Miss sold holiday

markB47

Does anyone have experience of claiming back the cost of a hotel if the hotel does not provide the amenities as stated at the time of booking? We have a holiday coming up soon and was booked primarily based on the pool and facilities being available and open for use by the children. Having read recent reviews, majority being negative for the facilities, cleanliness and staff attitude. I’m having second thoughts about our choice but unfortunately booked a non refundable rate as it was such good value and the reviews at the time were fine. We booked using our CC so we’re hoping that may offer us some recourse if the property isn’t as expected and advertised. I’d welcome any thoughts and I’m considering booking a second hotel as a back up as I can get this relatively cheap but would then mean the 4 of us sharing a single room.

thanks

MyRealNameToo

markB47 said:

Does anyone have experience of claiming back the cost of a hotel if the hotel does not provide the amenities as stated at the time of booking? We have a holiday coming up soon and was booked primarily based on the pool and facilities being available and open for use by the children. Having read recent reviews, majority being negative for the facilities, cleanliness and staff attitude. I’m having second thoughts about our choice but unfortunately booked a non refundable rate as it was such good value and the reviews at the time were fine. We booked using our CC so we’re hoping that may offer us some recourse if the property isn’t as expected and advertised. I’d welcome any thoughts and I’m considering booking a second hotel as a back up as I can get this relatively cheap but would then mean the 4 of us sharing a single room.

So by the sounds of it the facilitates were available at the time of booking and have closed since then given the reports of issue were only after booking and therefore probably not miss-selling. 

Did you book it as part of a package or did you book the hotel independently? Was it direct with the hotel or via an agent? 

Does it have a singular pool which is fully closed or is it just one of multiple? What are the other facilities that are closed? Have you checked if they are due to be reopened by the time of your holiday? 

lea2012

There's a difference between facilities not being available, and not being very good or getting positive reviews. Are you saying the pool is closed, or other facilities not available? Or are they just reportedly not as good as you expect in reviews?

If they are available, but not as good as expected, then this would probably just be classed as personal opinion and you wouldn't be able to get any money back on this basis. Unless it was something more serious, like infected pool water, or a health / safety issue perhaps.

If they are no longer available at all, or closed at this time of year, you need to first read your terms and conditions. It will likely say something along the lines of the below, which has been taken from the Jet2 Holidays t&c's, which covers them for it not being available:

Advice on service and amenity variations during 'peak' and 'off-peak' seasons: Most of the destinations we feature/advertise are available all year round, however some do have quieter “off peak” periods when you can enjoy the resort or city being less crowded and more personal attention from colleagues. Due to the fall in demand in 'off peak' periods, it may be necessary for establishments, such as restaurants, to scale down their services or the size of some of their facilities. In some resorts recreational facilities such as outdoor pools/water sport activities may also be reduced or even closed. Similarly, during peak periods, establishments often experience full occupancy which may result in a livelier atmosphere and slower service.

It might also be listed on the hotel description too, so if this is the case then you again are unlikely to be able to get any money back. 

In either case, you wouldn't just be able to claim from your CC, you would need to contact the booking agent first and go through their complaints process first.

elsien

Reads to me as if the facilities are available, but the OP has read some recent poor reviews about them. 

Perhaps the OP could clarify a little more, and also whether this is part of a package. You’re unlikely to be able to make much of a claim if you’ve booked a package where the flights are a large proportion of the cost and the hotel is offering the rooms, the food and the facilities. The debate then becomes a subjective one about what is adequate and what isn’t. 

NoodleDoodleMan

Knowing the resort and hotel would be helpful..........and if a package holiday deal etc.

Grumpy_chap

markB47 said:

Does anyone have experience of claiming back the cost of a hotel if the hotel does not provide the amenities as stated at the time of booking? We have a holiday coming up soon and was booked primarily based on the pool and facilities being available and open for use by the children. Having read recent reviews, majority being negative for the facilities, cleanliness and staff attitude. I’m having second thoughts about our choice but unfortunately booked a non refundable rate as it was such good value and the reviews at the time were fine. We booked using our CC so we’re hoping that may offer us some recourse if the property isn’t as expected and advertised. I’d welcome any thoughts and I’m considering booking a second hotel as a back up as I can get this relatively cheap but would then mean the 4 of us sharing a single room.

thanks

Where (which region) is the hotel?  In some locations it can be common for pools etc to close once the 'high season' has passed.

markB47

Apologies I should’ve clarified. The hotel is the Hilton Vacations Club Cancun resort Las Vegas. The pools are seasonal but it does state that rear pool is open and heated all year, only closed during high winds or dangerous conditions. Recent reviews have said the pools have been shut for weeks on and off with no reason provided by staff. The hotel was booked separately via Expedia. 

markB47

I’m possibly overthinking the the reviews and it’ll be fine, but wanted to explore other options in case it turns out to be not what was expected.

Mark_d

Hilton have always been great with dealing with issues I've had.  So don't worry about it.  Just try to enjoy the holiday you booked and make a complaint to the Hotel, is and when you find anything not quite right.

la531983

I would say you actually havent been mis sold anything yet as you arent actually there 

Bicycleman22

On Booking.com the latest reviews are 14 out of 20 give a rating of  10 and one of 9........The biggest complaints seem to be the selling of timeshares. I certainly wouldn't be booking an alternative hotel with ratings like that. In any case it would be better if you need to make an argument in the future that you booked another hotel whilst there rather than before you went.