The Librarian

There was nobody at the hotel and no reception, just a sign in the window with a phone number to call. When we arrived, they said they hadn’t received our Booking.com reservation, even though we’d already paid. They didn’t try to help us find another place in town. This was the worst experience of my life. A disaster, and a complete scam.

We got good value for the price: our ground-floor room was spacious, clean and had a terrace. Support was great too. We made two mistakes while booking, and they worked with us both times without charging extra. A really good experience.

The location is the only real plus. The room was tiny and dirty, with hair near the bed and suspicious stains on the toilet wall. There isn’t really a bathroom: the shower and toilet are in a closet, while the sink is by the bed. No shampoo or shower gel left, and nowhere to hang a towel. You can hear neighbours talking and walking around because the soundproofing is poor. The TV is partly hidden behind the shower wall, and doesn’t work anyway. There’s no chair, so you can only sit on the bed. I’m not even sure “hotel” is the right word for this kind of place.

I contacted the hotel several times about these problems and asked for a partial refund, but never heard back. That really reinforced how poor the customer service felt. The room, called Tiny Room with Balcony, didn’t live up to the website’s claims of being “decorated like a 5-star” hotel. There was nowhere to hang towels, and the shower wasn’t sealed, so water flooded the room and soaked my baggage every time I showered. I reported it, expecting a quick fix because the promotional material says the “virtual butler is just an app away,” but I didn’t hear back until the next day. I asked for fresh towels, a replacement for the bathmat soaked through by the shower, and more used coffee pods. Only the towels and pods were replaced. The wet bathmat was left there, and there was no extra milk for the coffee. That took another day to sort out, while the mat was never replaced. The person who came to my room also left all the used cups and cutlery. I’m fine with self-catering and washing my own dishes, but there was no dish soap, towel or rack. They should provide those basics or replace the dirty dishes daily. This was really disappointing, and I’m shocked by the lack of response. It felt like they just didn’t care about customer satisfaction.