I hadn't realized the flip side of Tripadvisor for some, I say some business owners. I have been encouraged by several hotels to write a review when I returned (which I did). I use Tripadvisor to read reviews, read and post questions on their forums. I have never used them directly to book a trip (nor do I use the affiliates; travelocity, hotels.com, etc) - always go directly to the individual business. I never look at the ranking when I'm reading about a hotel. I do what others have said - read through and sift out the inflated reviews/comments. I have even gone as far as sending a private message to several people about their specific experience and have benefited greatly from those conversations.

If there is a review and forum site that doesn't do this to businesses, I'll gladly use it instead.

Gela's AC Motto: "All Roads Used to Lead to BC's - Now They Lead to Hurricane's!"