rmiller774

Would your chances of getting a refund be better if you had not informed them in the last pp of your email of the actions you have already taken? Maybe withhold the threats until later when, if a refund is refused, you need to send a follow-up email?

adamak

The hotel website's pictures look decent enough. http://champagne.hotelinroma.com Is this the same hotel you stay in?
But interestingly, none of their rooms were priced over 205Euro. Most are just 90 - 100. How can LastMinute charges you more? I'll write them and let them know.

EDIT : Never mind. Saw that you're paying 300E for 4 nights, not per night.

Tenerife

Was just about to reply that OP said approx. GBP 300 for 4 nights, not per night. At GBP 75 per night, you are not going to get a really good 4* hotel room in central Rome. (Please someone, I'd be happy to be proven wrong) That would be €80 per night -- we will be paying €105 per night at the Mecenate Palace in a couple of weeks, also listed as a 4*, but I don't think it is an especially luxurious 4*. I bid up to $140 (approx. €100) per night on PL for a 4* (+ taxes etc.) and didn't even get a counter-offer.

P.S. A question of OP (who is from London) -- do you consider the Copthorne Tara in Kensington a 4*? Most people don't, but all the booking agencies, including PL, do!

FlyerTalker7654

Hi guys,

Thanks for the reply. In answer to some questions;

I still did enjoy Rome, thats for sure, but not as much maybe if we stayed in a real hotel. If im honest, Ive stayed in hostels all around the world that are total sh*$holes, and when Im on my adventures on my own or with the lads it dont really matter, however, when Im with MrsSgtRyan its a different story. We do like to have somewhere decent to stay. It would have been nice, after a long day walking and exploring Rome to come back, have a decent shower, and get into a bed or walk around a room that does not feel "dirty". We stayed at a hotel in Heathrow on Saturday night, and that was such a difference as a 4* (I need to put the pics up but my computer crashed so Ill do that soon).

From looking at hotels.com and expedia.co.uk the general rule was around £250 to £300 a night for most 4 stars in Rome, and I was really expecting to pay that. However, back in July we were in New York and got a hotel on priceline which was 3 star in New York for like $110 right in the middle of Times Square- that hotel was so nice and so comfortable and modern- but small, that said we considered it a good deal. Thats why when I saw that 4 star on lastminute.com thought we also had another good deal.

Oh well. Such is life really. Ill keep you all posted on what lastminute.com come back with.

Cheers ^

P.S. One thing I forgot to write in that email to lastminute.com, the hotel in Rome did not have any room service or a concierge service!!!

WBurcham

Please let us know how it turns out. Experiences like yours are what keeps me from booking through Opaque sources.

blondeterp

I'm not the OP, but I recently stayed at the Copthorne Tara in Kensington. Compared to the other 4* hotels that PL has given me in London, I thought it was pretty decent and had all the amenities I was looking for.

harryhv

Other opaque hotels to avoid: wotif.com and lastminute.com.au (same company in Australia).

Paid for "**This hotel is located in Perth **" but the hotel turned out to be 2 suburbs away from Perth. Eventually got a refund for all but the first (unused) night - but only because the room was so awful that I left immediately.

In previous discussions wotif was adamant there would be no refund for their lies about the location. As a result, will not use wotif or lastminute for anything (nor their other company, travel com au)*

Whereas I have had nothing but good experiences with hotwire who show you a map to indicate the limits of where the hotel may be.

* edit - for Australian bookings Needitnow com au has the same prices as wotif but they're not crooks. And Expedia com au sometimes has better prices than anyone eg on Vibe and Travelodge hotels for 3 nites+.

iahphx

As an FYI, it is not possible to get a "real" 4-star hotel in central Rome for 75 GBP -- even with an opaque service. It would have to be a price mistake.

At an off-peak time, you could possibly get a 3-star for about 100 GBP -- particularly if you bargained hard.

gemac

4*Sofitel Roma Rome Center $111 3/30-3/31

4* - Rome Vatican - Atlante Garden - 11/16-11/18 - $78

4* Rome 16/08/09 $90 for Hotel Pisana Palace

4*Mecenate Palace Rome $111 Nov9-10

4* Bettoja Massimo D'Azeglio Hotel Rome Central 6/27-6/28 $162

FlyerTalker7654

Hi guys,

This is the general email that they have sent me so far, will keep you posted on any new ones I get;


----------------------------------
Please note this is an automated acknowledgement.

Thank you for contacting lastminute.com
.
Your enquiry has been passed to our Customer Relations Team.

The majority of enquiries can be resolved very quickly, so you should be hearing from us soon. However, in some cases, we may have to contact a third party partner/supplier to investigate the issues that you have raised. If this is necessary, we will do everything we can to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, within the next 28 days.

If you have not already done so, it would help us with our investigations if you could forward copies of any relevant paperwork, credit card statements or receipts.

If you have already raised an incident with us we will append this correspondence to your previous incident.

Should you need to contact us in the meantime please quote your booking reference/order number on all correspondence. Our contact details are:-

Email: Reply to this email address

Email: Reply to this email address

Telephone: 0870 887 0260

Fax: +44 (0)20 7153 2806

Mail: 4th Floor, Victoria Gate, Chobham Rd, Woking, Surrey GU21 6JD

Regards


lastminute.com Customer Relations
www.lastminute.com

United_Flyer3

Sorry to hear about the hotel. The pictures of the room look disgusting.

However, a 4 * rating does not guarantee luxury or room size etc, it is merely a rating for a list of services/amenities the hotel provides.

In this case, this is where I would be going ....

If no room service was available, the hotel is NOT a 4* hotel.

Check out this..

http://hotrec.prod.altasys.be/files/...mary_italy.pdf

I would demand a refund based on what was advertised and what you were given.
If lastminute won;t co-operate, and you purchased it with a CC, go down that route.

rfrost

I've booked "top secret hotels" in London at this site many times; many of the five stars have often been relatively easy to identify even without googling them, and though I wouldn't agree that they all deserved five stars, I've been happy with what I got for the price. My one unhappy experience was a top secret four star, which, while not nearly as bad as the one you had in Rome, left a great deal to be desired.

mitchell

I use review websites all the time for this reason.
Location & quality are often "different" than advertised, and usually commenters complain loudly about discrepancies.

BiddingForTravel & BetterBidding are good websites. BetterBidding has some information on figuring out which Hotwire hotels are which, and may help for future bids.

In some places, 7* is the best rating, and even in the US there are some areas I will not bid Priceline 4* because one of the hotels in that class is really more like a 2*.

Sometimes there are nice surprises, such as a 2* hotel having 4.5* star rooms, but not having a restaurant in the hotel (which disqualifies from 4* in some ranking systems).

Unfortunately, homework is required when traveling to new places. It's what the good travel agents do. One of my travel agents got me a 5* in Rome for 100 Euro (somehow!), at a time when 1-2*'s were going for 120-200 Euro. Somehow she knew about an amazing internet sale. And the hotel was 1 block from St. Mark's Square. Excellent location!

Good luck with your refund/compensation request!

Tenerife

We were also happy enough at the Copthorne Tara, especially after we paid to upgrade to the Executive category (including breakfast, internet, and a larger room). Before upgrading we paid $76 per night on PL and it was a great price (2 years ago) for a decent London hotel. Just not sure that I would rate it a 4* for their standard rooms. I was pretty certain we would "win" the CT before I bid but, considering the very convenient location, that was fine with us.

iahphx

Those are some great hotel prices -- especially if they include VAT. Too bad the OP didn't find them before his/her trip!

The recession must be taking it's toll on Rome tourism. I was there a year and a half ago, and US$100 wouldn't have bought you much. I decided to use hotel points.

With the Euro again rising to the US$1.50 level, I would otherwise think US$100 would be tough.

BTW, many years ago, I stayed at the Mecenate Palace -- probably for around $100 (just adjusted for inflation, if would be more now). It's no "palace," but was a decent place to stay.