Booking.com Listed a 4-Star Hotel That Was Unsanitary and Fraudulent
I booked a reservation at Art-Gallery Avlabari, listed as a 4-star hotel on Booking.com, for €43.66 per night. Upon arriving at 2:00 AM after my flight, the experience was shocking. The hotel owner opened the door in a bathrobe and scolded us for arriving late. He then charged us €45 in cash instead of the listed price. With no other options at that hour, we reluctantly stayed the night.
The conditions were appalling. The toilet didn’t work, the shower was practically on top of the toilet, and the entire room reeked of sewage. The bed was dirty, with hair on it, and the pillow smelled foul, clearly unwashed. No slippers were provided, and everything was filthy. The inside of the hotel smelled like pastirma. Despite booking for three days, we left after one night and requested a refund for the unused days. The owner rudely refused and hung up on us.
When I wrote a negative review on Booking.com, the hotel falsely claimed we never stayed there and tried to show our reservation as canceled. I even received a suspicious email from Booking.com asking me to confirm this, which I declined. Furthermore, the hotel altered its check-in times to 12:00 PM–11:30 PM after my complaint to excuse their poor service.
Booking.com’s customer service offered no help despite multiple contacts, merely suggesting I speak to the hotel. This property tarnishes Booking.com’s reputation, and I demand a refund for the two nights I didn’t stay and immediate removal of this fraudulent listing.
