Compared with other hotels which were bustling with people, it was not an understatement to say that I-DO Hotel was deserted without a soul in sight.
“It’s considered normal here, Miss. Our hotel is a five-star hotel after all, and not many people who visit Summerbank are willing to splurge on a luxurious stay here. Besides, our hotel is in a rather secluded location. Miss, I don’t suppose that you’ve seen a five-star hotel being crowded with people. Am I right?”
The receptionist explained the phenomenon that Vivian found odd, but she found her explanation quite viable.
“Yes, the ones we’ve seen crowded with people were not five-star hotels, I suppose.” Vivian recalled the hotels that she had seen on the way here. Even though the hotels looked decent, they were not five-star hotels as advertised online.
“Yes, that’s why our hotel is not as crowded as you’d expect, Miss.” The receptionist managed a reassuring wide smile, a standard smile that a receptionist would give customers.
“Please book a deluxe suite for three nights, then.” Vivian handed over her card to the receptionist.
“Sure.” The receptionist gave Vivian another smile and proceeded with the booking.
“It’s done. Your room number is 55218,” said the receptionist as she handed over Vivian’s card back to her.
“Mommy, are you sure you want to stay here?” Larry asked, as he found the place to be quite peculiar.
However, he could not seem to pinpoint what was wrong.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with this place?” Vivian asked, well aware of what was on her son’s mind.
She was planning on staying at a different hotel if I-DO Hotel was not to Larry’s liking.
Since Summerbank was a tourist hotspot, it would not be difficult to look for a place to stay.
“It’s fine.” Even though Larry found the place to be quite strange, he did not detest the idea of staying there. Besides, it would be troublesome to look for another place to stay anyway.
“Alright, then let’s take a look at our room since we’ve already gotten the card.”
Vivian had browsed through the different types of rooms the hotel offered online, and she had found all the rooms aesthetically pleasing.
Hence, she was excited to see how the room that she had booked would turn out.
Vivian found the wooden floorboards that creaked under her steps reassuring and pleasing.
The moment she opened the door to the room, a pungent smell filled their noses.
It was apparent that the room had not been occupied for some time.
Stumped at the sight of the interior of the room, Vivian shrieked, “What the hell?”
The photos she had seen online were a far cry from the actual room that she had booked.
Vivian found the dirty floorboards, dusty desks, and repulsive odor repugnant, to say the least.
There was even red underwear hung over the lamp…
The woman was rendered speechless.
Why is there such a huge discrepancy between the actual hotel stay and the photos?
I should have read the reviews before deciding to come here.
I don’t think that the underwhelming crowd is due to this hotel being a five-star hotel either.
How is this labeled as a five-star hotel on the Internet anyway?
However, Vivian knew that some devious businessmen would actually collude with review sites online to falsely advertise their business.
This hotel was the perfect illustration of a fake advertisement between the hotel owner and the booking site that Vivian was on.
Besides, there had to be more victims like Vivian out there.
Vivian could not be blamed entirely in the matter anyway. Of course, she had not done due diligence in looking for a stay, but the booking site also had to take responsibility for being deceitful.
Furious, she dashed downstairs and demanded for an explanation from the receptionist. “I want to see the manager.”
Vivian could not help but wonder what kind of person would manage the hotel so poorly.
