Well, sure. I don't prefer hotels that haven't been well-maintained either. But that's a totally different thing than being "old and dated". I've encountered plenty of old hotels that were well maintained, and plenty of new hotels that weren't.

I prefer older hotels because newer ones tend to be uncomfortable.

> If you read thousands of reviews online

Online reviews reflect a fairly narrow demographic slice.

> If you read thousands of reviews online about any hotel, the majority of people give a negative review if the hotel has old carpet or has not been well maintained.

Which is completely different, old doesn't mean not maintained