Trieste Hotel in Catania

The worst experience in my life.

I booked a single room in this hotel (room# 7 as I learned later) a couple of weeks before my vacation. Vacation was supposed to be only 4 days.

When I came into the hotel I was walked to my room #7. The room inside looks ok, but:

The window was sealed with plastic. So basically no windows inside. When I opened the window, there was another super dirty room there, that I just got scared to stay there.

The description of the room says that it has a view on the courtyard, but not on another dirty room. The feeling inside this room was as if I was in the cellar.

When you come to sunny Sicily, you expect to see the sun and not be locked inside a cellar.

In addition to that, the walls and doors are super thin and have no sound isolation.

I walked back to the administration and asked to be placed in another room. To what I was told that there are no rooms for the next 3 days. After that I asked if I could get the reimbursement for the room, because I just couldn't't stay there and, honestly, was scared to be there.

The owner after some time told me that he will return money and literally forced me to push cancel button on Booking com. I asked him multiple times if he will return me money. Even asked him to write an email to Booking com saying that he allows full refund. He wrote an email and showed to me, but it was in Italian (which I don't speak). It's my fault that I believe him, and didn't translate, but it also shows what a scam artist he is. I also how am I going ho have my money back. And he told me that everything will be through booking.com.

I went to another hotel and called and explained the situation to Booking.com and told them that he wrote and email that he allows full refund.

Fast forward a couple of hours, booking.com contacted the owner and he told them that he will not refund a dime.

I ran back to that hotel, he was not there, but I explained the situation again to another worker there. I stayed there for a while to get an appoy when I can come again to talk to the owner. Eventually they told me to come at 19.

I came back at 19, and they told me that they will return only part of the money, less than half. I had to pay for the first night and plus fees for booking.com.

Throughout the conversation they were gaslighting me that it was my fault that I chose a room with a courtyard view. (Again, I don't mind seeing other buildings, but I do mind a view on another dirty room and I also not having a window (sealed by plastic)). This gaslighting and arguing lasted for a hour or so, after which an owner told me that I can go to hell, if I dont want the money that they give.

I called to booking.com. but they were completely useless. And told me that I shouldn't have pushed the cancel button as now they can do nothing.

Eventually, I had to leave with less than half of the money. And of course they also stole one day of my vacation and ruined my vacation in general.

They are scammers, liers and thiefs.