Dukey

I agree with Ira that the overall experience will seem amusing in time; the "nightmare" may be more in the responses than in anything that happened to you in Europe.

ncounty

I agree with you Dukey.

It is perplexing that tourist info didn't know by looking at their address that it was in the very next suburb (it really was written that confusingly) and they did call the hotel for me....I had the phone number with me and it is surprising that the hotel person did not tell me simply how to get there but let me take a train about an hour away to Mendrissio Italy. They would not cancel the reservation which is why I went through all the effort into the evening to find them.

rogerdodger

It seems to me, that no matter what is being said, you refuse to accept the fact that you and you alone were responsible. Suck it up, be an adult and stop whining for goodness sake.

NeoPatrick

"(it really was written that confusingly)"

Well then it must have been the way you copied it. If you had simply printed off the description from the website, it couldn't have been clearer.

"In rather bold letters right after the name it states 9.2 km from Lugano, and then in bold letters as well it says Lavena Pont Tresa (Varese) Italy."

What part of that is "really written that confusingly"??????

Sorry, I give up.

yipper

Hi,

I think people are being insensitive. Indeed you misunderstood the booking location, but the fact that no one on the phone made it clear how close you were is odd and frustrating. I think you lost a nights' logging money, but more importantly, how frustrating to travel around all day and not find your hotel. I am sure this will not happen to you again and it is a lesson to all, to print out directions.
Yipper

NeoPatrick

yipper, I don't think anyone is being insensitive to the idea that it was a horrible experience. But several of us are taking issue that the poster seems to take absolutely NO responsibility for failing to get directions, print out the address as shown on the website, look up the location, get directions in advance from the hotel, or any of the other steps necessary to avoid such problems. If the poster had posted this situation and said "I've learned to check out the location in advance for next time" -- then no one would be taking issue with anything.

janisj

No one was the least bit insensitive.

Something like &quot;<i>what a dumb a**, showing up in the wrong town in the wrong country!!</i>&quot; -- now THAT would be insensitive.

Most every one have comiserated, but the OP is really the ONLY one at fault here. No website or listing of that hotel says it is IN Lugano. It is clearly on Lake Lugano in Italy. The OP neglected to do even in tiniest bit of research -- like looking at a map or reading the hotel's description. He seems to blame everyone - but himself.

tomassocroccante

To be fair, the OP was merely mistaken and inexperienced. (Even if you have a lot of miles behind you, if everything has always gone smoothly before you can become a little complacent.)

Lots of good suggestions from folks. OP's problem, though, was exacerbated by unclear and misleading directions on the day of the problem (good directions would have made it all a non-event.) It is VERY easy to be led astray by &quot;helpful&quot; people who don't actually understand the question or who think they know what they don't! We've all probably overheard someone giving bad directions to a lost soul ...

There are people, I'm sure, who end up buying tickets to the wrong city if they're not careful or don't know there are similar spellings, or various names. Just as easy is giving a cab driver a street name that is quite LIKE the place you want to go ... but on the opposite side of town. It happens.

I agree, OP has no recourse. But shouldn't feel badly, either. We live and learn - or not.

chicagolori

Am I the only neurotic one that prints out detailed maps of each of my destinations and writes down addresses on post it notes to hand to cab drivers or others whom may not understand english?

Maudie

No chicagolori, you are not alone. I also made small copies of maps and addresses that we both carried in case we got separated or lost.

tomassocroccante

&lt;&lt;I drove a taxi while at college. A German passenger thought he was in Appleton, Oregon...instead he was in Appleton, Wisconsin. &gt;&gt;

That makes being lost a few miles from your hotel look like good navigating!

Songdoc

I feel for the OP. I agree that he had the responsibility to know the location of, and directions to his hotel--and that the hotel is not responsible. But we all make mistakes -- and that seems like it must have been horribly frustrating.

But ... it reminds me of a crazy situation I had a few years ago. Posters on this and other boards assured me I'd have &quot;no trouble&quot; getting the short distance from the train station in Civitavecchia to the cruise ship. I could either take the shuttle bus -- or walk the &quot;easy ten minute trek&quot; to the cruise terminal.

In Rome, I'd been extra careful to write my request for two train tickets to my destination and hand it to the agent. We had no trouble finding the train and getting to our destination. But once in Civitavecchia, NO ONE seemed to speak a word of English and I couldn't figure out where to get the shuttle.

After waiting and waiting, we gave up on the shuttle and decided to walk -- following the other (non-English-speaking tourists) heading toward the signs marked &quot;Porto.&quot;

It was at least 90 degrees and we were dragging heavy suitcases on wheels ... on cobblestone streets. One by one, the other tourists veered off, heading to hotels. The &quot;ten minute&quot; walk had now stretched into at least thirty, but at least we could now see the cruise ship in the distance.

Um, er ... the only problem was that it seemed IMPOSSIBLE to get to it! To make a very long story short ... we wandered lost for more than an hour on deserted docks before we finally found a dock worker who could point us to the ship (that we could see all along!!!). It seemed like we'd fallen into the Twilight Zone and we were beginning to panic, thinking we might miss the boat.

Another forty-five minutes later we were among the very last people to get onto the ship -- drenched in sweat, exhausted, and as frustrated as I've ever been.

The moral ... get as detailed info as you can and be prepared ... but sometimes, s*** happens anyway

nytraveler

There was someone who came from Ausralia, I believe, who ended up in Portland OR rather than Portland ME (since perhaps the web site he bought the ticket on didn't have a warning that there were 2 Portlands in the US).

And I read another story about someone buying tickets in Rome and ended up in Genova (Genoa) Italy instead of Geneva (Switzerland.)

The answer seems very simple - check everything before putting your money down.

And I can't imagine heading to europe without a map of each city with the location of the hotel marked on it. (SO you have planned out by what means to get from your arrival site to the hotel.)

And how many questions do we have here about what's the best way to get from the airport to this or that hotel? Did ncounty even consider how he would get from the train station (?) to the hotel? Did he just assume he would walk? Or find a bus?
Or?

I realize an inexperienced traveler may not think about all these things. But - when I first started to travel I knew there was a lot I didn;t know- and so asked the extra questions - and tried to get as much advance info as possible (as in faxing hotels for directions).

Another problem is having someone else do the calling. Why not call the hotel directly and get the info? Then you know there's no confusion about where you are. Perhaps the people in the hotel thought you were IN Mendrissio.

I really think the only lesson to be learned here is - get all your ducks in a row before you leave.

specs

Yep. Before you leave get the ducks in a row, and also prepare for foul-ups and fowl weather.

Belledame

I think it's important to note that things could just as easily have gone the other way. That is, luck could have steered you toward happy accidents that got you to your original hotel.

I once wanted to go to Cherry Hill, New Jersey from Manhattan. I assumed it was just across the river like Hoboken and Jersey City. Called NJTransit to ask how to get there by train. Well, I just missed the train (a 4-hour ride) and having no ticket I went to Amtrak. Turns out Amtrak had a 1-hour express train to Philly leaving an hour later. Who knew Cherry Hill is a suburb of Philadelphia?! On arriving to Philly I learned there would be a train to Cherry Hill for $2.50 fare, OR I could catch a cab and be there in 20 minutes. The cab cost about $15, and the time saved was well worth it.

Sometimes the wheel is working for you and sometimes it ain't.

jewela

ncounty:
Hopefully, you enjoyed the rest of your vacation, and found your new hotel to be comfortable. I am sympathetic to your situation, but I have to agree with the others. The hotel info was clearly stated on the bookings.com website. I doubt that you'll get a refund since you did not cancel the booking when you called. Look at it as an adventure.

nanabee

I have nothing to add, but this is a great cautionary tale.

There are so many things we take for granite in our country that foreigners would not understand and vice versa.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy from Australia who ended up in Portland, OREGON instead of Maine.
Wow, what a shocker.

IMO Portland Oregon is a great vacation spot anyway!!

Always good to chock it up to experience. Thanks for sharig.

madameX

I usually don't feel the need to &quot;pile on,&quot; but I join so many others to point out that ncounty just didn't do the homework that a traveler should -- he/she needs convincing. Learn from this unfortunate event: (1) use the many suggestions offered by Fodorites to clearly plan your stay; (2) if you get lost, the question to your hotel should be: &quot;What's the best, quickest, easiest way to get there?&quot; (3) If you aren't going to make it to the hotel, call to let them know. They still may need to charge you for a room night (it really isn't their fault that you didn't do your homework, especially when the information was clearly on the website. You may not have used their services, but they may have lost the opportunity to rent the room for the night.)

But as others have shown, mistakes can happen if travelers don't check the detals. OFten enough, I hear stories about how disappointed people were that Bermuda &quot;isn't as warm as the rest of the Carribean.&quot; Just because travel websites often bundle Bermuda properties with the CArribean listings doesn't absolve visitors from checking exactly where they are going.

basingstoke2

ncounty, I had a very similar experience. Arriving in Israel I gave the taxi driver the address of my hotel in Jerusalem - at least that is what the travel agent wrote. The driver said he never heard of that street in Jerusalem but drove there anyway. We spent some time hunting around and then the driver said he was sure the hotel and street actually were in Tel-Aviv. He was right of course. Amazingly, he did not charge extra - just for what the trip should have been if the city had been correct. Said it was his fault for listening to me.

flanneruk

Why do so many of you feel obliged to show sympathy with this self-pitying, misleading person who expects other peole to fork out for his or her incompetence?

The poster didn't read the website properly. He or she is trying to mislead us by claiming &quot;the hotel doesn't exist&quot;. And, to add downright greed to foolishness most of us would want to keep quiet about, seriously fantasises he or she has the right to get money back from the hotel because of his or her failure to honour the contract.

It takes a lot to get me to sympathise with hotels. Ncounty has achieved it.

Instead of this pussyfooting &quot;ah poor you&quot; nonsense, you all ought to be campaigning for self-appointed victims like this to be banned from travel.

Remember, every second of management time the unfortunate hotel or credit card company wastes dealing with this sponger's demands for &quot;compensation&quot; (ie money the poster doesn't deserve) is a cost we honest travellers have to pick up.