We arrived at the address of Locanda Gallo that was stated on our booking confirmation. There was no reception at this address, but a locked door with a buzzer. When it became apparent that there was no-one available to answer the buzzer, we called a mobile number printed below the buzzer.
The man on the other end of the phone told us that there was no booking, and that the room was unavailable. When it was stated that we had already paid for to stay at Locanda Gallo through Hotels.com, the man replied that this was a matter between us and Hotels.com.
When Hotels.com was contacted, we were told to speak to whoever was ‘at the reception’. I countered that there was no one for us to talk to in person, and the man on the mobile phone was referring us back to Hotels.com. The Hotels.com customer representative was adamant that we needed to speak to that man on the mobile. When we called him back, his response was that he wasn’t actually in Florence, and if we wanted to sort something out, he could provide us with ‘lesser’ accommodations and ‘some money’ the next day. This rang alarm-bells, as we were not going to put our statutory rights in jeopardy by entering into a new arrangement with someone we had not met – and wasn’t available in person.
There was something of a tennis match going on, with us going back and forth between Hotels.com and the Man on The End of the Phone (there wasn’t anything else to call him – he didn’t give us his name). One of the Hotels.com customer service representatives we spoke to told us that this man couldn’t speak English (he did to us). Another Hotels.com representative told us that he was around the corner and if we waited a few more minutes he would come and arrange alternative accommodations.
By this time we were halfway across Florence, desperately trying to find another place to stay. The only relationship that offers any legal protection was between Hotels.com and us (not us and an anonymous mobile phone number), yet Hotels.com were disavowing our relationship when contacted. Hotels.com had already taken money from our credit card. They made no effort to resolve our problem with any of Hotels.com’s own resources, instead leaving us to fend for ourselves.
We contacted Hotels.com for assistance and were presented with absolutely no solution, other than being told that we should engage with an unsavoury person seemingly partaking in a scam. We were left on hold nearly ten minutes each time we contacted Hotels.com, which, due to international roaming, incurred great expense to our mobile account.
I cannot describe how helpless it feels to be left on a doorstep in a city of a country whose language you do not speak, with the night closing in, surrounded by luggage. Significantly out of pocket, having been charged first by Hotels.com, then our mobile provider, then the (more expensive) Hotel we eventually stayed in. I eventually had to turn to my bank to refund the money as Hotels.com flatly refused!
Because we had come to Florence specifically for cooking, our food budget quadrupled from having no access to a kitchen. We felt particularly aggrieved; if Hotels.com had offered something as simple as an alternative self-catering booking, everything would have been fine.
It is too risky to book accommodation in Locanda Gallo or any hotel via Hotels.com
- Locanda Gallo Florence
