Warning! Closed Budapest hotel lets you book a room!
Dozens of tourists arrive in Buda to realise that the hotel they had booked a room in is closed.
Hungarian tourism is recuperating little by little; however, it seems like the process might take longer for some working in the industry.
Domestic tourism takes off in Hungary
A strange situation happening every day in front of a hotel in Buda is causing some unexpected and uncomfortable moments for tourists.
The four-starred Hotel Carlton still accepts bookings through tourism agencies. However, when guests arrive, they are welcomed by an A4 piece of paper on the main entrance saying that the hotel is currently closed,
and they should call the number indicated below.
24.hu went to the scene to find out more. The news site managed to talk to some guests of a café situated in the proximity of the hotel in the district I. They say that tourists follow each other in staring at the entrance and the piece of paper and usually don’t know what to do. 24.hu called the given number. It belongs to the Eurostars Danube Budapest Hotel in Pest, kilometres away from Buda, on the other side of the river Danube. This hotel provides the booked rooms to guests who originally wanted to stay in Hotel Carlton.
A Portuguese lawyer Sandra Jorge had the same shocking and inconvenient experience upon arrival.
She booked through a tourism agency, and no one warned her about the situation.
Although Eurostars Danube Budapest Hotel knew about her booking and she received the room category she had paid for, the lawyer did not receive any information about the reasons as to why she was able to book a room in another hotel that is actually closed. Moreover, she did not receive any compensation.
Eurostars Danube Budapest Hotel says that
the pandemic forced them to close all their hotels, and the re-opening procedure was rockier than they had anticipated.
They managed to prepare Hotel Carlton and planned to open it in September, but for this purpose, they had to start marketing their rooms several weeks before the official opening day. That is how it could happen that many managed to book a room already. The main reason, as they say, is that most people book through a website or an agency, like booking.com, in which case they have no choice but to communicate with guests through this platform. Many guests receive the information late; some even miss reading it. This leads to the situation of finding themselves in front of a closed building. They also add that they appreciate all reservations, so they offer alternatives, like providing a room of the same category in another four-starred hotel of theirs. Nevertheless, booking a room and even transfer from the airport is available on the website of Hotel Carlton.
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Source: 24.hu, carltonhotel.hu