TRIP ADVISOR SNAPSHOT FOR RANCHO PACIFICO    

 

• Travellers Choice Award - 4 consecutive years:

      2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

• 10 Best Luxury Hotels - 2014 - Central America**

• #1 for Romance - 2014 - Costa Rica Pacific Coast (Puntarenas - 133 hotels)

• #7 for Small Hotels - 2014 - Costa Rica Pacific Coast (Puntarenas - 562 hotels)

• Top 10 for Luxury - 2014 - in Costa Rica

• #12 in the World, #1 in Central America - Spa and Relaxation - 2012 (no longer a category)

• "5" Bubble Rating - 5 consecutive years

 

** RP is the smallest hotel on this list

 

 

 

 

 

Reading guest reviews is a good practice - but be sure, as you compare hotels, that you are reading between the lines. Here are some tips (from Luxury Traveler Newsletter):

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1. Consider the total number of reviews

 

2. Consider the average number of days and total expense incurred by a typical visitor. Reviewing a hotel in which you have spent a night or two and a few hundred dollars is different than relying on an establishment to provide many services, for a more extended time and at a higher cost. (The average guest at RP stays 5.6 days and the average guest spends in the thousands of dollars - and in many cases, like a Honeymoon, has done so as a once in a lifetime travel experience. With a lot at stake, these folks generally have higher than average expectations.)

 

3. Put more weight on reviews in the last 12-18 months as they better reflect current status

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4. Consider the % of highest marks  out of the total number of reviews - this % reflects the likelihood that a new visitor will also share a very positive experience (see chart on right)

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5. Consider that ratings include "reviews" that can come from people who never stayed at the Hotel. It is clearly unfair that the ratings from a real guest, who spent a considerable sum of money and has a real experience, carries an equal weight to that of a disgruntled individual (in some cases even a former employee) who has never even visited the hotel, but has managed to slip through a review.

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NOTE: Trip Advisor uses a secret algorithm to list properties in a region by Popularity. We are part of a growing movement of Small Luxury Hotels who have challenged the algorithm. Driving the challenge is the fact that many hotels (RP included) have received hundreds of reviews and carry 5 / 5 ratings - but are ranked below micro hotels or newer hotels with less numbers of reviews - and in some cases, lower overall ratings. We do not agree that this measures popularity.