Can you trust Villa reviews?

Can you trust the villa reviews? Generally speaking.... no.  Too many reviews are written by the owner, their family, or the management company. In addition, many sites allow owners to remove reviews they don't like. If someone leaves a critical review, it might be removed (in fact, I have had several of my reviews removed).

No vacation villa (which includes pool houses, condos, apartments, etc) is perfect. There is always something worth mentioning that is wrong. So my rule is this: don't trust the review if it says everything was perfect. Also, a review that only tells about the good is not helpful because I am looking at the reviews to see what is wrong with the place. Finally, I look for things in the review that a normal renter would know, (like age of the mattresses) because that is a sign that the review was written by the owner. I watch for reviews were the guest is defending the owners or discrediting another guest's review. Finally, if there are multiple reviews, I look for phrases repeated in the reviews, like, "very spacious and comfortable", because that tells me the reviews were probably written by the same person.

If an owner develops a bad reputation, they can create a new listing with their property that has no reviews, and start rebuilding their review pool. Therefore, if similar villas in the area have ten or more, but your villa has none or one? Be suspicious.

Lets critique several reviews:

"We loved this place it has everything you need and its just minutes away to all the attractions, the property looks a lot better in person we are definitely coming back and highly recommend it!!!!!" Rating: Poor

"I can't believe some of the other reviews I've read. My family, friends, and I stayed at this rental home this past weekend, and it was wonderful. We didn't have any issues at all. we have nothing but compliments about the property." Guests usually don't defend the owners.

"This condo was the perfect accommodation for our Disney vacation. It was very spacious. The four rooms allowed two families of six plenty of space to be comfortable. Having a full kitchen and a washer and dryer available at our disposal was a huge convenience. The location was ideal for visiting all four Disney parks as well as other nearby theme parks. The place was well kept with all new furniture, bedding, and towels. The owners were wonderful to work with, very helpful and pleasant. I would highly recommend this condo for your vacation stay." How would a guest know that everything is new?

"We stayed here for two weeks and will definitely be back. This condo had everything we needed. New big screen TV with cable, new front load washer and dryer, and all new furniture. The place was immaculate. The kitchen was completely stocked with all the appliances we needed and even a new dishwasher." Owners would know these items were new. Guests wouldn't.