Booked via Hotels - I book 100+ nights a year with them.
I turn up - and the place is like a childrens warzone. Nobody at reception - finally found a staff member after 10 minutes, who phoned for someone to come down.
Turns out all of the first floor is given over to asylum seekers - hence all the kids running around (the hotel is out of town, so there's not really anywhere for them to go). I am not against kids having a good time, or refugees - we have had two living in our house for nine months - but staying in a hotel where we wanted peace and quiet when it full of bored kids running around would not be my choice.
Which I explained to the receptionist when I asked if I could cancel without penalty - yes was the answer - apparently he understood our reasoning. So I booked another local hotel and we left.
The same day - there is one night's accommodation charged to my credit card.
I phoned hotels, it was remarkably difficult to get the sequence of events to be understood - but after he called the hotel - I am told the charge stands, as it was a condition on the booking.
Well, as far as I am concerned, I asked, as was told I could cancel without penalty. Plus - the hotel was misrepresented - whether that is the hotel's fault or that of Hotels.com I really don't care. If I had known ahead that I was booking into a cross between an asylum seekers hotel and a kids holiday camp - I would not have booked in the first place.
Seriously unamused with both the hotel, and Hotels.com