The hotels with Fawlty websites

Tourists who thought they had booked a room with a view and ended up overlooking the car park can now get revenge - a travel website is inviting holidaymakers to shop hotels that don't deliver what they promise.

Niels Pederson, managing director of online reservations company Supranational Hotels, has set up a page devoted to the worst whoppers. Examples include:

  • "Luxury" rooms in an Amsterdam hotel that turned out to have only the most basic furniture, no bedspread and a 40-watt bulb;
  • A German hotel that claimed to be "close to the airport" but was an hour away;
  • Harbour views that could only be glimpsed from the bathroom window;
  • A fitness suite in a Nottingham hotel that was just two old rowing machines.

"It's crying out for the industry to get to grips with this and make it a bit more respected," said Mr Pederson.

"Everyone is trying to make their product sound more interesting, but you can't use superlatives which aren't justified. There should be no nasty surprises."

He said online booking made it easier for hotels to cheat, as "a travel agent could tell you what to expect before you booked".

Mr Pederson added: "Every year I find hotels move closer to an airport. Hotel websites are less correct than chain sites, which are less correct than international sites. They are trying to cheat, but they are bringing us closer to industries that don't have a good reputation. It's counterproductive - you lose a lot of trust."

For more information visit www.snrhotels.com.

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