Diametrically Opposed Views of the Same Hotel Has Become A Defining Characteristic of Trip Advisor

I was recently curious about a large and long-established resort hotel known as the Melia Varadero on Varadero Beach in Cuba, and so I went to TripAdvisor to see how the Canadian public (the majority of its clientele) were reacting to it. What a problem I encountered! Dozens of people liked it and dozens of people hated it.

One former guest writes. "This was a great experience, nice food, ... beautiful beach and clean hotel."

But another says, "I have never seen such a filthy dining room. They clearly NEVER cleaned the floors, and the staff could not give a rip. Probably because they get paid $30 a month. The food was horrible, too".

Another guest praises every aspect of the hotel, "It was just unforgettable. At the end of our vacation we didn't want to leave this awesome place."

But another finds it atrocious: "I'm a sales manager in TUI [a giant European travel conglomerate], please don't choose this hotel. Hotel is dirty with ugly small beach with stones on both sides…Rooms were dirty, mold was everywhere.".

Still another guest disagreed: "It is a very clean hotel, smells like it has just been cleaned….The food was amazing".

How do you reach a conclusion among reviews like those? In all, on the day I went to Trip Advisor, there were 461 reviews claiming the Melia Varadero was "Excellent" or "Very good," and 126 reviews claiming the Melia Varadero was "Poor" or "Terrible." But how many of the "excellent" or "very good" people were knowledgeable and well-traveled persons, and how many were innocents (or friends of the management)? How many of the "Poor" and "Terrible" people were disgruntled blame-finders, and how many were judicious, talented, travelers? Should more credence be given to an executive in the travel world (the man from TUI), or to a young person experiencing their very first visit to the tropics?

You know my opinion. I will continue to rely on the judgments of well-traveled, experienced, highly-thought-of journalists. I will continue to believe that TripAdvisor carries the seeds of its own destruction. And I will continue to be absolutely befuddled by the opposing views found in most of that website's analyses.