Most overrated hotel you've stayed in?
 

Saw a smiliar thread in the U.S. site and would love to hear if this has happened to others.
Five years ago on a trip to the U.K., we stayed at the 5-star Shellbourne Hotel in Dublin (the one and only time Fodor's has steered me wrong!). It was the pits! For a rate of over $300 a night, we were shown to a room not much bigger than a walk-in closet - my husband, the bellman and I could not all fit in this room at once and we are not large people. The "view" was of a desolate inner courtyard covered in scaffolding and painters' tarps - we even took a picture so people at home would believe us. When we said this room was just not acceptable (something we had never done in any hotel before this), we were "upgraded" to s suite for $75 more a night, making the nightly tab $400. The floor in the suite was so slanted that you could roll an object from the bedroom to the living part - it was scary as was the creaky old elevator.
The main hotel restaurant was closed for renovation, leaving the only on-site eating place a faux 1950s diner off the lobby that was completely out-of-place in a "luxury" hotel in Dublin, Ireland. The snippy front desk staff refused to cash a traveler's check and sent us, late at night, outside to a bank a block away to use the ATM. I know I am going on and on but I was so disappointed and the experience ruined our Dublin stay. Every other accomodation on our UK trip was first-rate as were all the people we met.
Anyone else have this kind of horror story? (It would make me feel better - thanks!)

I suppose if this really was the "only" time you've been steered wrong by a guidebook you're pretty fortunate. And I know that once you're in a place, as bad as it may be, it sometimes seems like less of a hassle to just grin and bear it for the length of stay as opposed to trying to find accommodations elsewhere.
I think you could have easily made a case for some sort of price break but that's always dicey. Wish I could offer more than condolences but what I am also wondering is if you got "recommendations" for the place on this board as well as the guidebook. If you did then it just goes to prove that "luxury" and "quality" and "great" and "bad" remain very subjective terms. Am sure others have had similar experiences but whether or not they'll admit to them is another matter entirely.

The Moghul Sheraton in Agra, India. This is supposedly a 5-star hotel, and although the rooms are elegantly appointed and spacious, the service is gets only 1 star from me. Every time I asked for something--coffee for coffee maker, bottled water, etc.--it was promised but never appeared. The staff actually asked me for tips. The man who delivered by laundry asked me for a $2 tip before he handed my shirts over. The worst was the prince from Dubai whose children ran up and down the hallways at 2 AM.

Intrepid: I usually try to read several guidebooks but, unfortunately, I did not know about this great website when I planned the UK trip. For my next trip (Sept. and Oct.), I have extensively used every part of this (including all your good advice, Intrepid) and other travel sites so I will let you guys know how it turned out.

That's too bad about your disappointment, but I think it's something we all run into sometime or another. After the first time it happened to us--forget the hotel, that's not the important bit--we developed a system that's worked pretty well for us.

Whenever we first visit a place, we do our research (of course) and choose as well as we can. Moderately priced. If we like the place, nothing will keep us from returning to further explore, and it is on our second and subsequent trips that we upgrade to the "splurge" category. We usually try to set aside some time in our sightseeing to scout out possibilities for the next trip, and it's become an enjoyable tourist diversion to us. Most hotelkeepers have no objection, providing you visit after check-out and before check-in, to showing you their accomodations. We've seen some fabulous places that way, and it ups the incentive to go back, if you know there's a great hotel waiting for you there.

My "overrated" example is the Marronniers in Paris. Praised to the skies practically everywhere.
Charming decor, surly front desk staff, but the important issue is that our room was minuscule by anyone's standards. For the price we simply thought it wasn't even close to being worth it, and we changed hotels to a better value place the next day.
For all I know we just happened to get the smallest room in the hotel and that all the others are wonderful, but we found it disappointing.

The Hotel Eden in Rome. $450/night with a corporate discount two years ago. Ah, the memories...

We felt like we were back in summer camp because when we laid down on the bed, it collapsed in the middle and the sides curled up around the edges.When we complained, they switched our rooms, but the new bed had springs coming through it. The third and final room of our four day stay, was slightly larger, but had an air conditioner that dripped all over the carpet, and couldn't seem to be fixed.

We went up to the roof restaurant, which had received so many favorable reviews, and were given a salad that had rotten fruits in it. Happily, the view over the rooftops of Rome, almost made the astounding $20 charge for the rotten fruit almost worthwhile!

Only slightly worse, a seedy bed and breakfast complete with dirty sheets on the island of Kauii that was overcome by a tidal wave a year after we visited!

Hotel Nebraska in Rome. 20 years ago and it seems like yesterday. It was highly recommended in some of the old guide books. The room was dirty and the only light bulb in the room was a red one. There was a Morrocino man outside our door who kept knocking and asking to come in! My friend and I made many calls down to the front desk and they only laughed at us. We slept standing up that night. Fortunately the next day, my father arrived in town and put us up at the Hassler.

The HOtel Europe in Avignon, but only the room. so tiny but I can't blame the hotel. I needed a room my last night to be near the TGV as I am not a morning person. And being alone as I stayed across the bridge in the hotel in my village, I'd never make the train on time. So when I was there for a drink I booked the room for the next night.

Elaine, I stayed in the Marronniers the first time Xmas of '89, and back then it had the same charm, miniscule rooms, etc., of course, but it was reasonably priced, and therefore, a real "little gem". I agree with what you say b/c today you don't get good value for the prices they charge.

The D'Angleterre in Copenhagen. Said to be the premier hotel in that city at that time, we found the room to be dreary and dusty. And they had no other room to move us to.

I second the Hotel Eden but it was $700. a night last summer. And we needed 2 rooms because we had our 2 teenage boys with us. It was awful.

The Anassa in Cyprus...
Far too expensive for what it is!

Elounda Beach in Elounda, Crete. A so-called 5 star Luxury Hotel of the World. I know they have new rooms in the hotel which are supposed to be fantastic but ours was very old fashioned indeed. Still had a 60s radio which didn't work. Ok, we had a jacuzzi and tv in the bathroom but the overall feel of the hotel is one which is stuck in a timewarp. Service was not very slick.