I think you have to remember that people only tend to post on forums and review sites when they have an extreme experience one way or the other. It is either extremely bad or extremely good and those with an extremely good experience still tend to comment less than those with an extremely bad one.
I always prefer to make up my own mind and remember that for every unhappy passenger there were probably hundreds of satisfied ones. Two perfect examples are my very positive experiences flying with Ryanair and Flybe, other people may well have had problems with them but I got exactly what I paid for and was more than happy with it.
Sorry I can't comment on Gulf Air, but always take reviews and comments (good and bad) with a pinch of salt.