We traveled with a group of 5 people (2 children). Booked and paid for on Booking.com apartments for 2 nights (August 20-22, 2019), the estimated arrival time was indicated before 20.00. We were returning from Vienna, and due to the fact that the main highways in Poland were blocked, we spent more time on the road than we expected. Driving around the country roads, we could not contact the owners until 20.00 and warn them about the late arrival. At the same time, approaching the city, we tried to call the owners of the accommodation, but without success, the phone number listed on the booking site Booking.com was unavailable. Moreover, we sent an SMS message that remained unanswered. As the employee explained to us later Booking.com The owner has every right not to answer the phone after 20.00. What is the attitude towards customers who have already paid for accommodation for 5 people??? But that, as it turned out, was just the beginning.
Since we received a letter from the owners informing us of the check-in time from 15.00 and instructions for checking into the apartment, we were sure that we were "expected".
What was our amazement at what we saw when we opened the apartment door! It seemed that this was an unsuccessful prank by an unintelligent person or a quest called "Survive in an abandoned apartment in a strange city." The apartment was in terrible condition: dirty wet towels were scattered all over the space, the bed was disassembled and crumpled on all the beds, a torn newspaper was lying on the floor, the kitchen was filled with dirty dishes. None of us knew how to react, the children were terrified, there was a feeling of unreality of what was happening.
Pulling ourselves together, we immediately contacted Booking.com . After hearing arguments from the employee in defense of the homeowners, we sent photos of all this horror, we were promised that tomorrow morning we would be provided with new housing. However, since it was after midnight and the children were exhausted from the long journey, we realized that we would have to live this night in these conditions.
But the stages of the quest continued, now another one called "Find clean linen", which we failed miserably. There was only one sheet, 2 pillowcases and 2 towels for a company of 5 people!!!! At the same time, in a letter from Navy Group - Old Town Apartments, it was reported that bed linen and towels were prepared for us. They must have been well hidden in this mess so that we wouldn't find them.
Under these conditions, we had to "make" underwear out of our clothes. Naturally, sleep, especially for children, was disturbing, because we were not 100% sure that people who left the apartment in such a terrible state would not return at night. Moreover, we did not know what kind of contingent it was and how many of them there were.
Despite the fact that we wanted to stay in Gdansk for the whole day, in the morning everyone had an unequivocal decision to leave the city, which we informed Booking.com (indicating the need for a refund for the second day). It is worth noting that no one contacted us that day: neither Booking.com who promised to deal with the situation on the day of the incident and offer us alternative housing options, neither the owners of the ill-fated apartment, to at least apologize.
Currently, we have another task "Get your money back". Upon arrival, we wrote a letter Booking.com with a reminder of what happened and a demand for compensation for an unused night.
Three weeks later, the correspondence continues. Instead of promptly resolving the issue in the current situation, the booking service conducts correspondence in standard phrases, eventually agreeing on humiliating compensation for the inconveniences provided! Thus, Booking.com I estimated my reputation at 25 EUR!!!
With the last message, we were confronted with the fact that the accommodation facility refuses to refund the funds, while not arguing in any way. We have sent a letter to the owners of the apartments, to which we have not received a response.
Are the photos provided by us, clearly demonstrating the disgusting condition of the apartment, not enough to refund the money??? And this is taking into account the fact that we do not require full compensation, which would be logical in this situation!
We declare with all responsibility that Navy Group - Old Town Apartments are scammers who embezzled other people's money without actually providing ANY service.
At the same time, having not YET resolved the issue of a refund, the booking site Booking.com covers the fraudulent actions of Navy Group - Old Town Apartments and becomes an accomplice to their unscrupulous activities in all respects.