Tripadvisor

Great for looking up places for site seeing.
Allows users to post own photos and comments of sites they have visited.
Users also can rate and review sites as well as hotels.
Have found that some people can not be satisfied, (ie no western breakfast/food, weak internet etc) if you wanted the luxuries of home stay there.
This is why I read all reviews on the site, not just the good, or bad, gives a better picture of the place.

Haven't used their hotel booking site as of yet, looking forward to that later this year.

I have used Trip Advisor for years to find out about hotels before booking them. I never book through Trip Advisor. A hotel's own web site is usually cheaper. However, some hoteliers put fake reviews on, either criticising their rivals or talking their establishments up. Make sure there are plenty of other reviews so that you can make sure that the effect of fake reviews is cancelled out. Also they have an annoying habit of opening pop-under boxes whenever I look at their site. That's why I've only given them four stars.

For travel to a location I haven't been to before, a little quality time on Tripadvisor.com is essential for checking out hotels prior to booking. However, I use the averages as a loose guideline only and am I'm careful to read both ends of the ratings, paying particular attention to the details on the bad ones.
For restaurants, they're not so good. For me, their NYC restaurant reviews are worthless. The reviews seem to get swamped by tourists whose tastes, budgets and expectations are radically different from mine.

We got very lucky earlier this last August when we managed to find a campsite near Yellowstone. I didn't expect too much because everything was booked. However, we got five nights at Rainbow Point Campground, 5 miles north of West Yellowstone and loved it! It's beautiful, has very spacious camp sites, very clean vault toilets, on a lake, the quietest campground I've ever stayed at and the hosts were meticulous about keeping toilets and campsites impeccable. Our campsite's ground had been raked when we arrived. As soon as a camper leaves, within minutes they are checking the site and getting it ready for the next person. It was 5 miles north of West Yellowstone and I think 2 miles on a paved road and then 2 miles on a good gravel road. $19/night can't be beat. Showers are available at the coin laundry in town.

I have used this several times and recommend its use. Solid info on hotels and resorts. Not so good on eateries etc but they are not it's main focus. Info is from consumers so can vary in quality but not so much. Persons booking into a hotel are often in the same demographic and hold the same views. I use it now via an iPhone app mostly and find it very convenient. Use a desktop screen if really researching your holiday. Add info and be sensible, seems most contributors agree. Recommended based on Australian experience.

They do not update you if a business is no longer in business. More than one time I tried to eat in a restaurant that was now closed! Same goes for tours. There was a free city tour I wanted to try and it no longer existed, but trip advisor did not update their website.

I used to trust the food reviews, but not anymore. Same for hotels. Some restaurants and hotels encourage people who had a good experience to write reviews, so the results are skewed. There are also too many large or high volume restaurants that overshadow smaller and better places.

And have not been disappointed yet. Only once have a gotten a deal that was incredible but all the times I used TripAdvisor I got treated well, registrations were all correct and if we paid for extras they were all taken care of. Plus the rating system they have is the most real time you can get. Once we read about the hotel(Hilton) we were on our way to, with the gentleman complaining about wishing he had called before going to the lobby for quicker service, he was right, we did and may have passed him complaining still. Lol.

Where would I be without this site?! Tons of times I have had a look at hotels, restaurants and thought, that looks like a good place to go, or that doesn't look too appealing and thanks to trip advisor, it has totally flipped my opinion and I've learnt t think twice before judging a place based on appearance. There are tons of customer reviews from people that have visited these places, so you get a great insight into the place before you actually go. Too many times have I gone to like a restaurant without looking into it first beforehand and being extremely disappointed. And now I'm going to places that I would have never thought to go to before but I've come back a very happy customer!

Since I discovered Trip Advisor several years ago it's been my most trusted and indispensable reference tool for planning all my holiday trips abroad.
The various aids - booking hotels and comparing different rates, searching for the cheapest and best flights, suggestions on Things To Do are my most frequented sections.
I depend on all the reviews of fellow travelers and use them in deciding what affordable hotels to book and what interesting activities to choose from all the available choices.
Thanks