Non refundable Hotel full of sickness ! what can i do!

misssunshine86

hi.... appreciate some advice as i am driving myself crazy!!!
So I booked a hotel back in May in mykonos. Reviews were good, fine. Checked reviews again a few days ago, and I have seen 11 of the most recent reviews from travellers with entire families getting sick!!! Explained situation to booking.com, they said they'd request a refund and the hotel said No. I cannot afford to pay out for another hotel so my choice is no holiday at all or go to hotel where everyone is getting sick. Is there anything at all I can do. My boyfriend has a weak immune system so gets sick at the drop of the hat, i just cant risk it with him but all flights etc (also non refundable) are also booked. Obvioisly noone would even want the room having seen the reviews.

Westin

Not a great position to be in.

Which hotel is it?

Sometimes reviews do need to be taken with a large pinch of salt. That said if recent reviews are reporting the same issue then there well could be a problem. Have you tried messaging the people who left the reviews to see if they will elaborate on the problem? See if they believed it was food related, or from the pool, or something else? Then maybe avoidance measures could be taken.

You could also try contacting the hotel direct and putting your concerns across and see if they would agree to a cancellation. Talking to them yourself, rather than booking.com, might apply sufficient pressure to allow a cancellation. Or if they stick to their guns at least find out their side of the story and what they are doing to correct the problem.

Pollycat

I agree with the 'pinch of salt' comment.
I've read some really nonsense reviews.
The reviews could also be all the same family unhappy with the hotel in general.
What type of sickness are they reporting?


Do say what hotel it is, maybe a fresh set of eyes could make more sense of these adverse reviews.

misssunshine86

Hi,
I haven't tried directly mainly because i didn't want to offend them if i still ended up going! To be honest I know i should have checked these reviews more carefully before I went but i didnt and at the time there were obviously not as many. it is the arte &mare luxury suites.
Nadya

Pollycat

Is it the Arte & Mare Elia Mykonos Suites?
I can't see the 11 recent reviews that mention entire families getting sick.

The recent reviews seem to be mainly about the actual state of the hotel, I'd be more worried that I wasn't going to get a 5* experience than a tummy bug.

The most recent review (IKSwiss, Geneva) says "The owner has not spent a dime on renovations in probably 20 years."
According to the hotel blurb "Brand new established in 2008 Arte&Mare Elia Suites is the only 5* SPA hotel in Mykonos".
That poster mentioned getting 'a stomach virus' from food on the beach.

One 1* review was from someone who hadn't stayed at the hotel but expected them to sort out fraudulent use of his credit card. :rotfl:

The review about the whole family getting sick was posted in December 2017. That review was there when you booked in May.

The last 4 reviews have been 1 x 1*, 1 x 2* and 2 x 3*.
Reviews going back to April are all 5* - with the exception of the 'fraudulent credit card' idiot.

I tend to take more notice of reviewers with more than 1 review to their account.

Am I looking at the wrong place?

cubegame

Wash your hands and don't drink the pool water.

You'll be fine.

richardw

cubegame wrote: »

Wash your hands and don't drink the pool water.

You'll be fine.

Yes, do this and go.

Btw the restaurant on the beach is very good, the portions are large and big enough to share, so ask for another plate. It's one of the best beaches on the island.

dawyldthing

Just eat out if your worried, drink bottled water and don't spend too much time in the sun and you should be fine

misssunshine86

I can live with the hotel not being quite 5 star. the reviews were on booking.com and TripAdvisor and yes I found 11 from the last year. I suppose we could just be super careful my boyfriend just had a tendancy to get sick every 5 minutes and its like having a sick child

misssunshine86

thanks everyone I'm probably getting over anxious. appreciated.

Februarycat

Just make sure you and your boyfriend use hand sanitizer and wash hands, plenty of water, I'm sure you will be fine and enjoy your holiday.