Hotels.com hoteles.com Hotels.com Books Hotels That Are Not Open--and Will Not Refund

Hotels.com listed the Hotel Akapana in Tiwanaku, Bolivia.  We booked a room for $50.

We arrived two days later in Tiwanaku. The place was shuttered. Locked.  Seemingly abandoned. We knocked repeatedly. Finally, a dissheveled man covered in paint splatters came down.  He kept asking (in Spanish, of course, but we speak Spanish) if we wanted to "rest" and then told us it would cost "$10".  The lobby was dark and otherwise abandoned.  The painter gave us a phone number, which did not work.

Instead of hudding in the doorway with my family hoping that someone from the "hotel" might turn up, we decided to leave. We contacted hotels.com immediately.  Never heard back from them.

Later, we saw that we were charged $50.  After numerous exchanges (emails and live chats), hotels.com reported that they could't reach the hotel (big surprise). Finally, the did...the "hotel" didn't want to refund the money.  (Again, big surprise).

In the end..."Well, it's not our responsibility to make sure that the hotel that we collected money for is open or functioning.  It's your problem. Thank you for using hotels.com."

As an FYI, hotels.com has a HORRIFIC rep.  One site featured 273 reviews with just over *one* star average.  This is an online scam and it should be avoided.