Have you ever booked a hotel over the Internet, only to arrive and get a huge shock?

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jdluvsbooks

The very same thing happened to us once in
Florida a few years back.
It took us an hour to find another hotel about two miles away.
we stopped at four or five different hotels before we found the right one for us. I'm extremely fussy when it comes to hotels.

I don't stay at hotels that often but when I do, well - let's just say that I like the better ones. I recall being really PISSED OFF... The hotel was nothing like we expected, -I made a real big stink when I got back home and called their corporate offfice.

angela r

This would be called the Hotel from HELL, I have also had this happen to me! We ended finding a great place down the street and cheaper! But, yes it does happen! A lot too. I am at the point that I ONLY ask friends over there around that area or wait till we get there. Although it is only me and my husband so it's easier for us to do that.
Sorry y'all went threw that too.

Angela

Hank the wayward Christmas tree

Wow! That sucks! I'm sorry that happened to you! At least you have something to laugh at in 30 years.

Colin W

ya, we booked one in allentown pennsylvania, it wwas the worst, we were in the middle of the ghetto and people were smoking weed outside the hotel, it was bad

carina

yes I've had shocks, both good and bad ... last year a group of us were arranging to meet and one of the group carefully researched hotels in the area we had chosen ... on the internet it looked fine ... it had to be a "cheap and cheerful" hotel as some of the group didn't have much money ... when we got there the room was filthy, the middle of the room had been vacuumed but under the beds and round the edges was a thick wad of dust and dead flies ... half the amenities of the hotel were not operating (e.g. evening entertainment, evening meals) ... you couldn't stand up straight in the en-suite bathroom because it was built into the eaves of the roof ... the hotel was advertised as having a lift to "all floors" which was a bit of a joke because it was two large houses joined together and so there were half-floors etc that the lift did not serve ... because it was a group of us we couldn't walk out (although I was sorely tempted) so we had to see the funny side of it and we endured it

a couple of years ago I had the opposite sort of surprise ... my partner and I were booking a modest-priced bed and breakfast place for a couple of nights and he found a farmhouse type of place that looked interesting ... when we arrived we were overwhelmed because it was a very nice ancient manor house complete with oak beams, suits of armour and a huge fireplace in the hall ... we had a fantastic stay and ate breakfast in the main hall feeling like visiting royalty ... and all this for no more than any regular bed and breakfast place !!

Kitty!

I went on a storm chasing trip in April. My professor booked both hotels. The first hotel we stayed at in Oklahoma City was decent. At first, we thought "It could be better." But when we made our way to our second hotel in Liberal, Kansas, the Oklahoma City hotel was an 8 star resort in comparison. The whole hotel smelled like Lysol--like there were germs that couldn't be killed. We saw a hooker or two that looked as if she was addicted to meth, and there was a drug deal outside of our bedroom. The website told us that the hotels had been renovated, but in reality, it looked like they just changed the light bulbs. Free internet was offered; the catch was a) you had to bring your own Ethernet cord or b) detach the phone cord, plug it in the computer while a friend holds the other end of the cord in the wall. We never took off our clothes except to shower and slept on top of the covers.

Vannessa

No, our plans always turned out great!

Mandi

Yep, this happened to me and my husband on our HONEYMOON! My husband had booked us a room, it was at a 4 star hotel. The reviews on the site were great. My husband paid the extra premium for a guaranteed Ocean View room. When we got to the airport our cab driver laughed when we told him where we were going and he offered to find us a nice hotel. We had already booked, and it did sound so great, so we politely said no and got out and went in. Our hotel was under construction - it was changing chains, and I think it was being ran by the construction company in the mean time. It was horrible. We had to check in at a folding table in the lobby (being careful not to step in the debris where the construction was going on. We got to our room (remember, this is our honeymoon) and found it had 2 twin bed (stuck down, so we couldn't even move them) and no ocean view. The room also had that nice cheap hotel smell of urine and air conditioning. My husband went down and talked with the manager and he didn't care at all. We called the online booking site and they didn't care much either. Finally - after spending the first three hours of our honeymoon on the phone we convinced the hotel to give us a room with a full size bed in it. The elevators were not operating consistently, so you took a gamble when you used them. We finally got set up and were looking for a place to eat (it was later now because it took so long to get it figured out). We asked the desk manager if there was anything near by and he answered "no". We ended up ordering pizza (after a couple unsuccessful attempts). We were so hungry that we would have eaten the box.

Needless to say this was not my favorite night of the trip. Luckily we were leaving on a cruise and this was just booked for one night. The hotel insisted on charging us for the price of the "suite", so we disputed the charge and won. But that is my great internet hotel horror story. Luckily we can laugh about it now.

Thing 1& 2

First off report them to the site you used for ex expedia or cheap rooms whatever you used report the incident to them and let them know you will not ever use there site again over this. I booked one years ago for 4 people but needed 3 beds. They said sure they would put roll aways in. So when we got there the room was super small if 1 roll away was brought in it would of had to fit betweent he bed and dresser leaving no floor space so then I noticed the bedspread was really grungie too. I went back and told them I wanted a refund. They said oh let me show you another room. I said No just refund my money so they finally got me to see another room first and it was huge with a seperate living 2 baths and 2 bedrooms so we stayed. The squeaky wheel gets the oil is all I can say.

luvartgrl

Use vrbo.com instead. Its cheaper and usually nicer than any hotel. As long as it doesn't bother you to stay in someone elses house while they aren't there. I have done it 3 times and each time has been outstanding!

Renne

Nah I'm not too picky, when I'm on vacation the hotel is where I spend the least amount of time.

raysk8_77

ya dude!

Escalade Dude

No but i here www.priceline.com is a good place to go (NO BOOKING FEES)!

Just mii bruv

Yup happened to me in vegas! would you expect that!?! Stupid jargon.

faron_jns

nope

Ronda D

I book hotel rooms for several crews of subcontractors and you would not believe the stories these guys come back with. On the internet, the hotel will be 2.5 - 3 stars and say all kinds of nice things and the guys get there and the doors don't lock or there are roaches everywhere. Buyer beware! but I don't know a better way to check???

BurritosMom

Oh yeah I had this happen just recently. We researched on the internet for at least a month, looked at pics, read reviews etc. These were $300 a night hotel rooms so we were being very particular about what we wanted for spending that much money.

I couldn't believe it when we drove up to our "luxury" hotel. This place was a ramshackel!! The walls were paper thin, super outdated. I think the wood siding on the outside was molding!! We also had to listen to the people in the room next door party all night becuase the walls were so thin. Never in my life will we being trusting the website pictures.

We love the Embassy Suites, we always try to make sure we stay in one of those if we are in an area that has them. Way nicer.

Kenneth J

Yes
We booked a room for the Fall Rod Run in Pigeon Forge,Tn
When we arrived they had no rooms left seems they overbooked for that weekend.
But they gave us a suite for the same price we were paying for a room so all worked out fine.

Great folks in Tennessee

Britt

Yes! It very much has! I went on a trip to Key Largo with my cousin, her husband, and his sister... where they booked the hotel on the internet about a day before, after looking for hours at several. But for the rating, the pictures, and the price, it was the best, so we thought. I remember the pictures where beutiful looking, the rooms looking nothing more than average, but nice anyway, and a huge, beutiful swimming pool with a fountain and faux waterfall. It looked a "cultured" on the outside, with bright colors and tourist tacky decorations outside.

But then there was the actual hotel. It was bright, with the tacky stuff, but it's paint was cracked and chiped, and the base was mildewy.. and it's front doors, had it had any, would have been a mere 5 feet from a busy highway. We had to go in from a walkway on the side that went into the building. The room wasn't that much better, we realized the beding hadn't been washed in the freshest smelling of fabric cleaners, and smelled strongly of whatever industrial cleaners they had used... and the dreaded smell of roach spray. Which of course led to the next discovery, glmipses of small roaches here and there. Oh and that huge, majestic pool? Nuh-Uh. It was a small square, algae ridden thing. We later found out, while walking on a dock behind another hotel to get to our snorkeling boat... that the majestic pool was at that hotel, and not the one we where at.

Big, big lesson for us. But hey, at least we knew it was clean...ish.

YES! we went to cedar point and booked online. showed up they didn't have our reservation. well we had paid so they took us. we asked if there was one closer and she said nope we're it!

it was disgusting! we slept in our clothes on top of the bed cuz it was so late!

then we go to cedar point, there's a closer one 1.5 miles from the park!

they were dirty and liars!

katieguth95

nope never but that really sux!!!!

Confused

It's happened. Not the smell part. I've booked a hotel online that had pictures of it when it was brand new. Got there and was completely shocked that it was extremely neglected. There was a hole in the shower, the beds were disgusting, the people were rude. I've learned to stick to the "name brand" hotels when booking online.

avgloka

I think one time my mom booked a hotel through the phone. When we arrived there at the hotel, the desk person told us: "Im sorry, but we're booked tonight. We have nothing available."

Retired Republican

i can get u 2 nights free, interested in timeshare?

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