Warning: Unauthorised Charges & Major Security Concerns
The Stay:
Don't let the 4-star rating fool you. This is a very basic, standard 3-star experience at best. While the rooms were clean, the sound isolation was terrible. I could hear everything happening in the neighbouring rooms, which made for a very frustrating and restless stay.
The "Scam" (Billing & Security):
The most alarming part of my stay was the hotel's handling of my payment information. I had already pre-paid for my entire stay via Trip.com. Upon arrival, I used Apple Pay solely to pay for my parking.
At 4:00 AM on my fourth day, the hotel charged my card nearly £600 for the room stay—a stay I had already paid for. They charged me without my authorization, without me being present, and without ever informing me that the card used for parking would be kept on file for "incidental" or "automated" charges.
Major Red Flags:
Double Billing: They charged me for a room that was already paid for through a third party.
Privacy/Security Breach: I was never told my Apple Pay details would be stored or used for future transactions without my consent.
Standard Practice Ignored: Unlike every other hotel (from hostels to 5-star resorts), this hotel did not ask for a formal deposit or wait for checkout to settle the bill. They simply took the money in the middle of the night.
I was lucky enough to be awake to see the notification and go downstairs to dispute it immediately. If I hadn't noticed until after checkout, I can only imagine how hard it would have been to get my money back.
