Scammed!
So, you look at Booking.com to find some ski accommodation and mull over the options. This accommodation you are told only has ONE two bedroom apartment left. You read the general description, "With mountain views, Appartement Schönfeld has accommodation with a kitchen set in Saalbach Hinterglemm. The accommodation has a sauna.
Fitted with a balcony, the units feature a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom with bath or shower. A dishwasher and microwave are also available, as well as a coffee machine.
At the apartment guests are welcome to take advantage of a sauna."
Oooh, they've mentioned the sauna twice. A hard sell maybe, but it has worked. Yes that is definitely worth spending a bit more for. At least it would be if it existed! As it transpires, it is only two of the unavailable apartments (which don't show up on the site when they are unavailable so the customer is none the wiser) that have access to a sauna. So why do they mention it as a general feature in their general overview as if it such a facility were available to all guests? Yes, that's right....it sucks you in and makes you part with your money! That;s the reason they do it. To draw people in.
So what do you do? At first you ask the owner (Ms Oberdammer) about it and she pretty much accuses you of not being able to read! Charming! Then you take a screenshot to show her the problem and she changes her tune. She tries to blame booking.com...but actually she is pulling the same scam on a number of different booking platforms. She says she "feels sorry for you" but can only offer her apologies. That is all!
Then you try to explain that this general description forms part of your legal contract and she needs to do something to resolve it. Well this makes her throw her teddy out! She tells me she is "upset", says she was going to do something (funny that this is the first time she mentions this) but my email (which simply reminds her of her legal obligations) has left her not motivated to do this....and she refuses to engage with me further on the matter. What kind of response is this? Well, my credit card company has been informed. Pictures taken of the apartment (which is downright basic and ill-equipped for the money anyway. Indeed I have never been in such an ill-equipped self catering apartment! Two cooking rings, no oven, no icebox in the fridge, no small cooking knives, a blunt and useless vegetable peeler. Wine glasses but no corkscrew to open a bottle of wine. Some sharp broken razor blade thing in the cutlery draw on which I cut my fingers when reaching for a teaspoon....Oh and strictly just four of everything - no spare crockery or cutlery.) I guess greedy people who want to make as much money as then can provide only what they can minimally get away with...oh and to make sure that they make a bit more, they lie about the general features of their accommodation when those general features do not exist. Well we'll see what the lawyers have to say shall we Ms Oberdammer? You have scammed the wrong person!