The word verdict implies judgment. That only means something if a reader can see what the judgment rests on.
Three evidence labels,
on every page.
Every page we publish carries one of three labels, and each one commits us to something different.
Independently reviewed. A named reviewer stayed at the property. We state the stay date, the room category and how the stay was paid for. A full review requires an overnight stay; a site visit is described as a site visit and never as a review.
Hosted review. The stay, meal or access was complimentary or discounted. We disclose that near the top of the page, along with its scope. The editor retains the verdict, and the host sees no copy before publication.
Researched guide. Nobody from Luxury Verdict has visited. We name the editor, list the primary sources, and date the fact-check. We do not describe service quality, food quality or atmosphere that we have not observed. Most of our launch coverage carries this label, and it says so plainly.
What we do with
other people's reviews.
We read public guest reviews across Tripadvisor, Booking.com and Google, along with travel forums and video room tours. We do not reproduce them.
Our method is to sample 80 to 120 recent reviews per property within a fixed twelve-month window, code the recurring themes, and report how often each theme appears, with the window and the sources stated. Every factual claim that emerges is then checked against the property’s own published information before it reaches a page. A guest report is a lead, not a fact.
We never republish review text, and we never present another platform’s rating as ours. Where a counted sample is not yet complete, the panel on that page says so and stays empty rather than being filled with impressions.
Why we are not
publishing scores yet.
We have an internal scorecard covering service, room and sleep, facilities, dining, location, distinctive experience and value. It is weighted, and it is deliberately not public.
A numeric score implies that every dimension has been observed. Until our rubric has been tested across at least three firsthand stays, publishing one would imply evidence we do not have. Until then we publish qualitative verdicts and explain their limits. This costs us a feature that competitors advertise; we think it is the right trade.
Images
and rights.
We use official press imagery where the rights holder has granted editorial permission, licensed stock, and our own photography. We record the rights holder and licence for every asset we publish.
We do not take images from booking platforms, from guest review galleries, or from image search. Photograph credits appear in the caption or in the footer credits.
Corrections
and commercial lines.
Hotels, restaurants and brands may correct factual errors with evidence, and we will update the page and its fact-check date. Payment cannot buy a recommendation, a placement or the removal of criticism.
Affiliate links are qualified as sponsored and disclosed. Sponsored content is labelled as such and is never presented as an editorial verdict. Our disclosure page sets out the commercial arrangements in full.
To report an error, write to us and reference the page and the claim. We publish the corrected fact and the date rather than quietly editing.