There are these moments that I get spontaneous. Hotel promotions normally get me in that mood. This is what happened a month ago when we decided on a spontaneous weekend trip to Maastricht. It’s one of my favorite cities in the Netherlands (after Amsterdam for now). So a couple of days exploring some more wouldn’t hurt right?

I got online on a well-known booking website for hotels (did you get the clue?). Surprised as we were there was this great looking hotel with a promotion just for the weekend we had in mind. The suites looked so luxurious. On pictures that is! This isn’t an article to blame just one hotel, but this specific hotel is the trigger that got me writing this.

Not always believe the numbers that ‘should’ grade a hotel. This 8.2 rated hotel isn’t worth the room rate they ask for it. Even when it’s in promotion. The shower was broken, one window couldn’t close (hello noise and cold!), it wasn’t clean at all and the glasses where from the guests before us. I guess this isn’t the right idea when you think of a luxury suite.

Above all, the service could have been SO much better. When we addressed all the issues above their answer was: “I’m just the intern here, let me get in touch with my boss.” Which is fine if the boss would be able to reach or give us an explanation. We left the hotel with no further explanation from the intern. We called the hotel several times to get in touch with the so called boss, but there was never someone who could give us some more information or compensation. After 5 calls from our side we finally reached the person in charge. They worked out all the problems that we told them and were happy we told them. That’s it! How bad can your service be?

My point with this long epistle is that you should never blindly believe the reviews of a hotel. The numbers aren’t always a good reference for a hotel.

Q: What’s the worst service you’ve ever experienced?