Review Guidelines
The HSJ Review Promise
Every review on hsj.sg comes from someone who actually went. No reviews we wrote ourselves dressed up as customer feedback, no fake ratings padded on to make a trip look better than it is. Here is exactly how that works, and what we ask of you if you are leaving one.
Why we built it this way
Most travel sites let anyone post a review with nothing more than an email address. We did not want that. Before a review of a trip goes live, we confirm it genuinely came from someone who took that trip — that is the whole point of the Verified Traveller badge you will see on some reviews. We stand behind that badge. It is never added lightly, and never used to make a trip look more reviewed than it honestly is.
How a review reaches the site
1. Your trip finishes. A few days after your departure ends, we send you an invitation to review it — a private link, tied only to your booking.
2. You write it. A star rating, your own words, and if you would like, ratings for specific things like your guide, the accommodation, or value for money. None of these are required beyond the overall rating — we only ever show what you actually rated.
3. We check it. Every review is read before it is published — not to soften it, but to make sure it meets the guidelines below.
4. It goes live. Once approved, it is yours — your name, or however you would like to appear, and your words, unedited.
You can add photos from your actual trip too. We do not use stock images to fill gaps in a review that has none.
What makes a good review
We would rather have one honest, specific review than ten polished ones that say nothing. When you are writing yours, think about:
What actually happened — the trip as a whole, not just the highlight reel. Booking, communication, your guide, the food, the parts that went sideways.
Who it is for — a future traveller deciding whether this trip is right for them. What would you have wanted to know beforehand?
Your own experience — not a friend's, not something you read elsewhere. First-hand, in your own words.
There is no strict word count, but a review that is a sentence or two rarely tells anyone much. Give it a bit of room.
What keeps a review off the site
We do not remove reviews because they are critical of us. A fair, negative review of something within our control stays up, and it is often the most useful thing on the page. What we do hold back or take down:
Not from a real trip
We could not confirm it came from someone who actually travelled with us.
Someone else's story
Copied, reused, or not the reviewer's own first-hand experience.
Personal or unsafe
Names or targets another traveller or staff member unfairly, shares private details, or creates a safety risk.
Off-topic or promotional
Mostly about something unrelated, or contains adverts or links for another business.
Rating doesn't match the words
Glowing text under a 1-star rating, or the reverse, misleads more than it informs.
Legally risky
Describes illegal activity or exposes someone to real legal risk.
If you think a published review breaks one of these, tell us at travel@hsj.sg and we will look into it. We will not take a review down just because someone asked us to.
About the stars
Your overall rating is the headline number. Underneath it, you can optionally rate specific parts of the trip — guide quality, accommodation, food, transport, value for money — and those show up on your review individually, without affecting each other. A great guide does not inflate a rating for a bad transfer, and a difficult transfer does not drag down a rating for a great guide.
We do not average, adjust, or weight reviews behind the scenes to make a trip look better than it is. What you see is the real distribution, five stars down to one.
If we reply
Sometimes we add a public response under a review — usually to thank someone, add context, or explain what we have changed since. A reply never edits or removes what the traveller wrote; it sits underneath it, as its own separate thing.
Questions
Something not covered here, or want to flag a specific review? Reach out at travel@hsj.sg. A real person reads these, not a form that disappears into nowhere.
Ready to see what real travellers say? Read every review on hsj.sg