Mislead by Hotels.com - who to take it up with?

Westin

"Ive contacted my bank who have said they will try and get the money back using chargeback but no guarantees and could take months."

I don't think you will have any success with this route.

Whilst the copy (which would be provided either by the hotelier or the third party bed bank they obtain it from, rather than a team of hotel.com copy writers) does not mention a nightclub, the fact that it shows being 1 minute to Kavos Beach and the map location is also shown, I would this would ring alarm bells with many that this is not going to be a tranquil location. Kavos is a party town and I expect you knew it would be lively.

They mention sound proof rooms, lets hope that is enough and you can make the most of your holiday stay. Failing this I think it is a case of finding another apartment elsewhere and writing off what you have paid for this one.

stripeyfox

Well it's a long time since I've been to Kavos, but once was enough. It was an 18-30 type destination then, I don't know to what extent that it still that case, but I certainly would not be in a hurry to go back now.

Still, the pavement was comfy for sleeping on....

Pollycat

Ganga wrote: »

Also why anyone would want to take a young family to Kavos is beyond belief.

In fairness to the OP, there might be accommodation in Kavos that is not 'party, party' which is what she was looking for.

I told my OH that I'd found a possible holiday to...Malia. :eek:
He thought I was crazy until I explained that there's an old village with some restaurants with great reviews.
Accommodation was not on the 'strip' and we had a great holiday.

Unfortunately, the cheaper accommodation on holiday websites tend to be in Kavos, Laganas & Malia.

tag30

there are hotels that are not party party and the olive grove resort was one of them. not olive grove beachfront. I know exactly was Kavos is like but was trying to strike a balance of keeping older and younger children happy on holiday.

Some people on this thread get too much enjoyment out of ridiculing people and i think that says a lot more about them than they realise.
Thanks again to the constructive replies.

elsien

Have you tried the hotels.com formal complaints procedure rather than arguing on the phone?
Was it sold as a package holiday or with the elements booked seperately?

comeandgo

tag30 wrote: »

ive since seen that but who reads the small print a the bottom of the page really? and the fact youve highlighted it in pink, makes it much more obvious........if only hotels.com had made it stand out as much as you have

I would imagine most people read the small print. That is where the information is.
Have you contacted the hotel directly and explained to them? You could ask if they could give you the quietest room possible or if they have other properties they could move you too.

stripeyfox

tag30 wrote: »

there are hotels that are not party party and the olive grove resort was one of them. not olive grove beachfront. I know exactly was Kavos is like but was trying to strike a balance of keeping older and younger children happy on holiday.

Some people on this thread get too much enjoyment out of ridiculing people and i think that says a lot more about them than they realise.
Thanks again to the constructive replies.

I do understand your frustration. I'm a worrier too when I've booked something. Will it be ok? Listen, it will probably be ok. You can't control everything. If it is not possible to change the booking then you're just going to have to roll with it. I'm not ridiculing you at all, but if you are stuck with it then you can still have a great time.

peachyprice

tag30 wrote: »

The other hotels further up from the strip are all on the beach so no, that didnt make me think it wasnt on the outskirts as all the hotels along there are on the beach
There are photos of kavos strip on most of the hotels in that part of Corfu it doesnt meant they all have nightclubs on them. They are just photos of the surrounding area. Lots of hotels show nearby waterparks and local attractions it doesnt mean they are onsite?
I didnt come here to have it pointed out to me where i should have realised, all was not as it seems, i was asking who can i take my concerns to, if anyone. Looking back if i look really hard i can see where the clues may have been but ultimately, theres no mention of onsite nightclub which i think is pretty basic information you should give people staying at the hotel

And yet your husband managed to find out where the hotel is and that is has a nightclub.

ratechaser

Pollycat wrote: »

In fairness to the OP, there might be accommodation in Kavos that is not 'party, party' which is what she was looking for.

I told my OH that I'd found a possible holiday to...Malia. :eek:
He thought I was crazy until I explained that there's an old village with some restaurants with great reviews.
Accommodation was not on the 'strip' and we had a great holiday.

Unfortunately, the cheaper accommodation on holiday websites tend to be in Kavos, Laganas & Malia.

Research is key... my first ever Greek holiday was a last minute booking with my then GF (and now wife) made on teletext holidays to Laganas. No google or tripadvisor back then. We arrived to a scene of 18-30 human wreckage, beers for 500 drachma, chips with every meal and endless nightclubs which (ironically to this thread) were all soundproofed to the outside world after about 10pm.

Not our sort of place at all but we went with it and, in the end it was actually sort of fun. We spent more time exploring to find a decent bar (yes there was one on a cliff top garden setting, beer twice the price of everywhere else but who cared), even managed to track down some meals 'sans frites'.

And the nightclubs weren't that bad either, reminded me that I didn't have to be a poncy old fart all the time... But I steered clear of the fishbowl cocktails...

Is there a point to this - well, I didn't have kids back then so it's not a direct comparison to the OPs situation, but I guess it's always possible that you might actually have a good time despite it all. You can even pretend you're only enjoying it in an ironic way, if that helps

TELLIT01

tag30 wrote: »

not at all. just find the attitude a bit blamey and unreasonable

I can understand you being upset, but all that's happened is that people have pointed out that you should probably have done more research. Also, booking.com acts as a link between vendor and purchaser (hotel and customer) and state that they can't be held responsible for any inaccuracies in hotel descriptions etc.
I don't know if there is an ombudsman but, even if there is, I really don't think you would have much of a case against booking.com.


I wouldn't want to take teenagers to Kavos as part of a family holiday. The whole area is party central, and even outlying hotels are likely to largely populated by the 18-30 age group.


It's not really what you want to hear, but I think it's a reasonable summary of the situation.