I find the trick is to wade through peoples suggestions (since their personal views sometimes cloud reviewing the site properly) and take from them the ones that maybe you, the designer, were not sure about or on the fence. But when you feel strong about a particular element i think you should stick with it. I think the one thing ppl forget the most with design is that it all depends on the target audience or client, i see many designers make the same website for an insurance agency as they do a band site or vice versa. You have to be adaptible and learn different styles and dont count something out 100% all the time because it might just fit perfectly for that certain situation.