Apollo Boutique Hotel

I booked Apollo Boutique Hotel a month ahead for three nights in Rome, May 8 to May 11, at a total cost of nearly €1,000. Around 1 p.m. on check-in day, just hours before I was due to arrive, they contacted me on WhatsApp and said a “plumbing issue” had made my room uninhabitable. They canceled my stay and sent me to a property of their choosing. It was a guesthouse, not a hotel, with a 3.1 Google rating, shabby conditions, and an active construction site right across the street. I didn't sleep that night. They offered €45 for the breakfasts I would miss and a free dinner at their restaurant. For boutique-hotel prices, that was what they considered compensation for a guesthouse stay. When I went back to Apollo, I asked them to refund two of the three nights, not the whole booking, since they had technically arranged somewhere for me. The manager kept dismissing my concerns and said I should be grateful because “finding last-minute accommodation in Rome's high season isn't easy.” They made their failure sound like a favor. In the end, they agreed to refund €500, half the booking. I accepted just to finish the conversation. I was already worn out from dealing with them. They gave me only €300 in cash that day. When I asked about the other €200, the manager said it was “for the third night, and we're still two days away from that.” It made no sense, but I just wanted to leave. Before I walked out, I got them to sign a written agreement for the remaining €200. They never paid it. I contacted them, and they've gone silent. It's been two weeks, and the money still hasn't arrived. I've traveled to more than 20 countries, and this was the worst hotel experience I've had. It wasn't the plumbing or the downgrade that made it so bad, but how they handled things when I asked them to put it right. My reasonable refund request was treated like an imposition, and they broke a signed promise. I came to the front desk in good faith and left with a signed paper and a handshake. Apollo Boutique Hotel, honor your agreement. To other travelers, a trip takes saving and planning, and for some people it may be their only chance to go. Don't spend yours at a hotel that treats you like someone to manage and forget. Rome has hundreds of better options.