Booking.com Reviews 

Booking.com warning
⚠️ THINK TWICE BEFORE BOOKING WITH BOOKING.COM!
My £325 flight was cancelled by the airline because of war.
TWO MONTHS of hassle, hours of my time wasted.
Today I received £320.84, hello?!
After all that, what happened to the £4.16?
✈️ Booking.com, booking.con.

Had a frustrating time trying to cancel my reservation, as it wasn't clearly stated in the policy. The selection of hotels was impressive, and I found a great deal on a last-minute booking. The booking process itself was straightforward and easy to navigate.

We booked an apartment in Santa Monica through Booking.com, and it turned out to be a complete nightmare.

When we arrived, we discovered several posters displayed throughout the hallways and elevators indicating that short-term rentals were not allowed in the building. On top of that, the apartment was extremely dirty and clearly had not been properly cleaned before our arrival.

The experience was so unpleasant that we decided to leave after just one night.

I immediately filed a complaint with Booking.com and have since explained the situation multiple times to different customer service representatives. Despite all my efforts, nothing has been resolved. Now they don't even answer my phone calls or respond to my messages.

Booking.com's customer service has been absolutely unacceptable. There is no accountability, no proper communication, and no willingness to help customers when something goes wrong.

I strongly recommend avoiding this property and being extremely cautious when booking through Booking.com. Based on my experience, their customer service deserves ZERO stars!

My wife has used Booking for several years (she was Genius level) with good luck, but we had never had an issue we needed help with, once we did, it was very dissapointing. We booked a hotel through booking.com this summer near Mount Ranier in Washington, and when we arrived the hotel was boarded up with a Fire Marshal closure notice, along with a notice from the owner saying to contact the site we booked through to get a refund. We contacted Booking and they refused to refund our money. They said it was because we did not contact them during the two hour checkin window (there was no cell service, and no available phone at the boarded up hotel. We did eventually get the charge reversed by disputing the charge with our Credit Card company, but we won't be using booking again.

I am extremely disappointed with Booking.com's handling of my car rental reservation in Trabzon, Turkey.

I paid KWD 46 for a three-day rental. When I arrived at the rental counter with my family, the rental company refused to provide the vehicle because I had my official Kuwaiti digital driving licence rather than a physical card.

I immediately contacted Booking.com customer support while standing at the rental counter. Despite the delays and inconvenience, no solution was provided. I was left without a vehicle, forced to pay for taxis, and my family holiday was disrupted.

The most shocking part came later.

During a conversation with Booking.com customer support, their representative told me that they had encountered this exact problem with Kuwaiti digital driving licences before.

If Booking.com already knew about this recurring issue, why did it continue accepting bookings from affected customers without providing a prominent and specific warning?

Instead of taking responsibility or offering a reasonable solution, Booking.com referred to its cancellation policy and offered me only USD 35 against my original payment of KWD 46.

I did not voluntarily cancel my reservation. I arrived on time, attempted to collect the vehicle, and was refused by the rental supplier.

I understand that Booking.com refers to its terms and conditions, but this does not address its apparent prior knowledge of a recurring issue affecting customers.

I am demanding a full refund of KWD 46 and a proper investigation into why this known issue was not clearly communicated before payment.

I strongly urge other customers, especially those travelling with Kuwaiti digital driving licences, to verify the supplier's document requirements before booking.

Booking.com, I expect accountability, transparency, and a fair resolution—not another generic response repeating your cancellation policy.

People take high notice to this information. !!!

If you ever buy insurance for your traveling ,be aware off that , before you can claim your refund you must cancel your booking at booking.com
This means that you now are without a booking and without the money you paid for it , then you send your booking cancelation to the insurance company, if they accept your claim you are lucky, if not ,we'll then you are standing without the money and without the booking .

It's a total scam and hustle game , me and my brother lost 2000€ to this account. We where supposed to fly to Thailand, but something health/finance problematic accured, the agent from booking.com told us that if we want to cancel the booking and claim a refund we must send the cancelation confirmation to the insurance company, ( Xcover) which is exactly what we did,but the agent never hinted that this would become a 50/50 % risk. He off course knew this but decided to stay quiet because they saw this as a perfect free money opportunity. Its totally shocking how they operate, and even after all these years off using this platform and all that money spend ,and loyalty shown, they didn't even offer a voucher.

They offered me a refund for half of my flight that had been changed. I specifically asked that they not cancel the other half of the flight. (I planned to rebook the changed half with a different airline). I just got an email that said I would get half my money back but my entire trip was cancelled. Where did the rest of my money go? And why were my instructions completely disregarded? Now I have only half my money and no trip at all.

Dear Booking.com Customer Service Team,

I am writing to make a formal complaint about my unacceptable experience at Sterling The Golden Lion Hotel, which I booked through Booking.com.

The condition of this hotel is completely unacceptable. The room is freezing cold, bath is mining smelling and the Wi-Fi, which was advertised as an available facility on Booking.com, is not working at all. We have been in the room for approximately one hour, and it is still extremely cold.

What makes this situation even worse is the complete lack of concern from the reception staff. Despite explaining the problems, they have shown little interest in resolving the situation. I requested a refund so that I could leave the hotel and find alternative accommodation, but my request was refused.

I booked this accommodation through Booking.com based on the information provided on your platform. The actual experience does not meet the expectations set by the advertised facilities, and I should not be forced to pay for a room that is cold, has no working Wi-Fi, and is accompanied by such poor customer service.

I am requesting an immediate full refund and your urgent assistance in resolving this matter. I expect Booking.com to take responsibility for the accommodation advertised on its platform and to provide a satisfactory solution.

This experience has completely destroyed my confidence in Booking.com. I will never book a hotel through your platform again if this is how customers are treated when things go wrong. I will also share my experience with others and advise people to think carefully before using Booking.com.

It is deeply disappointing that a company of Booking.com’s size allows customers to be left in such unacceptable conditions without proper assistance.

Please treat this complaint as urgent and respond with a clear resolution regarding my refund.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Kind regards,

[Can Akkaya]
Booking Reference Number 5927164163
Stirling The Golden Lion Hotel

PLEASE ANYONE THAT CAN HELP US GET OUR REFUND PLEASE REACH OUT.

We had a reservation through the website and it was linked to an Airbnb (50 Shades of Athens, Kingsize Suite with Jacuzzi!) When we arrived to the property the unit had a smell, no parking and was not clean. Most importantly there was no hot water. We reached out to the owners and informed them of our issues and told them we couldn’t stay in a unit without hot water. We booked for 4 nights and only stayed one night and moved to a better hotel with hot water that didn’t require instructions. We told them we were leaving that night of arrival and informed them the next day that we can come back to the property and show them the unit had no hot water. We are not electrician to have to take instructions on how to make the hot water work in a unit we paid over $500. We kept texting them and they never agreed to come help us find a resolution. We complained to Booking.com and they were very unprofessional, they kept hanging up the phone on us and all the staff has different responses to our issues. One thing that remained consistent is they said the owner needs to approve the refund. How can you stay in a place with no hot water and theres no policy in place for emergency refunds. Light and hot water are NECESSITIES. Booking.com is very unprofessional and I would not recommend anyone to book from them.

Have been using for years until recently and will never use again. This service partners with horrible hotels and do NOTHING when there's horrible customer service/unacceptable living conditions. We had a horrible booking, with evidence of bed bugs and an expectionally loud ac unit (couldn't be drowned out with white noise). They sided with the hotel and refunded us $11 and change... we had to spend double to stay somewhere we could sleep that was safe and quiet enough to sleep (and we've stayed in some questionable places)

Booked a hotel, the hotel was closed on arrival and had been for months.
Took multiple phone calls lasting over an hour to get the initial refund of the place, on most occasions it would be delayed by them with an offer to call back, which they never did. When on hold, they would cancel the call, resulting in you having to call again. Emails left unanswered and on every time you contact, a claim made that the evidence submitted was not with them.
Quite clear attempts to avoid repayment, and left with money owed to us for the cost, it is now two months later and I have spent over 12 hours on the phone.
Confirmation number: 538714905410563061

Zero customer service. When you eventually managed to find how to contact a human they are unhelpful and cannot solve the problem. Booked a BA flight through booking.com which was subsequently cancelled by BA however trying to get a refund via booking.com was near an impossible and is still not sorted. You go round and round in circles with multiple different agents and still don’t get an answer. Cancelled my accommodation as well due to the terrible customer service. Would never use again.

I specifically chose to book a Viva Aerobus flight through Booking.com instead of directly with the airline because Booking.com advertised that taxes and fees were included. The airline was actually offering a cheaper ticket, but I trusted Booking.com's advertised pricing.

I paid $806.53, including $234.59 in taxes and airline fees. My confirmation explicitly stated, "Includes taxes and fees."

After booking, Viva Aerobus presented an additional $114 in charges: $57 for a Mexican tourism tax and another $57 for an unexplained fare difference, despite no changes being made to the reservation.

Here's where it gets ridiculous.

I contacted Booking.com to ask whether the tourism tax was included in the $234.59 they collected. They couldn't tell me. They said the airline hadn't given them access to that information.

I asked for an itemized breakdown of the taxes and fees. They couldn't provide one.

I asked about a full refund because I felt the pricing was misleading. They couldn't even tell me the cancellation policy for the ticket they sold me!

Every question was met with another apology and instructions to contact the airline.

How does a company sell you a ticket, collect hundreds of dollars in taxes and fees, and then claim it cannot explain those charges or even access the cancellation policy?

I understand that Booking.com is a third-party travel agency, but that shouldn't excuse a complete lack of transparency or accountability.

I feel misled by the advertised pricing, and the customer service experience only made things worse.

I've requested a formal review and refund, but so far, I've received no meaningful resolution.

My advice: Book directly with the airline whenever possible. At least you'll know who is responsible when something goes wrong.

One star. Extremely disappointing.

I have been using Booking.com for many years, I have Genius Level II status. Recently a hotel cancelled a reservation I made without explanation, without notice. I was just lucky that I check frequently. When I went to rebook, the cost went from $150 to $400. I called customer service and they said it was because of something in my booking history. They would not tell me more, said it was confidential. Why give me level II status if I've done something wrong. They just wouldn't explain. Now I'm afraid to book anything because I don't want to end up in Vietnam only to find out my booking was cancelled or something.

I am extremely disappointed with Booking.com. I submitted a negative review of Swissôtel Al Maqam Makkah twice, including photographs to support my concerns, and both reviews were removed. When I contacted Booking.com, I was told to submit it again, but the link keeps redirecting me to a page to book another room instead of allowing me to write a review. This is frustrating and raises serious concerns about transparency and fairness. I simply want the opportunity to share my honest experience, just like any other customer. If my review breached any rules, I deserve a clear explanation rather than being sent around in circles. Customers rely on honest reviews to make informed decisions, and negative feedback should not be made unnecessarily difficult to publish.

Had to cancel a trip due to 3 weather warnings, place we had booked called Oban Apartments wouldn’t even offer a voucher or change the dates.

Pure greed, booking.com absolutely no help at all, they dont give a dam they’ll get their commission.

Sorry t say l’ll never use the platform again and for sure i wont use the Oban Apartments for my next trip to Oban.

Stay away from Booking.com. I booked a hotel in India through them that turned out to be a complete scam and didn't even exist. Reached out to support multiple times but they basically ignored me and refused a full refund. They gave me 25 euros in credit instead, like I'd actually spend my own money with them again after getting scammed. Unbelievable.

Ma Sha Allah! Excellent Service with Caliph Travels!

I booked my Umrah package through Caliph Travels, organized by Ahmed Hassan, and the entire experience was amazing. Ahmed was incredibly kind, patient, and helpful throughout the whole journey. He was always ready to answer our questions and assist us whenever needed.

The flight was comfortable, the hotel was very nice, and all pickups were punctual and well-organized. Everything went smoothly, which made our Umrah journey even more special and stress-free.

I’m truly grateful to Ahmed Hassan and the entire Caliph Travels team for their excellent service. I would highly recommend Caliph Travels to anyone planning their Umrah.

JazakAllah Khair, Ahmed Hassan, for everything! May Allah bless you and reward you for your wonderful service.

Worst company ever! Our hotel in Abruzzo screwed us over, and booking.com assumed the hotel was right and I was wrong, without even asking me for my side of the story. Booking.com should be more neutral towards individual customers. NEVER AGAIN will I use booking.com for anything whatsoever. It's on a note right by my laptop now.

I requested a refund on September 23. Today is October 26, and one refund is STILL missing.

I’ve contacted customer service around 10 times. No traceable case number, no dedicated contact person, no direct email, no follow-up. Just a different agent every time. What a complete mess.

My father was seriously ill and desperately needed MY money, yet you couldn’t even be bothered to expedite my refund. Your lack of urgency and basic human consideration is disgraceful.

The frontline agents were polite. The real failure is your incompetent management and ridiculous after-sales system. Ten contacts and nobody takes responsibility. What the hell is wrong with your company?

Booking.com, if you can’t handle flight bookings properly, STOP SELLING THEM. Stick to hotels and stop making customers pay for your incompetence.

Over a month. Ten contacts. Still no refund. Absolutely disgraceful. Get your act together or get out of this business.