Wait..isn't "exquisite design" is very personal opinion and what would work for one user does not work another? I am under impression that nowadays any web-site with large audience always exists in multiple versions that are used in A/B testing.
when you're critiquing design, you have to do it in the context of the design goals the team had in mind.
So even if Comic Sans (in hot pink) is your favorite font, you would agree that it produces the wrong emotion on, say, a gravedigger's website. Not that I wouldn't absolutely love to see that.
Taste is very personal yes, but successful designs are more than expressions of taste - they're about solving problems.
