thebananovaya
Google
I am absolutely shocked by what happened, because I never imagined that such a situation could occur in a hotel with a high rating and so many positive reviews. I am shocked that the manager behaved in such a dishonest and misleading way — something I would never expect from a supposedly reputable property.||I booked this hotel two weeks in advance for my trip to Venice. I specifically chose this property because of its excellent rating, positive guest feedback, and because the room I selected had canal-view windows, which was extremely important for my stay.|I booked a non-refundable rate, and this was completely fine for me because the hotel appeared trustworthy and the room category matched exactly what I wanted.||At the time of booking, the hotel offered cheaper alternatives — courtyard-facing rooms priced around €90 — while the room I chose cost about €135 plus taxes. I willingly paid the higher price to secure the canal view. My reservation was fully confirmed, and the hotel never contacted me beforehand to inform me that the booked room would be unavailable.||When my travel companion and I arrived, we were greeted by just one employee — a very kind Italian woman — who, in limited English, explained that the room we booked was not available. They offered us an inferior room with a window facing a solid wall located roughly two meters away, meaning the view was essentially blocked — the room felt almost sealed off by the wall.|It was a completely different category from what I had paid for.||The only “solution” they offered was to waive the €6 city tax, which was completely inappropriate, considering that the real price difference between the room I booked and the lower-category room they tried to give us was at least €50. No compensation, no proper alternative, nothing.||This was unacceptable. I asked the employee to contact the manager, and I spoke with him directly through her phone. He confirmed that we could cancel the reservation and find another hotel, and when I asked about the refund, he told me that Booking.com would handle it and that he would approve the cancellation request on his side.|This conversation took place on Friday around 12:30 PM, well before the official check-in time.||Trusting his word, we rebooked another hotel and moved there immediately. Later, however, I noticed that the cancellation request was still marked as pending — because the manager had not approved it, despite what he promised.||I wrote to him several times, asking why he had not confirmed the cancellation. He ignored every message. Fearing that he might later falsely claim that we had checked in and used the room, I contacted Booking.com Customer Support on Friday evening, while the booking was still active, and opened a case with all details documented.||Throughout the weekend, the manager continued ignoring me. When he finally responded, he did so in a rude and dismissive tone and still refused to cooperate.||My travel companion witnessed everything and can confirm every detail of this situation.||On Monday morning, Booking Support wrote to me saying they had contacted the property but unfortunately could not confirm that the manager agreed to issue the refund, contrary to what he had told me directly over the phone.|I was in complete shock.||I immediately sent Booking a detailed letter describing the entire situation step by step.||Within an hour, a Booking representative called me, interviewed me thoroughly, reviewed all evidence, and completely agreed that the manager’s behavior was unacceptable and highly suspicious.|Booking.com decided to take my side even without receiving confirmation from the manager, and I am incredibly grateful for how seriously they approached this case and how quickly they acted.||To make matters worse, I genuinely believe that the room I originally booked had likely been given to someone else at a higher price as I had Genius 3d level discount.
