That's the trouble. Consumer reviews are just not credible to me. They are anecdotes. I find the entire concept to be unworkable.

Anecdotes maybe, but supposedly all anecdotes from the same source. Instead of stuff that's like "my friend" or "I know lots of people that...", which is different from person to person, a bunch of people reviewing the exact same location is a bit more accurate. Also, after awhile you can usually separate the quality comments from the noise. Kinda like we all do on HN or any other forum. I think I can mostly tell when someone is just pushing an agenda/cherry-picking facts to support a particular claim, versus a comment giving a mostly objective review. Particularly when they point at facts & actual events rather than vague feelings.