Over the weekend, The Inquiring Iguana was mousing around Yelp, the Web site that's a resource for reviews of US businesses. including hotels, and restaurants.
There was a blurb indicating a new review had been posted for Caneel Bay Resort. Unusual, since until recently only two had been written; one in December, the other in April. Both were positive. Here's a screen shot.
But the new review, not so good.
When the Iguana clicked on it, there was no 'there' there. No review. Whatever Larry L said, well you'll never know.
Then Monday morning, The Iguana again tried to find the review. No dice. Larry L had been shut down by the Yelp police.
Anything suspicious going on here? Probably not, although some have accused Yelp ad sales people of heavy-handed tactics, i.e. 'extortion'. Conspiracy theorists might wonder that if Caneel was an advertiser on Yelp, negative reviews of the resort might be suppressed.
But anyone who's spent a week, a weekend, or an afternoon at Caneel is certain to tell you the place is luxurious and magnificent. You do get what you pay for.
And, most likely, Larry L IS a phony.