People will conjure up different images in their minds when they think of the word, 'Hotel', or 'Guest House'.
To some, 'Hotel' will instantly mean five-star luxury; to others it will remind them of a bland room with thin walls and noises emanating from the couple next door.
Some may see a Hotel as being what you stay in, say, in Spain whilst to others it will be a 'Guest House' in Leicester.
Each expression might be totally apt and stereotypical, to others nothing could be further from the truth.
So, how do you decide on the accommodation you want or are preferable to you? Do you listen to what others say and go by their recommendation, or do you just take potluck? Over the years, the Internet has seen a growth in the number of websites dedicated to 'exposing' the 'hotels from hell', where disgruntled guests rant about the poor service they received from this or that hotel in order to warn off other, unsuspecting punters.
Today, the need to post reviews, or read reviews prior to purchasing a product also extends to the various online holiday websites where the companies themselves actively promote users to review their hotels and comment on their stay.
Even so, these are still personal opinions.
Supposing a truly one-off problem occurs in an otherwise flawless hotel operation? It only takes one bad review to spoil a reputation.
How many people take the trouble to write up good comments compared to those who only ever complain? Hopefully, for those reading the reviews in order to come to a decision, it's an even split.
It could be expensive to base your decision entirely on reading about a hotel or Guest House when there was only one review - a negative one! What do you do? Take the chance? That will depend upon on what you want from your trip.
If the purpose of your visit or holiday is to stay in the complex and just make use of the hotel's facilities, then you will be looking for a good rating by reviewers.
If, on the other hand, you are merely using the hotel as a bed to crash in while doing something at another venue, then negative reviews might not be such a big issue to you.
Another aspect of the negative review is that one 'bad' hotel experience to some might actually be quite acceptable - even luxurious to others.
One hotel my family was interested in was slated in the reviews as being inaccessible at the top of a hill with poor facilities.
Since this was the first time we had stopped in a large hotel we made our own decision, weighed up the pros and cons of what we had read and booked into it.
We could not fault it.
The 'inaccessible' bit referred to a bit of a walk - which we thoroughly enjoyed.
We were so pleased that we decided, upon our return to post a positive comment - just to try and even the 'score'.
So, whether you are looking for guesthouses in Leicester, or Hotels in Spain, the reviews are supposed to be there to help, but as always I find a big pinch of salt at the same time also helps.