Problem: What would be an example of an negative review?

Answer: Do you remember the crappy apartment you rented in college or grad school? The one with the bad a/c and dirty carpet? The one with the barely functioning electrical outlets and tiny, almost useless, kitchen? Well if you ever want to relive that experience, stay at Shadyside Inn Suites! I spent six years of my medical training in Pittsburgh and found myself with a few days off last month. Why not take my wife and young son back to my old stomping grounds in Oakland and Shadyside? We've found that when traveling with a young child, staying at suite-type hotels (with at least some sort of kitchen facilities and a separate bedroom) is very useful. The most convenient suite-type hotel to Shadyside is the Shadyside Inn Suites. Unfortunately, since this business has a virtual monopoly on the area, it must believe it can put its clients up in deplorable, nearly unsafe conditions. These comments are based on our experience with the building on S. Negley Ave. I believe there are at least two other buildings the hotel maintains as well as "Mansion Suites" which are reserved for VIP's or people staying for very long periods. General Complaints: 1. Exposed electrical and cable wiring (see pics). We tried to spend as little time as possible in the room because I didn't want our 19 month old to inadvertently touch exposed wires. 2. Dirt. Everywhere. When we were getting ready to leave, I did a quick last run through the room to make sure we weren't leaving any of my sons toys behind. I made the mistake of peeking underneath the couch. Yuck. Food remnants, dirt and debris from who knows how long under there. Disgusting. 3. General poor maintenance of the building and its parking lot (see pics.) 4. The furniture in the rooms looks like it has been there for at least 15 years. Our dining table was strikingly similar to the one I had in college. 5. No dishwashers. Not unexpected given the age of the building. But if you're not going to give your guests a dishwasher, at least give us sponges so we can wash our own. 6. When you check in, the hotel bills your credit card for the entire length of the stay ahead of time rather than vice versa (completely the opposite of every other hotel in this country.) Keep this in mind if you want to leave early after seeing the condition of your room. 7. Three separate keys are required to get into the building and your room. Again, completely out of date and not particularly secure. Also, the vaunted customer service that they crow about on their website must be limited to special guests and celebrities. 1. When we asked for an extra blanket to be delivered to our room, we waited for over an hour with no response. Ultimately, we had to drive back to the main office and retrieve the blanket ourselves. 2. The remote to the DVD/VCR combo had no batteries in it. I had to get the AA batteries from the main office (I didn't even bother to attempt to ask them to be delivered to our room) and had to wait while the office staff repeatedly found AAA batteries for me. I was told the AAA batteries fit the flat screen TV remotes in the rooms. I had to calmly explain that we did NOT have a flat screen TV in our room, rather we had a non HD CRT TV that was at least 10 years old. 3. Daily cleaning of the room costs EXTRA. Be sure to read the fine print. Perhaps some of its other buildings are more modern and in better condition. Perhaps we had the worst unit in the entire complex... but I doubt it. Unless you absolutely have to be within walking distance to a business, client or family in Shadyside do yourself a favor and find a more modern, cleaner, safer and better hotel. Shadyside Inn Suites should be ashamed of itself for the condition of its facilities. (6/11/10) UPDATE... Shadyside Inn refunded the charges from our stay. They report they are adding staff and upgrading their facilities.

Problem: What would be an example of an positive review?

Answer: I love this place!! The wings are amazing (VTX Chipotle and red BBQ are my fave)... My favorite dish is the brisket, whether it's the platter or the open face sandwich. I have also had the beef ribs and beer can chicken and both amazing... The fries are always crispy, also the onion rings are great. They have hush puppies with a honey butter that just melts in your mouth! The service is always great! Every time I send co-workers or friends here, they come back with amazing stories but always that the food was phenomenal. Just to throw it out there my fave sauce is the Red BBQ! Great job and keep up the good work!

Problem: What would be an example of an negative review?

Answer:
I went to five bridal salons before finding my dress, and Anne Gregory was definitely the worst. I scheduled my appointment a week in advance, yet the salon still did not provide anyone to help me dress---and those dresses can be tricky. The owner, Greg, was assisting me but obviously did not help me physically get into or out of the dresses. I had gone to Anne Gregory's to try on a specific gown that the designer's website indicated was in stock. Greg said that he had ordered it but it had not arrived yet. Ok, fair enough. I asked about another dress from the same designer that I was interested in and was also supposed to be at the store, and though he went to check on it, he never said one way or the other whether they actually had it there. I was disappointed by all this but still wanted to look at the dresses they did have. Instead of pulling dresses similar to what I wanted (dropped waist, full skirt) he continually brought out trumpet and mermaid dresses that are just not my style at all. Its nice that he found them flattering on me, but i was clearly not interested. When I left, I expressed how I had had my eye on the particular dress from the designer and how it was basically my dream dress and I still very much wanted to try it on. They promised that they would give me a call when it got in. They never did. I saw it in the shop's window weeks later, but never got a phone call. I ended up getting a very similar dress from a shop that actually paid attention to what I wanted and called me back.