I used to write music reviews and would slate every aspect of the gig I didn’t like, while sarcastically giving praise to the things they got right.

No doubt about it, that job didn’t last long, and I actually got bleak that they rejected my truth. But then I looked back and realised that, if the gigs got bad reviews, then they wouldn’t give away free tickets to the owners of the site.

Following that, it’s so obvious with sites that review restaurants, activities and even places to stay as their business that their reviews are in favour. The hotel gives you a night or two for free so you write only about the good aspects, and leave the bad reviews up to those in the comment section (that’s if you even allow a comment section).

But then there’s the site that does things differently: Oyster. They actually send reviewers to hotels to give the realest review ever. This is their slogan:

Oyster is the only hotel site that sends special investigators to visit, photograph, review, and rate each hotel.

We inspect in-person — just like your mother-in-law.

Each hotel review comes with a set of photographs taken by the visitor themselves, so it’s not some made up bullshit we see on the hotel’s website.

It’s actually ideal in this world of trade-offs for better reviews.

Business Insider checked some of their worst reviews, comparing them to the hotel’s websites, and this is what they found. Weirdly, the best fails have to do with recreation areas:

FANTASY: Having a super serene stay at this secluded beach at the La Plage resort in Sicily

REALITY: Sharing it with half the town and lying on rocks

FANTASY: Swimming laps at the Inn at Seaside in Oregon

REALITY: Stewing in a pool that’s hardly bigger than a hot tub

FANTASY: Cooling off in a serene, palm-fringed pool at Hostel El Corazon in Cancun

REALITY: Getting depressed by its crumbling walls

It’s good to know that most of the Oyster ratings for Cape Town hotels were pretty legit. Yay to us for not wheeling and dealing tourists.

Check out all Oyster’s Fakeout photos HERE.

Also, if you happen to be visiting Cape Town and feel like winning a weekend stay worth close to R5 000, head over HERE and enter our competition.

[source: businessinsider]