis of good reviews in the first place! And besides, I find writing them great fun. I love it when I get a response to my review. I just wished more establishments would. Maybe I shouldn’t give up the day job just yet (despite really wanting to!) but if any hotels (preferably 5* in say, Paris) or restaurants want reviewing then I’m your man…err,woman!