The Royal Union, Cheltenham

[Lady Grey]

Royal Union (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/12428/)

I just want to express that there are two side to every story. Camra disagreed with some of the plans that the landlord had for the pub. I suspect the some of the reviews submitted to Tripadvisor, were written by Camra members in order to give the pub a bad reputation, thus affecting trade. It is not the first time that Camra have meddled in a pub's business. I will admit, that I do not base anything on factual evidence, but I base my opinions on gut instinct. I have no axe to grind with anyone, but I believe in fair play and speaking up when all is not what it seems.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186284-d3438461-Reviews-Royal_Union_Inn-Cheltenham_Cotswolds_England.html

Please use your own judgement.

[Mobyduck]

Royal Union (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/12428/)

I just want to express that there are two side to every story. Camra disagreed with some of the plans that the landlord had for the pub. I suspect the some of the reviews submitted to Tripadvisor, were written by Camra members in order to give the pub a bad reputation, thus affecting trade. It is not the first time that Camra have meddled in a pub's business. I will admit, that I do not base anything on factual evidence, but I base my opinions on gut instinct. I have no axe to grind with anyone, but I believe in fair play and speaking up when all is not what it seems.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186284-d3438461-Reviews-Royal_Union_Inn-Cheltenham_Cotswolds_England.html

Please use your own judgement.

Personally I don't think any serious pub/beer people take any serious notice of Tripadvisor whatsoever, I'm speaking for myself of course but it doesn't figure in any of my my research. Its a restaurant site that sometimes reviews pubs.

[Tris39]

Royal Union (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/12428/)
I suspect the some of the reviews submitted to Tripadvisor, were written by Camra members in order to give the pub a bad reputation, thus affecting trade. It is not the first time that Camra have meddled in a pub's business. I will admit, that I do not base anything on factual evidence, but I base my opinions on gut instinct. I have no axe to grind with anyone, but I believe in fair play and speaking up when all is not what it seems.



Would it be in CAMRA's interest to damage business? Surely this could result in the pub closing, which nobody wants. Perhaps regulars get great treatment whereas for non-locals, this is the Wong Kei (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wong_Kei) of pubs.

[Delboy20]

Personally I don't think any serious pub/beer people take any serious notice of Tripadvisor whatsoever, I'm speaking for myself of course but it doesn't figure in any of my my research. Its a restaurant site that sometimes reviews pubs.

I'm with you. I can count the times I have looked at TripAdvisor on one hand.

[sheffield hatter]

Royal Union (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/12428/)

I just want to express that there are two side to every story. Camra disagreed with some of the plans that the landlord had for the pub. I suspect the some of the reviews submitted to Tripadvisor, were written by Camra members in order to give the pub a bad reputation, thus affecting trade. It is not the first time that Camra have meddled in a pub's business. I will admit, that I do not base anything on factual evidence, but I base my opinions on gut instinct. I have no axe to grind with anyone, but I believe in fair play and speaking up when all is not what it seems.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186284-d3438461-Reviews-Royal_Union_Inn-Cheltenham_Cotswolds_England.html

Please use your own judgement.

Others have said a lot of things that I could have said myself. (Especially about the usefulness of Trip Advisor.)

The fact that you base you conclusions on "gut instinct" suggests either that you have an antipathy to the local Camra branch (or the organisation itself) or you like the pub very much. I assume the latter (or that you have a lot of sympathy for it when it comes under attack), in which case I would suggest that you amend your review to read more positively about the pub and delete the reference to this thread. (This is just my personal view, and is not representative of the site or of the admin volunteers.)

I can understand where you're coming from, as the Trip Advisor reviews are a sort of to-and-fro of negative and positive, which read like a campaign and a response from pub owner/manager and friends. (Some of them read very strangely, saying what a good pub it is, but it gets the lowest mark possible because it was raining. ?!) I would respectfully suggest that this is not something we should be getting involved with on the pub's page on the main site. If you want to carry on a discussion here, on the Forum, that would be fine. But your review should stick to facts, or your feelings about your own visits to the pub.

Hope you will accept this advice in the spirit in which it is offered.

[hondo]

Ticked the pub when at the racing last week the welcome wasn't particularly warm but that was maybe because i was a racegoer(not in a group). I had 1 drink then headed to the jolly via the tivoli.

[Tris39]

I'm with you. I can count the times I have looked at TripAdvisor on one hand.


Personally I don't think any serious pub/beer people take any serious notice of Tripadvisor whatsoever, I'm speaking for myself of course but it doesn't figure in any of my my research. Its a restaurant site that sometimes reviews pubs.

I never look at TripAdvisor. That said, I don't trust the one-off reviews that appear on Pubs Galore either, tending to be submitted either by publicans or their competitors.

[Mobyduck]

I never look at TripAdvisor. That said, I don't trust the one-off reviews that appear on Pubs Galore either, tending to be submitted either by publicans or their competitors.

The dodgy reviews are normally pretty easy to spot.

[london calling]

The dodgy reviews are normally pretty easy to spot.

What.Those 10 out of 10 by first time reviews are false news.Get out of it.

[Mobyduck]

What.Those 10 out of 10 by first time reviews are false news.Get out of it.

Strange but true.