W Leicester Square yet to impress the masses

W Leicester Square yet to impress the masses

W Leicester Square opened on Valentine’s Day to much fanfare and excitement.  The hotel has enjoyed a star-studded guest list including the likes of Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and Lilly Cole, but three months after opening, has the reality lived up to the hype?  TripAdvisor can exclusively reveal that the hotly anticipated hotel has so far received only a lukewarm reception from its guests to date.

At the time of writing, 80 guests had reviewed the hotel, with opinions split down the middle.  The hotel has been rated “excellent” or “very good” 39 times, which is two less than the number of times it’s been rated “average”, “terrible” or “poor”. W Leicester Square currently has an overall rating of 3.5 (out of five), notably lower than the average TripAdvisor hotel rating of four. 

For those who judged the hotel poor or terrible, noise levels appear to the most common traveller complaint.  One TripAdvisor traveller said, “W Leicester Square needs to decide whether it’s a nightclub or a hotel” while another said, “Since the W is keeping me up til 2am blasting club music, I may as well write this review”. 

Those who rated the hotel excellent or very good were thoroughly impressed by the hotel’s design and high levels of service.  One TripAdvisor traveller said, “The design is fantastic.  I really enjoyed the wonderful room,” while another commented on the hotel’s “outstanding service”.

“This year has seen and will continue to see much-hyped hotel openings with W Leicester Square being one of the most talked about,” commented Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson.  “The grand opening meant expectations for the hotel were high, leaving it with a lot to live up to before the first guest so much as walked through the door. The public feedback shows, generally, that the hotel’s decor and style has impressed many travellers, but noise levels continue to be a big issue.”

To see W London reviews on TripAdvisor, go to http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186338-d1718977-Reviews-W_London_Leicester_Square-London_England.html

Brits can't let go of work on holiday

Despite working some of the longest hours in Europe, many British workers are still failing to reward themselves with a work-free holiday. Survey results from TripAdvisor’s annual Summer Trends Survey reveal that over a third (39%) of Brits check their work emails while on holiday.

On the flipside, almost half (47%) of  Brits apply an exclusion zone around their work emails on holiday and refuse to check them at all. Yet the discouraging news is that this number has gone down substantially from 62% in 2010. 

The number of British holidaymakers checking their emails daily has also seen an increase, with 13% logging on every day of their holiday, compared to 10% in 2010.*

“Britons are clearly struggling to switch off from work on holiday,” commented Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson.  “Perhaps this is indicative of job security fears, but there’s no doubt that Britons work hard for their holidays and everyone deserves some uninterrupted time off.”

“Ensure you plan and delegate properly before you leave. If you’re worried about missing something important, ask one team member to call or text you if something genuinely requires your urgent attention. That way you can enjoy your holiday and return to work feeling truly relaxed and recharged.”

Although many Brits can’t let go of work, the TripAdvisor study reveals that it’s French travellers who work the most on holiday. Only 39% of French respondents refuse to check emails on holiday, while 18% check daily.

*Survey carried out 5,512 European travellers, including 1,475 Brits, between 13^th and 18^th May 2011

TripAdvisor Reveals The World’s Best Destinations

London looking good in Olympic lead-up, but what’s your favourite destination?

It’s good news for London – the capital has been awarded the accolade of Britain’s best destination according to the 2011 TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards. The city additionally  placed well in the World and European categories – coming eighth and third respectively – but was nevertheless beaten by European rivals Paris and Rome. Can London raise its game in time for next year’s Olympics? Paris and Rome are both great destinations but the world’s eyes will be on London in 2012 so we certainly hope so.

Scotland also has cause for celebration – the country is home to six of the UK’s top 25 destinations, with three ranking in the top ten.  Edinburgh, Inverness and St. Andrews took 2^nd, 8^th and 9^th places respectively, while Glasgow was hot on their heels in 11^th, followed by Aberdeen and Oban in 20^th and 25^th places.

“These awards honour the world’s best destinations as decided by those judges that really matter - travellers themselves,” said Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson. “Tourism is vital to the UK economy so it’s encouraging to see London and Edinburgh both highly recognised as Europe’s best destinations.”

How many of the top destinations have you been to? Do you agree with the results? To see the full list of winners, go to www.TripAdvisor.co.uk/TCDestinations

The UK’s top 25	Europe’s top 10	World’s top 10
1.    London 2.    Edinburgh 3.    Bath 4.    Cambridge 5.    Oxford 6.    Stratford-upon-Avon 7.    York 8.    Inverness 9.    St. Andrews 10. Liverpool 11. Glasgow 12. Brighton 13. Belfast 14. Canterbury 15. Manchester 16. St Ives 17. Cardiff 18. Windermere 19. Newcastle upon Tyne 20. Aberdeen 21. Windsor 22. Bournemouth 23. Salisbury 24. Chester 25. Oban	1.    Paris 2.    Rome 3.    London 4.    Barcelona 5.    Prague 6.    Venice 7.    St. Petersburg 8.    Florence 9.    Edinburgh 10. Istanbul	1.    Cape Town, South Africa 2.    Sydney, Australia 3.    Machu Picchu, Peru 4.    Paris, France 5.    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 6.    New York City, USA 7.    Rome, Italy 8.    London, UK 9.    Barcelona, Spain 10. Hong Kong

New Live View Augmented Reality Feature Added to TripAdvisor App

TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site, today announced the launch of its new "Live View" feature for the TripAdvisor App for the iPad 2, iPhone and iPod touch, available now in the App Store. The new augmented reality functionality allows travellers to view TripAdvisor's more than 45 million traveller reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants and attractions superimposed over what they see through the camera of their mobile device. For instance, if a traveller is standing outside a restaurant, they can simply point their mobile device camera at it and TripAdvisor ratings and reviews of that establishment will automatically be displayed on the screen.

"With the launch of the new Live View feature for the TripAdvisor App, travellers can simply point their iPad 2, iPhone or iPod touch at establishments to easily access TripAdvisor's wealth of trusted reviews and opinions on hotels, restaurants and attractions with augmented reality in real-time while they're out and about in their travel destination" said Mike Putnam, director of mobile product for TripAdvisor.

In addition to Live View, TripAdvisor has added its Virtual Tours feature to its App for the iPhone and iPod touch. The functionality allows travellers to take a virtual walk through their travel destination with TripAdvisor reviews and opinions superimposed over Street View from Google.

The TripAdvisor App also has a wealth of other helpful travel planning features, including:

·         TripAdvisor's more than 45 million reviews and opinions for hotels, restaurants and attractions. Travellers can even add their own reviews while their experiences are fresh.

·         "Near Me Now" functionality, so travellers can determine what hotels, restaurants and attractions are nearby.

·         Unique map-based browsing on the iPad, giving travellers the lay of the land in their travel destination.

·         The ability to find cheap flights using the award-winning TripAdvisor Flights search engine, and compare airline fees using its Fees Estimator.

·         Access to the TripAdvisor forums, where users can ask questions of their fellow travellers and receive helpful feedback.

·         Traveler photos of hotels, restaurants, attractions and destinations.

The TripAdvisor App is available for free from the App Store on the iPad:

http://itunes.apple.com/uk/app/tripadvisor-hotels-flights/id284876795?mt=8

Soaring petrol prices bad news for domestic tourism

As petrol prices continue to rise, a brand new TripAdvisor poll reveals that soaring fuel costs could have a negative impact on UK domestic holidays. Over a third (35%) of British travellers admit that the cost of petrol means they are now more likely to book a holiday abroad.

The survey of over 2,000* British travellers also reveals that 19% are less likely to holiday in Britain this year because driving will be “too expensive”.  A further 29% claim the rising petrol prices won’t affect their domestic holiday plans and 3% say they are now more likely to use the train for domestic travel. These results come just weeks after the government released its new tourism strategy, aimed at growing domestic travel.     

“British drivers are clearly frustrated with the ever-rising cost of petrol,” commented Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson.  “It makes British road trips less feasible and low-cost flights to other countries more appealing, which is a real shame because the UK has some of the best holiday spots and beaches in Europe.” 

*Survey carried out on 2,113 users on TripAdvisor.co.uk between 25^th March and 30^th March 2011

TripAdvisor Crowned Best Travel App at Appy Awards

TripAdvisor’s mobile app has been voted ‘best travel app’ at the inaugural Carphone Warehouse Appy Awards. More than 30,000 people voted for 50 applications across 10 categories and the awards were hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Bryam in a star-studded ceremony in London last night.

Nathan Clapton, TripAdvisor VP Mobile Partnerships, comments, “We’re thrilled to be crowned best travel app - this is well deserved recognition to the mobile product and engineering teams who have launched 50 enhancements to our app over the last year. TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site with over 45 millions reviews and opinions and our app means travellers can tap into this while they’re on the move.

“We are going to see more and more travellers taking mobile devices -  phones and tablets -  with them on their trips and using them actively as part of their travel experience, so to be voted the best travel app in the Appy Awards is a great honour.”

As well as allowing travellers to search for hotels, restaurants, attractions, and the cheapest airfares, the TripAdvisor mobile app also features the ability to see what’s “near me now” and use TripAdvisor ratings to pick the best of what’s around you. The app also means travellers can send in reviews while they’re on the road while their experiences are still fresh.

The Carphone Warehouse Appys is the UK’s first major app awards ceremony designed to recognise innovation and development in app technology.

For more information please contact:
Emma O’Boyle

Office: +44 203 320 3210

Mobile: +44 777 926 2423

Email: eoboyle@tripadvisor.com

TripAdvisor Reveals the Top 10 British Hen Party Destinations

Newcastle Favourite for British Brides-to-be

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, can now exclusively reveal the UK’s most popular hen party destinations.  If you are a bridesmaid or maid of honour in need of inspiration for where to send the bride-to-be off in style, then look no further.

This list, indentifying the UK’s most popular hen-do destinations, is based on TripAdvisor site data, calculating the number of times that travellers reference hen parties in their candid TripAdvisor reviews*. Without a doubt, the top choices for British hen party weekends are the popular party destinations of Newcastle, Blackpool and Bournemouth.

“This list reveals the destinations of choice for hens and their friends flock to,” commented Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson. “They’re all tried-and-tested favourites for a reason. Whether you’re looking for a traditional wild night out or a more sophisticated girly weekend away TripAdvisor travellers have tried them all.”

The Top Ten Spot Taken By Newcastle

Newcastle takes the top spot, with the Jurys Inn Newcastle crowned the city’s hen party headquarters – the hotel has more references to hen parties than any other in Newcastle. As one TripAdvisor reviewer remarked “this hotel is ideal for stags and hens”

1.    Newcastle

2.    Blackpool

3.    Bournemouth

4.    Liverpool

5.    Leeds

6.    Edinburgh

7.    Manchester

8.    Belfast

9.    Nottingham

10. Bristol

*List determined according to number of references to ‘hen parties’ in TripAdvisor reviews between March 2010 and March 2011