update 11 May 2016:
We have a winner! My review rewrite was published. No word yet as to whether “Stu” will reply.
update 12 April 2016:
I received an email from Trip Advisor telling me that my review violated their “family friendly” guidelines (probably because I mentioned the dry-humping and the obscene drinking)… so I rewrote it. No word yet, but some new reviews are popping up:
Hmmmm………
Remember that hostel story? The one about the shitty hostel in Mount Maunganui? Yeah.
So, I wrote a long TripAdvisor review and it still hasn’t been published. Never mind that pretty much every review leading up to mine is one-star and calls it, “dirty,” “cramped,” “loud,” “not great,” and “worst hostel I have EVER stayed in.” Yet, mine, for some reason, is still pending review.
Also, not to mention that within minutes of me hitting “publish” on my review, a new review was up: a five star, gleaming review by someone named laurentcasa123. I’ve published a screenshot below.
A week later, my review was still not posted; but there’s another five-star “great!” review up:
I’m going to set one thing straight here. I do not care if this hostel is a dumping ground for sex-crazed, drunk, drug-addled backpackers. But I DO care that that hasn’t been stated anywhere. Paul and I couldn’t find anything bad about this hostel when we were researching. It was “tidy and clean,” a perfect location. All I want is to get the word out that if you are looking for a place to stay that is respectable and clean, this is NOT your place.
So what do I have to do? I read a TA-horror story a few months ago regarding a beach resort in the Caribbean; is my story going to end up like that?
Stay tuned……..