I was booked in at a Paris hotel … that had closed months ago

Hotels.com had assured me all was well but I arrived to find steel shutters over the doors

In February, I used Hotels.com to book a room for two nights at the Hotel Cambrai in Paris. I was required to pay the €180 cost up front and there was no refund if I cancelled. Shortly before my trip in August, I received emails from Hotels.com assuring me all was well and telling me to prepare for my trip. I arrived to find the hotel locked and steel shutters over the doors. On calling the number provided, all I got was a recorded message.

I returned two hours later and found the steel shutters partially raised. Inside, reception was bare and a man told me the hotel had closed down five months previously. I showed him my booking and he physically pushed me out of the door, telling me there had been a mistake and I would get a full refund. I began a long series of email exchanges in which Hotels.com insists it cannot offer a refund unless it talks to the hotel first … but it cannot get through as the hotel is not answering the phone. Worse, Hotel Cambrai is still available to book on the website. I have tried to post a review but it is being withheld. I cannot be the only person caught out.
IS, Colchester

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* This article was originally published here