Alloggi al Verdi

I've used Booking.com regularly for work and holidays since 2003, and this may be the first time I've felt ripped off enough to write a review. I paid €130 a night in advance for three nights, basically double the usual rate, though it was New Year's Eve. The room I was given was nothing like the photos: a dark loft, with the bed on the floor and two windows blocked by grates at the bottom, so it felt completely claustrophobic. When I asked for a different room or my money back, two people arrived after 20 minutes, and we started negotiating. I wanted the room shown in the photos, but they said the pictures were only a rough guide and they couldn't show every room. It wasn't available, so they showed me two others. They even called a booking manager named Marco, who backed up their explanation. I took the least bad option and paid the €9 tourist tax. Later I found out that buying a multi-day Ferrara card gets you a discount on the matching tourist tax, but the hosts hadn't mentioned it. Maybe they didn't know. Still, they seem incapable of doing their job, although I'd never call them dishonest. The whole stay was a letdown after what I'd imagined. Before arriving, I'd told the hosts more than two hours ahead when I'd get there, as they ask guests to do at least 15 minutes in advance. I also politely asked which bus to take, but got no answer. Once I was on the bus I started calling, and they hung up. On my third or fourth try the woman answered rudely, saying she had other check-ins and couldn't fit me in without advance notice. Even after I arrived, the responses were cold and rude. I pointed out that I'd given notice, then received the self-check-in codes and was told to wait 15 minutes for them to collect the tourist tax. If you're planning a visit to Ferrara, I'd stay elsewhere. At the same price you can find better places without risking arguments and wasted time because someone treats you like fools waiting to be taken for a ride. Never again.