Mrs. Petunia, Ft. Lauderdale
Age and Occupation: 31, College Professor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Engineering Student/Part-time Barista
Engagement Date: December 8, 2006
Wedding Date: March 2, 2008
Venue: Riverside Hotel
Blogging Since: August 6, 2007
About Me: Our original idea of running off to get married quickly turned into an event with 100+ guests once other people got involved and I, too, got swept away in the lovely madness that is wedding planning. Mr. Petunia and I are obsessed with all things World of Warcraft, Monopoly, and Nintendo, so we’re planning on including some fun “game-y” details into our wedding.
Choosing A Hotel In Pictures
September 10th, 2007 @ 12:03 pm by Mrs. Petunia
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If so, we thought we should investigate what the hotel rooms at our top three hotel choices for our Paris honeymoon were really like. Sure, all the hotel and vacation booking websites show pretty pictures, but are these pictures realistic?
I’m a big fan of user reviews, whether it is for hotels or for blenders, and travelers have made use of Trip Advisor in large numbers. Not only do they post reviews of their hotel stays, but they also post candid pictures. I thought it would be interesting to see if there was any resemblance between what glossy advertisements show and what hotel goers actually experience.
The top pictures are what the hotels and websites give us themselves, and the bottom pictures are the ones taken by the travelers.
These first ones are from the Sofitel Trocadero Dokhan. The lighting is not as inviting in the traveler’s pic, and I don’t see the orchids or champagne, but all in all, I’d say it still looks like an inviting bed, and I’d have to admit that the traveler’s shot is more zoomed in than the hotel’s, making it more difficult to judge if the hotel’s picture is an accurate portrayal of the room:
These are from the Sofitel Arc de Triomphe. Although from different angles and different zoom levels, the rooms look almost identical, no?
These next pictures offered the biggest disappointment, especially because this hotel, the Pont Royal, was our # 1 choice. The travelers’ pictures could not be, in my opinion, more different than the official ones given by the websites and the hotel. In fact, there are two types of rooms shown here and both look sadly disappointing:
All three hotels got great reviews, for the most part. But I can’t help but discount the Pont Royal when I see that sad little picture. Wouldn’t you want to stay in an incredibly romantic room if you were going to Paris on your honeymoon? And more importantly, shouldn’t there be truth in advertisement?
7 Responses to “Choosing A Hotel In Pictures”
I love Tripadvisor; using it frequently for business and personal travel.
And yes,we’d love to stay in a romantic hotel room for our honeymoon but are willing to sacrifice for location, price and comp amenities.
hahah it reminds me of when you watch tv commercials for mcdonalds and see these moist and delicious thick juicy burgers with fresh lettuce and tomato slices and a puffy bun… and when you actually get there it’s like a gray flattened patty on smooshed stale rolls.
I used to work as a marketing coordinator for a hotel chain so I can say that most likely, the photos you saw on their website ARE of actual rooms in the hotel but there’s probably just one or two rooms like that in the whole hotel. The lighting in professional photos can sometimes have been adjusted in Photoshop to look more appealing and they almost always add in extra touches like flowers that are not usually there for professional photos. But that’s really no different than any other type of advertising - think the photos you see of food in restaurant ads. Always looks better than what you actually get served.
If you look closely I think you’ll see that the second set of photos of the Pont Royal are probably of the same room type. The biggest difference is that in the non-pro shot, the pillows are covered up with the blanket and it makes a huge difference to how inviting the bed is. But the first set of photos for that hotel look dramatically different, you’re right. Based on the photos, I would go with the Sofitel!
Auralee, that reminded me of something I saw not long ago in one of my favorite wedding photog blogs, LOL:
Just wanted to say you cannot go wrong with the Sofitel! I have yet to be disappointed with their rooms or their service.
go with the Sofitel - BEST BEDS EVER.
and yes, I would be dead set on getting a romantic room that lives up to it’s advertising pictures. Whenever I travel I think about how hotel rooms doen’t live up to their pictures! ugh!! so frustrating…
I work in the interior design world, and cannot tell you how big of a difference pro vs. non pro shots make. It’s funny, because when I look at the photos closely, the photos of the last hotel actually look the most like they’re of the same rooms as the pro shots (lighting and furniture look identical, which they don’t in the other rooms.) But a little bit of styling goes a long way, (as pointed out about the pillows.) also - most of the pro photos were shot during the day, with light coming through the windows, and most of the non-pro ones look like they were taken at night - another thing that makes a big difference.
