What a nine actually costs a building
A nine in Sleep is not a compliment. It is a claim about mattresses, walls and hours, and this note sets out what has to be on the record before we write one down.
We were wrong about Winnipeg for two years
Mere Hotel scored a six in Setting when we first published it. The Exchange District had not changed. Our method for scoring a street that empties at six had.
Effort is the only criterion people argue about
Readers accept a low Food score without complaint. A low Effort score brings letters. Here is why the scale runs backwards and why we keep it.
The month a room is best is rarely the month it is busiest
We compared our own calendar against published occupancy patterns in four provinces. The gap is wider than we expected, and it is consistent.
Why four casino hotels sit in a catalogue of small buildings
The Casino Hotels section exists because the rooms are worth scoring. The gaming floor is not part of the score and never has been. This note explains the boundary.
Reading a mountain highway before you drive it
Three Effort scores in Alpine moved downward this year, all of them after we reread the closure records rather than the brochures.
Where the notes come from
Read the method →Every note here started as an argument about a score. If you want to start one, write to the desk, or read the catalogue first.