The Best Western in Budapest, Hungary is on a street with extensive repairs being done to the street. As a result of these repairs, water service is turned off on an ongoing and scheduled basis. Although the Best Western hotel is aware of these planned water outages they book rooms without any warning to the guests.
Both when booking the room online and when checking into the hotel I was not notified that there was a planned water outage for the following day. On May 23rd (a Saturday) I woke to find there was no water service. I was unable to shower, brush my teeth, wash my hands, use the restroom, etc. When I called the front desk they stated that I should have received a "notice" in my room alerting me to this planned outage. The water did not come on until 3pm that afternoon - my only full day in Budapest.
Not only had I not received a notice, it is not appropriate to inform a guest after they have checked into the hotel about a planned water outage. It's reasonable to expect water service in a hotel and their choosing to not tell guests is fraud and misrepresentation.
As unacceptable as this hotel's decision was, Best Western corporate has not helped matters. They have only offered a 25% refund for a weekend that was ruined by Best Western's deceptive trade practices.
Best Western's behavior is unacceptable and it's important that people are aware that not only should they avoid the Best Western - Hotel Art in Budapest, but should also think twice if they believe that using an "American" hotel chain will help protect them in case of problems overseas.
Drew
Atlanta, Georgia