A family faced a £1,000 bill after they turned up at Newport on the Isle of Wight for a holiday - only to discover they'd actually booked a stay in Newport in South Wales. Louise Turner, 37, spent £1,000 on a guesthouse she claims was listed for the island but she and her family were dismayed to realise it was 130 miles away.
This meant Louise and her husband Jose Pacheco, 46, were forced to stump up £1,000 for somewhere to stay - and are now looking for a refund. The mum-of-two says the mistake was made because the Welsh city was listed incorrectly online - under the Isle of Wight section.
Booking.com said it was sorry to hear of the family's disappointment, but it "would urge all customers to thoroughly check all details before confirming any reservation". And it insisted its details on the website were correct.
Louise, who lives in Norwich, Norfolk with Jose and their two children, said: "Despite the accommodation mix up and our horrible new hotel, we still had a nice holiday. I just wish this hadn't happened to us, it's not fair.
"It was this big rigmarole and now we are £1,000 down for the new accommodation. That's money we don't have and Booking.com aren't giving us our money back."
Louise, who does not work due to a disability, booked a cottage for their first week of their trip in summer 2021. She said she had also secured guesthouse for their second week in Newport - finding both by searching the area on Booking.com.
Leaving their first cottage in the morning of July 31, the family couldn't book into the guesthouse until 4pm that afternoon - so enjoyed a day walking around the island. Climbing into their car after a fun day of exploring, Louise entered the postcode from her booking confirmation - and was shocked when it directed her to Wales.
Louise said: "I totally freaked out. " She claims Booking.com admitted it was an error on the site by putting it in the wrong Newport area however the firm has since said its details were correct.
"It was late in the day, it was the middle of high season, we were just scrambling for somewhere to stay. But we were on a tight budget and Booking.com kept saying they'd refund us but not doing it," she said.
"We ended up borrowing money from my dad to stay in this horrible hotel which charged us £1,000 to stay for six nights. It was disgustingly dirty.
"There were cobwebs behind the couch, there was rusty cutlery in the drawer, and it smelt so bad that we had to eat out for every meal because we couldn't eat in there. But we were just desperate for somewhere to stay."
Louise has since been in talks with Booking.com, which she says has since changed the guesthouse to accurately appear in the Newport, Wales section. She added: "We only borrowed the money from my dad because we thought we were getting a refund from Booking.com but they've never done anything.
"They changed the listing on the website really quickly but they have never given us our money back, it's so wrong. We have never received a refund from either Booking.com or the guesthouse. It was this big rigmarole and now we are £1,000 down for the accommodation and more for the meals we had to eat out because the room smelt so bad that we did manage to find."
A spokesperson for Booking.com said: "At Booking.com our overarching aim is always to facilitate a smooth and enjoyable travel experience for our customers. We have looked into the reservation in question and have checked that all address details in the original listing were correct, including all of the information sent in the customers confirmation email, which confirmed the property details and location via a map.
"Though we were sorry to hear of the customers disappointment, we would urge all customers to thoroughly check all details before confirming any reservation."
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
