Learn from my mistakes!

[Jakke]

A few weeks ago I was in a hurry (mistake nr. 1), reserving accommodation. I used booking.

One of the hostels I reserved was Mellow Barcelona (names can be changed, but the address is Carrer d'Aguilar 54 in Barcelona).

As pilgrims, my son and I were not looking for luxury. Mistake nr. 2: We should have set some standards.

Mistake nr 3: I did not read the feedback or make note of the "grade". It was 6 (out of ten) then, now it is 5,9. Lesson: anything under 7 should be left alone - even by pilgrims.

Mistake nr 4: I did not read the phrases, with which booking denies any responsibility. Cancel? Yes, you can cancel, but they promise nothing (go down and read the whole text!). Any mention of a third party will be used to move all responsibility to said party.

I could show you the photos and quote booking's polite, but useless answers. I'll keep it short.

This is what actually happened: I reserved a double room with two beds. That became a "family room" in the confirmation. In fact, we got two "pods" with dirty sheets in a small room with six pods. The curtains fell down when I closed them. The bathroom was too wet.

The first night a window or door somewhere in the building opened and slammed closed regularly and we could not sleep.

Windows are taped closed. Something was broken in every room I saw. The staff made us wait for answers that never came. They know nothing about the camino nearby.

We ended up paying for another hotel and leaving Mellow Barcelona.

Normally Booking does a good job of reservations that cause no problems.

On my next camino I will contact the accommodation directly. Gronze gives the needed info.

 

[SabsP]

General advice. When you feel the need to book through a third party do take a look at some Google reviews of the place ( or Tripadvisor and the likes ).

Though you can't blame the staff of the hotel not knowing about the Camino Catalan.It is not such a popular Camino to begin with plus the average guest is not a pilgrim.

 

[jungleboy]

Sorry about your bad experience. To me this seems like the best thing to learn:

Mistake nr 3: I did not read the feedback or make note of the "grade". It was 6 (out of ten) then, now it is 5,9.

Regarding this conclusion:

On my next camino I will contact the accommodation directly. Gronze gives the needed info.

If you had booked the same hotel directly, would your experience there have been better? I don’t really see how ‘don’t book through Booking’ is the takeaway from this. More ‘some hotels aren’t good and try to avoid them by doing some research, regardless of how you book’.

 

[Jakke]

Sorry about your bad experience. To me this seems like the best thing to learn:


Regarding this conclusion:

If you had booked the same hotel directly, would your experience there have been better? I don’t really see how ‘don’t book through Booking’ is the takeaway from this. More ‘some hotels aren’t good and try to avoid them by doing some research, regardless of how you book’.

I don't disagree, but together with the other lessons, the answer is a resounding yes. I would not have called them.

 

[Jakke]

General advice. When you feel the need to book through a third party do take a look at some Google reviews of the place ( or Tripadvisor and the likes ).

Though you can't blame the staff of the hotel not knowing about the Camino Catalan.It is not such a popular Camino to begin with plus the average guest is not a pilgrim.

Even reading the Booking feedback would have stopped me in my tracks.

Hmm.. Hard to believe. The camino is close to that place and we were not the only pilgrims. This comes under the heading of "promises, promises" (I let you know tomorrow).

 

[Jakke]

Sorry about your bad experience. To me this seems like the best thing to learn:


Regarding this conclusion:

If you had booked the same hotel directly, would your experience there have been better? I don’t really see how ‘don’t book through Booking’ is the takeaway from this. More ‘some hotels aren’t good and try to avoid them by doing some research, regardless of how you book’.

My reaction is to booking's attitude.

 

[SabsP]

Even reading the Booking feedback would have stopped me in my tracks.

Hmm.. Hard to believe. The camino is close to that place and we were not the only pilgrims. This comes under the heading of "promises, promises" (I let you know tomorrow).

You do not have to convince me of the " system " of bookingdotcom . Many times I expressed my opinion here about their businessplan and how they are handling labourlaws and ( not ) paying taxes.

 

[auburnfive]

It is crucial to read the reviews, preferably by date. Reviews by other pilgrims are the most helpful.

 

[trecile]

And look at all the pictures, especially to see what they leave out!

 

[Stephan the Painter]

A few weeks ago I was in a hurry (mistake nr. 1), reserving accommodation. I used booking.
On my next camino I will contact the accommodation directly. Gronze gives the needed info.

I think there are some destinations where low-priced hotels are often substandard, and Barcelona is one of those cities. It's just an expensive place to stay. I had a lousy experience in Barcelona as well, although not as bad as you.

The worst hotel I stayed in in Spain, though, was just outside of Barcelona in Tarragona. I think some of the other rooms were being rented by the hour.

Take the time to leave a few nasty reviews wherever you can, it can really make a difference. It hurts or forces a hotel to improve its service.

Although it sounds like your big mistake was to choose a place with such a low rating. At least you won't make that mistake again! Hope the rest of your Camino went well!

 

[trecile]

Take the time to leave a few nasty reviews wherever you can, it can really make a difference. It hurts or forces a hotel to improve its service.

And please also review places where you had a good experience.

 

[Former member 104756]

And please also review places where you had a good experience.

I agree @trecile I think generally, unfortunately, many people are more likely to leave a review when they've had a bad experience - hotels, restaurants, tradespeople, any business ... Putting bookingdotcom aside, these days small businesses can live or die by their reviews on google, trip advisor etc

 

[Stephan the Painter]

@Pelerina @trecile
Well, I don't know about other people, but I review most of the accommodations I stay at if I booked it online.

And most of the time I leave good reviews because most places are decent or better. Sometimes outstandingly so. Although I scour through reviews and photos before I book. The big online reservation companies usually make that really easy.

But in bigger cities where I've stayed in Spain, like Barcelona, Madrid, or Sevilla, nicer rooms are just more expensive, and that's when I've had problems.

 

[lt56ny]

Sorry about your bad experience. To me this seems like the best thing to learn:


Regarding this conclusion:

If you had booked the same hotel directly, would your experience there have been better? I don’t really see how ‘don’t book through Booking’ is the takeaway from this. More ‘some hotels aren’t good and try to avoid them by doing some research, regardless of how you book’.

I agree, sometimes I look at the bookings reviews, I always check gronze.com reviews. I try to call when possible to book as sometimes you can get better rates calling directly. Also Booking takes 15% commission. I also can't see how you can blame the website for your bad experience.

I did not read the feedback or make note of the "grade". It was 6 (out of ten) then, now it is 5,9. Lesson: anything under 7 should be left alone - even by pilgrims.

I think that Booking is a really good place to get an idea of how good a bad a place is. Not always but usually. You know know that anything under a 7 and preferably an 8 rating should not even be considered, if possible. I do not know how much time you spent researching but I know that there are high quality hostels that are rated 8+ that I have stayed in when I have been in Barcelona that are in the same price range as the place you stayed.

 

[Former member 104756]

Agree, and when I read reviews, I sort from newest first (that is not typically the default). Sometimes a property might improve its facilities and service - updates, new management, response to feedback - but it takes time for the rating to catch up. The reverse is also true.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Agree, and when I read reviews, I sort from newest first (that is not typically the default). Sometimes a property might improve its facilities and service - updates, new management, response to feedback - but it takes time for the rating to catch up. The reverse is also true.

That's exactly what I do. I want to know what it was like last week, not the great review they got two years ago! We're probably not alone.

I think a lot of times that default is sorting the most favorable reviews at the top. Because they want you to book.

But reviews are really difficult anyway. People have different expectations. Accommodations can get reviews from their friends. That's actually what I was told to do when I was considering Airbnbing a space. Your friends book a room, leave a great review, and then you give them back the money.

 

[Keith H]

Hmm.. Hard to believe. The camino is close to that place and we were not the only pilgrims. This comes under the heading of "promises, promises" (I let you know tomorrow).

The Camino is really not a thing in Barcelona. 5m tourists visit here every year and the number of pilgrims is not even a rounding error sadly.

 

[henrythedog]

I generally ‘filter out’ accommodation reviews if they come from countries with a generally higher expectation of service or facilities than is prevalent in Spanish budget accommodation.

(He types whilst looking vaguely west.)

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

(He types whilst looking vaguely west.)

Really? I don't think that description fits the Irish.