Booking.com room not as described (County Aparthotel, Newcastle)

itm2

eskbanker said:

I wasn't comparing small double with single!

I was highlighting that small double on the booking page equates to standard double on the main page, but more importantly (and separately), that the photo of the single room looks like what you were given.

Oh sorry yes I misread your message. I see what you mean!
That single room actually looks bigger than the room we got

Grumpy_chap

itm2 said:

They're certainly pretty similar! The "small double" room has a TV in the space where the single room has a dressing table, so they're not identical, but the bed definitely looks the same.
I suspect they'll just ignore my email, which I can't do much about, so I'll just have to put it down to experience. I think I'll think twice before using booking.com to book a hotel again, though

In your photo upthread, the headboard looks to be almost square.
In the "city single room" on the website, the headboard looks to be almost square.
In the "standard double room" on the website, the headboard looks to be rectangular.

I assume your photo is not distorted by being resized but not keeping ratio.

This whole thing that you booked a double room and received a single seems to be the crux of the matter.
Far more than understanding terminology around one type of double room or another.

itm2

Using the simple method of counting the "buttons" across the width of the headboard - the headboard of the  "city single room"  is 6 buttons wide, and the "standard double room" 7 buttons wide. Our headboard was 6 buttons wide.
So yes, it does rather seem as if we really were in a single room.
I might throw this back at the hotel and advise them that, in the absence of a response to me email, I'll be asking my card provider for a refund.

eskbanker

itm2 said:

Using the simple method of counting the "buttons" across the width of the headboard - the headboard of the  "city single room"  is 6 buttons wide, and the "standard double room" 7 buttons wide. Our headboard was 6 buttons wide.
So yes, it does rather seem as if we really were in a single room.
I might throw this back at the hotel and advise them that, in the absence of a response to me email, I'll be asking my card provider for a refund.

It's plausible that the headboard buttons aren't spaced exactly the same, but in your shoes I'd expand on that point with the scale of the pillows - it's perfectly obvious in your photo that there isn't room to have two side by side (unlike even the smallest double pictured)!

Okell

eskbanker said:

I wasn't comparing small double with single!

I was highlighting that small double on the booking page equates to standard double on the main page, but more importantly (and separately), that the photo of the single room looks like what you were given.

I would agree with you.

The "small double" appears also to be a "standard double"

But what the OP got looks like just a single room and not either type of double.

I'd want to pursue this with the hotel

itm2

In the absence of any reply to my email, I sent the hotel another one earlier. I told them that, since they hadn't bothered to reply to my complaint, I would be asking my card provider for a refund.
Within half an hour I got a reply:
"We do apologise for the inconvenience; we've forwarded your email to the higher management and someone will get back to you in the next few days."

In the meantime I've disputed the transaction with the card provider (Chase) anyway, submitting the photos and booking information as evidence. 

Let's see what happens....

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

HillStreetBlues said:

That can not be right, that would mean Booking.com  could charge everyone for a double room  book a smaller room (which is what happened) as then claim it's nothing to do with them.

If you book a double and Booking.com send the booking over to the hotel as a single that is Booking.com's responsibility.

If you book a double and Booking.com send the booking over to the hotel as a double but the hotel give you a single that is the hotel's responsibility.  

Chances are Booking.com's process are efficient and their errors are less likely but if the hotel says it's Booking.com's fault I'd expect them to show the customer that is the case.

Of course you'd expect Booking.com to do the same in reverse but they are a big faceless company whereas a hotel is customer facing and typically used to providing a high level of service to it's guests.  

born_again

Okell said:

Alderbank said:

Okell said:

The OP says that the hotel website advertises "standard double rooms" and "small double rooms" separately

Sure about that? The OP's words are 'They don't have anything described as a "Standard" double room'...

I'm reasonably sure that the OP said exactly that in the OP:  "... More importantly, the bed was extremely small (see attached photo). Looking at the hotel's website, they advertise "small double rooms" and "standard double rooms" separately. This was not evident anywhere on the booking.com website, which only had one option: "Standard room,1 double bed...".

Have they backtracked since then?

Looking on booking.com site there are 18 room options for that hotel.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/mercure-newcastle-county-hotel.en-gb.html?aid=311076&label=hotel-220616-gb-cM5NwszhlNCJImOCMVg6hAS582533921162:pl:ta:p1:p21,093,000:ac:ap:neg:fi:tikwd-15255469883:lp9193090:li:dec:dm:ppccp=UmFuZG9tSVYkc2RlIyh9YVujEjbMrKBVEQO8hCDrg-c&sid=7e94426291febdac2356aa873a094aa6&dest_id=-2603966&dest_type=city&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&hapos=1&hpos=1&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&room1=A,A&sb_price_type=total&sr_order=popularity&srepoch=1737793904&srpvid=6a7f3bf4737b016a&type=total&ucfs=1&

Jumblebumble

Okell said:

Alderbank said:

They might have done. My quote was their second post on page 1.

Ah.  You mean this:  "The "small double room" is listed on the hotel website @£69. They don't have anything described as a "Standard" double room, but the lowest cost double room not described as "small" is £99. So a £30 price differential..."

So in one post the hotel does advertise a standard double, in another post they don't...     [Sigh]    

It appears that if the small double rooms are sold out on a particular date they don't show at atl
A lot of hotel ones do show but as unavailable 

Jumblebumble

born_again said:

Okell said:

Alderbank said:

Okell said:

The OP says that the hotel website advertises "standard double rooms" and "small double rooms" separately

Sure about that? The OP's words are 'They don't have anything described as a "Standard" double room'...

I'm reasonably sure that the OP said exactly that in the OP:  "... More importantly, the bed was extremely small (see attached photo). Looking at the hotel's website, they advertise "small double rooms" and "standard double rooms" separately. This was not evident anywhere on the booking.com website, which only had one option: "Standard room,1 double bed...".

Have they backtracked since then?

Looking on booking.com site there are 18 room options for that hotel.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/mercure-newcastle-county-hotel.en-gb.html?aid=311076&label=hotel-220616-gb-cM5NwszhlNCJImOCMVg6hAS582533921162:pl:ta:p1:p21,093,000:ac:ap:neg:fi:tikwd-15255469883:lp9193090:li:dec:dm:ppccp=UmFuZG9tSVYkc2RlIyh9YVujEjbMrKBVEQO8hCDrg-c&sid=7e94426291febdac2356aa873a094aa6&dest_id=-2603966&dest_type=city&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&hapos=1&hpos=1&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&room1=A,A&sb_price_type=total&sr_order=popularity&srepoch=1737793904&srpvid=6a7f3bf4737b016a&type=total&ucfs=1&

And the small double room still claims to have a queen bed in 8ft squared
It seems that neither Booking.com nor the hotel are taking this seriously
( It is possible that idiotic bots are involved)
A chargeback as the OP has done is the best way of making sure that someone who understands the reputational risks looks at the situation