The travel industry's so-called "truth books", with their frank reviews of popular resorts and hotels, are now available online - but only to travel agents and companies willing to pay £325 a year for the privilege.

The Gazetteers, which have been published in book form since 1968 and are regularly consulted by high-street travel agents, offer an unbiased verdict on about 10,000 hotels and apartments in 630 resorts. More than 1,200 branches, including Going Places and Travelcare, have already invested in the online version, gazetteers.com.

The reviews, which are written by a team of 12 dedicated researchers, cut through the sunny cliches of the traditional brochure or website blurb. The interior of the Radisson New Orleans is condemned as "featureless and impersonal" with an "unimaginative restaurant", while visitors to Phuket in Thailand are warned that swimming in the sea "can be very dangerous and isn't recommended".

Not all the verdicts are so harsh: the three-star Holiday Inn Mart Plaza in Chicago, is a "severe 23-storey monolith" dating from 1977 - but the interior is surprisingly "agreeable and modern" with "impressive views from all rooms".

The reviews would be a boon to travellers planning their own holidays, but the publishing company, DG&G, is still undecided about whether and how to make the information available online to the general public. Their research costs are high and the Gazetteers are a major selling-point for high-street travel agents worried about the popularity of online booking.

Readers who want a free taste of the Gazetteers, however, will find some of the contents on Virgin.net's Resort Finder.