Review Methodology

Why methodology matters

A hotel review is only as trustworthy as the process behind it. This page explains exactly how Browntravels reviews are produced: the different bases a review can rest on, what our scores mean, how we protect independence during stays and how reviews are kept up to date.

Review basis levels

Every hotel profile on Browntravels declares its review basis, so you always know how much first-hand assessment sits behind it. There are four levels.

• Verified stay: a member of our editorial team has stayed at the property and assessed it in person. This is the strongest basis and the standard we work towards for every major profile.
• Editorial research: the profile is built from rigorous desk research — expert sources, industry reporting, detailed property information and cross-referenced guest experiences — without a stay by our team.
• Partner submission: information supplied by the hotel itself, reviewed and edited by our team before publication and always identified as such.
• Community feedback: insights drawn from reader and guest feedback, used to supplement other bases and flagged where it materially informs a profile.

What the editorial score means

Our editorial score runs from 0 to 10 and expresses how a property performs against the standards of the world's very best hotels — not against its local market. A 7 on Browntravels is a genuinely excellent hotel; scores of 9 and above are reserved for properties that are exceptional by any global measure.

The score is a weighted editorial judgement across service, design, dining, wellness, location and value, as described in our Editorial Policy. It is set solely by editors; hotels cannot pay to raise it, and hosted stays or partnerships have no bearing on it.

Anonymity on verified stays

Wherever possible, our editors stay anonymously — booking as ordinary guests, paying as ordinary guests would and revealing themselves only if necessary after the assessment is complete. This lets us experience the hotel that every guest gets, not the one reserved for known journalists.

Full anonymity is not always achievable, particularly at intimate properties or on hosted stays, and where an editor's identity was known we take that into account in our assessment. Any hosted element of a stay is disclosed on the review itself.

Updates and re-reviews

Hotels change, and our reviews change with them. We revisit profiles when a property undergoes a material change — a renovation, a new flag, a change of general manager or chef — and periodically as part of routine coverage. Scores and text are updated accordingly, and each page shows when it was last updated.

If you believe a review no longer reflects a property, you can tell us via our corrections page. Requests for re-review from hotels are welcome, but a re-review is never guaranteed to produce a higher score.