Globalstay. Amazing Barranco Apartments

I booked an apartment through Booking.com three months ahead, then got emails asking me to send a $200 deposit by bank transfer. The booking had free cancellation, so I canceled, but I've never received a refund. They told Booking.com they'd made the transfer, which isn't true, and Booking.com is washing its hands of it. I'll report them as fraudsters.

The $200 deposit they charged us up front still hasn't come back. I rented one of their apartments in Barranco in April 2022, and their professionalism has been appalling. I've called their direct number and tried WhatsApp, but Simply Comfort Suites - Barranco, Lima, Peru ignores my calls and messages. It feels like a scam. The apartment was awful, nothing like the nice photos the owners post, and a rip-off for what we paid. The rooms were terrible too. A really bad experience with Simply Comfort Suites - Barranco (Lima, Peru).

We had a confirmed lunch reservation for the four of us, me, my wife, and our children, but this was the worst accommodation experience of my life. We ended up at the Costa del Sol hotel, paying three times as much, despite having a card the bank confirmed was active and had money on it. That morning, before my flight from Cusco to Lima, they demanded a photo of me with my credit card. It seemed strange, maybe illegal, but I sent it because they said it was mandatory. They then said I had to pay $25 for arriving at noon instead of 3 PM. I agreed because I felt I had no choice. After landing, they claimed my card didn't work. I checked with the bank, which said it was fine, and offered cash instead, but they refused. They withdrew the noon check-in they'd offered because they had other guests. I asked if my wife, children, and I could at least use a bathroom to change, and they said no. I offered to come by with my other credit cards, but when they tried to find a solution, they told me not to go. They also said people were waiting to get in. I have the whole exchange in WhatsApp messages. I chose a tourism company instead of Airbnb because I wanted a warm welcome. All I found was coldness over WhatsApp and no empathy. We booked through Booking.com. This was our worst experience.

We paid for nine days, but on day five they told us to leave because they'd offered the place to other people. They blamed noise, which wasn't true. There were two families, and dealing with all this with our children was awful. We went out sightseeing and came back at night. Different people attended us, which made us uneasy. They didn't collect the rubbish, so every three days we had to take it out ourselves while the bags piled up in the apartment. They also kept our $200 deposit, and we had to find another hotel even though everything seemed arranged. The location and lovely view were part of what we paid for. The woman who acted as housekeeper was kind and very polite, but the security guards were awful and arrogant, and security itself was appalling. They wouldn't help with taxis, and when we came back with shopping bags they didn't even move. This whole family trip was a nightmare. They shouldn't be allowed to break contracts, and these scammers who keep people's money don't deserve even one star 😞.