Zinnia J.

My complaint is about 1) truth in advertising, and 2) why we were not allowed to review the B&B in question through Booking.com

1) My husband and I, and another couple, booked a B&B through Booking.com which turned out to be a disaster. How does Booking.com check up on small, private outfits who offer such intimate accommodations as a B&B in a private residence? We booked these two rooms based on reviews and professional photos left on Booking's website. However, that could not have been more misleading. Does anyone ever go out to check on these places?

2) When I tried to review this establishment on Booking's website, I found that it was no longer on my list of bookings. It had been taken down because, I supposed, we never got to stay. However there is a reason we did not stay, and that is what I would like to report.

We had a disturbing encounter with the Inn's proprietor, who threw us off the property, leaving us stranded in the middle of a country road. We phoned our friends (who were on the road and had not yet arrived) to warn them to stay away and meet us in town because we needed a plan B. After some phone calls to Booking.com explaining our situation, Booking did not charge us for the room, but our friends were charge because according to the Innkeeper "the friend did not show up to see for himself". This is most bizarre. Our friends booked the room on our recommendation which was based on Booking's review. If Booking accepted our explanation and did not charge us for the room, why charge our friends? Did they have to drive all the way out there to see what we saw, and be subjected to the same treatment we were subjected too?

I would like to state that we have nothing to gain by discrediting this or any other outfit. We have traveled quite a bit and stayed at some very nice places, others not so nice, but we have never felt threatened in this way. In hindsight, we should have called the authorities.