Booking.com Blew-It On My Reservation - Hostel Closed Upon Arrival, Then They Told Me 'You'll Have To Work It Out With Them'

Hostal Playa Candor

Av. De la Diputación 95

11520 Rota, Spain

Phone: +34 956 814 313

Prices: €€€€

I made the reservation through Booking.com and late arrival, 10PM, was acknowledged by the hostel. Upon arrival, they were obviously closed (no lights, no sign of life, no cars in the parking lot), so I assumed they had not updated their status during the COVID lockdown.       

I called their number at 21:47, just to be sure, and they didn't answer the phone, it rang 20 times before giving up. I have photos of the building and a screenshot of my phone call to prove what I say is true. What was I supposed to do, break through the bars on the windows or doors, knock down a door or break a window, and find a room to sleep in on my own?         

I contacted Booking.com the next day and sent the hostel a message because they claimed that someone had been there waiting for me and that I was a 'no-show'. They are running some type of a scam and I refuse to pay. The charge, € 35 ($ 43), in-fact appeared on my credit card, so I sent the photos to Booking.com , disputed the charge through my bank, and will file a fraud complaint with the Rota Police.

Screenshot says 8:47PM, but my phone was still on UTC (Potugal), so it's an hour behind Rota, Spain. The 9:42 at the top is the time I took the screenshot.

I finally gave up waiting for a closed hostel to open, having a medical appointment at Naval Air Station Rota early the next morning, so I was lucky enough to find a hotel just down the street, Hostal Macavi, which was obviously open and where I paid just € 30 / $ 36, for a very nice room. They were also very nice, professional, and kind, unlike Hostal Playa Candor. 

This is what the hostel, apparently, looks like when they are open 

(from their Facebook page). No comparison.

CombatCritic Gives Hostal Playa Candor 0 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My 'WALL OF SHAME' ... More Bombs Are Better! 

Zero Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp "GOLD" ELITE '14/'15/'16/'17/'18/'19/'20/'21 

• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

Da uma olhadela à avaliação de Hostal Playa Candor escrita por Chris S. no Yelp

Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Zomato - #1 Ranked "VERIFIED" CONNOISSEUR (13) - Over  4 Million Review And Photo Views ... And Counting - #1 Reviewer in Portland, Oregon!

Booking.com - Frequent Traveler "Genius"

Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube and our sister channel, CombatCounselor Chronicles, with Over 1,250 Subscribers and 1,000,000 Video Views ... HOOAH!

Title: Booking.com Blew-It On My Reservation - Hostel Closed Upon Arrival, Then They Told Me 'You'll Have To Work It Out With Them' 

Key Words: Booking.com, reservation, hostel, hostal, closed, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, hotel, accommodation, business, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

Copyright 2021- 3rd Wave Media Group And CombatCritic ™ - All Rights Reserved