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Art Frommer Really Ticked Off By Latest TripAdvisor Survey

May 7, 2009 at 11:21 AM | by | Comments (5)

We can't make up our minds about Art Frommer. Does he like the internet or not? On one hand, he has his own blog and he owns a Kindle. On the other hand, he's not a big fan of other online travel sites, especially review sites where amateur travelers detail their experiences.

His latest victim is TripAdvisor, a site with "some of the looniest opinions about travel." That's because TripAdvisor released a survey in which travelers said :

London has the worst food, Paris is the most overrated and Brussels is the most boring, according to a survey of what travelers think about European cities.

The report also said Prague was a bargain destination which practically made Frommer throw his typewriter in disgust. But you wanna know what? We agree with Frommer. Not necessarily because we think TripAdvisor is full of "loonies" or anything (their hotel reviews are always helpful) but these opinions of European cities are really off-mark.

Paris--overrated? Never. Prague may have been a bargain destination 10 years ago before people "rediscovered" it, but it's a bit of a tourist trap these days. Not to mention that one of the newest hotels there opened with rates starting at $444 a night. As if!

And London having the worst food also doesn't make sense. What about the gastropub invasion? The city has good mix of Michelin Stars and more affordable but still tasty options too. We're so angry we're about to throw our typewriter in disgust...if we hadn't thrown out our typewriter back in 1996.

Related Stories
· So What Makes a Place Overrated? [Jaunted]
· To find some of the looniest opinions about travel, head to TripAdvisor.com [Jaunted]
· Grazing on the Cheap in London [Jaunted]

Comments (5)

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Return to » Art Frommer Really Ticked Off By Latest TripAdvisor Survey


I think Art is expecting too much from TA

this is the downside of populism...you're asking ppl to rate these things, but clearly most TA users have not been to every city in Europe - so of course the most popular destinations, like Paris and London, are gonna get the most responses to questions about most overrated or worst food, or just about any question - because more people have been there than anywhere else...you can't expect every TA user to know that Dublin is actually the most overrated and Helsinki has the worst food (I'm not saying it does, I just don't know because I've only been to Paris and London - see)
BS on May 7, 2009 at 12:22 PM #Permalink

Prague

I dunno - I still think Prague counts as a budget destination. Inbound travel is cheap, both airfare and getting from the airport to city. And while there are always expensive hotels in diplomatic quarters, there are still 4-stars that are perennially undersold and ripe for the Priceline pickin'. It's sad that the exchange rate and the city's rediscovery have taken away what used to be $10 4-course gourmet meals. But still.
Omri on May 8, 2009 at 9:00 AM #Permalink

international priceline pickin'

have you done this? i am scared to do it for international hotels. but i love doing it for US hotels.
juliana on May 8, 2009 at 5:54 PM #Permalink

everyone is different

I don't think TripAdvisor deserved to be criticized for the survey, they simply presented the tourist's opinion about those destinations. Considering i am one of those people, and i would think London food is bad and the Paris one overrated, i would build my opinion based on bad experiences and no one has the right to contest it, since they were not with me during those trips. The point is, what sounds good for some might be bad for others, for example although i enjoyed staying at most Hotels in San Diego, i can't tell for sure that every single person that stayed there also enjoyed it. Everybody is different and has different expectations, but it is very important for your client to know that you do your best.
valentine25 on November 26, 2010 at 7:34 AM #Permalink

Art Frommer

tahnks for your post.
buaccea on April 24, 2011 at 11:26 AM #Permalink

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