The Trip Advisor Debate

If you are online reading this, then you probably already know about Trip Advisor. I thought I would broach this subject with you, as Trip Advisor is a world-wide phenomena and has millions of users.

Having fun at Pocahontas state park

Having a blast at Pocahontas State Park
Photo courtesy of Bill Crabtree Jr., Virginia Tourism Corporation

Besides the reviews, there is a useful map feature and a "What's near this park" on Trip Advisor that allows you to look within the area you are researching, to search for restaurants and things to do nearby. Whenever I am planning aVirginia State Parkfamily getaway, I use these features to explore the surrounding area for even more cool things to see and do and find them most helpful!

Should you believe everything you read on Trip Advisor?

I would say take it with a grain of salt, by that I mean there are bad eggs out there, as you will affirm by just reading the headlines of any newspaper in any city or town in this country. My best advice is to read the reviews and if there are a dozen one time reviewers, then be careful with those, especially any that have ALL CAPS "BE WARNED DO NOT STAY HERE!!!" and multiple exclamation marks, as well as spelling errors all over the place.

Instead, try to find a person who is a frequent reviewer on Trip Advisor, who has say 5 or more contributions, those may be the most useful to you. You will see this info on their user information on the left side of every review.

Here is a review I would trust about Belle Isle State Park:

“Nice campground with lots to do”

Reviewed August 6, 2011

Campground was well-kept with hot showers. Camping sites had enough space, didn't feel like you were camping with your neighbor. The park had ample trails to walk. I took my kayaks and it there was car-top launch in one area and boat ramp in another. I found it easier to put my kayak in in the boat ramp area. The campground hosts were very kind and gave lots of information. A ranger saw my friend and I walking and waved. Ten minutes later, he came to find us on the trail we were walking on to tell us a storm was approximately 10-15 minutes away that contained lightning, so we would know to seek shelter. We were impressed with his kindness to do something like that. I plan to visit the park again.

Visited June 2011.This reviewer has 7 contributions and is from Alexandria VA, and has reviewed other similar wildlife refuge sites in Maryland, Delaware and even Maine. This is a reviewer I would trust, she is not only reviewing the location but giving you useful information. If the reviews were terrific or mediocre or bad, this is still someone who shares pertinent information and in my book is trustworthy.

You say toe-may-toe I say toe-mah-toe

Disgruntled employees, competitors, nasty people just doing bad things, all of these are out there online, we need to be wise. We may never know if a review is true or false, I have read that someone does not even need to eat at a restaurant to negatively review it! So this means they may have had to wait in line, got ticked off and left a bad review. This happens! We have to remember it is their perspective, not necessarily ours or the majority.

Difficult people?

We all know a few of them, those dark cloud complexes, nothing is ever good enough and therefore the saying "You can't please all the people all the time" comes to mind.

My family stayed at a beachfront hotel off-season in SC and the very day I was there the reviews flew all over Trip Advisor saying the pools were not heated, this and that was broken, the restaurant was in dire need of repair and terrible service. If I had not been right there, reading them I would probably have believed them, and of course none of it was true! We were in the pool, the water was fine, the restaurant was open and we had excellent meals and service! It was at that point that I began to really question and distrust some of the reviews I was reading…the turning point for me, how could we both be at the same place and see things so differently? The answer is of course, it was a false review. I cannot speak to why but I do know it was blatantly false.

The Real Deal

So why am I mentioning this to you? For this reason, feel free to review your favorite Virginia State Parks online. Your feedback is valuable! We would all find what you have to say very useful, it would help in our travel planning. We really aren't interested in those with an ax to grind, but the real deal! Virginia State Park goers are the real deal…The more reviews the merrier, this is what social media is all about, different walks of life sharing "Their experiences" with others.

Now it's your turn

Once you sign-up for a Trip Advisor account, you will have an easy log-in each time you come back from a trip. Share some photos, share some helpful hints, we would appreciate it! If there is a downside to a state park, like the reservation process, be honest and share how you feel about this. The big wigs in our state park system do read these reviews, they do listen! They are concerned with more than the appearance and logistics of each state park, they want to make sure they have happy campers!

James River State Park

Fun in the sun at James River State Park
Photo courtesy of Bill Crabtree Jr., Virginia Tourism Corporation

Here are a few of the camgroundreport.com, but Trip Advisor is the main review site.

Click here to read reviews of Chippokes Plantation State Park on Trip Advisor

Click here to read reviews of First Landing State Park on Trip Advisor

Click here to read reviews of Belle Isle State Park on Trip Advisor

Click here to read reviews of False Cape State Park on Trip Advisor

Click here to read reviews of Kiptopeke State Park on Trip Advisor

Don't forget to follow Virginia State Parks Facebook page where you can ask any question, hear about special events and share information with the other 20,423 friends of our state parks. Come on in and join the fun!

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