Capital O Hotel Patio Pombo

The room was dirty, and I even found a dead cockroach in the middle of it. There are no windows, and the ceiling fan didn’t work, so it got really hot inside. The location is good, but the Wi-Fi kept cutting out every three minutes. When I raised it with the staff and asked about moving to a room with a better connection, they were rude and said I’d have to pay extra. In the end, the only place I could call my family over Wi-Fi was a first-floor balcony.

It took 30 minutes to get us a room after we arrived, even though they’d confirmed our booking and then realized they’d forgotten to book us in. And the “premium room with Queen size bed” was a 3x3 meter room with a 1,2m wide bed, no windows, and no AC. A couple of cracks in the door facing the lobby were the only ventilation, which meant we could hear everyone walking past and they could hear us. The towels felt like sandpaper. The shower drain was clogged, so even a two-minute shower flooded the whole room. We also had to ask for fresh pillows and sheets because the ones there had hair and smudges from previous visitors. Worst experience ever.

There was loud jackhammering right outside, and no one offered us another arrangement. We also had no water, and staff had been telling us since the day before that it would be fixed “soon.” One person in our group had to move because the old room had a leak on the floor, but the new room had no water either. Then the internet cut out in the middle of my business meeting. We had to move yet again when we came back and found people working in our room. The water problems continued. Breakfast was disappointing too, just one piece of toast and coffee, with no refills, fruit, or eggs. Update: I followed the response’s suggestion and contacted customer service, but never heard back.

I booked through Booking.com with free cancellation and payment due on arrival. Once the reservation was confirmed, they charged my card to “guarantee” it. I cancelled weeks before the free cancellation deadline because my plans changed, but that charge was never refunded. I messaged them on Booking.com and by email and got no reply. Scammers and cheaters! Don’t give them your card details. After their reply: Don’t try to save face. I emailed that address more than a week ago, on Saturday 5th, from the account I used to book the room. Nothing came of it.