The taxi pulls up, you enter the lobby and you think "Oh it didn't look like this in the photo...". It's never fun to be disappointed at the beginning of a holiday, and as many travellers have experienced, the promises and photos of many hotel websites aren't close to the reality.
One of the most popular features on
Oyster.com is the photo fakeouts - comparing the official hotel photos with photos taken by a Oyster reviewer of the same areas.
This US-based travel website was created after the founders went on a trip to Alaska, booked their accommodation online and arrived at the hotel only to discover that their accommodation was not up to snuff, described in the official Oyster.com history as a 'dump'.
This experience resulted in the creation of the website in spring 2008, and Oyster.com has been steadily reviewing hotels, using experienced travellers and writers to review hotel properties. Reviewers pay for their own stay at a hotel and check out all aspects of the hotel from the wireless connections to the bath amenities.
Posted weekly, the photo fakeouts accompany a full review of the property, with a list of pros and cons, amenities list and a detailed review of service, rooms, property and features.
The photo fakeouts regularly dispel the myths of empty beaches, uncrowded resorts, proximity to a city's attractions and the actual size of swimming pools.
Elie Seidman, co-founder of Oyster.com, explained that the photographic tricks of the trade - cropping photos and use of special lenses - are what create images that are unfortunately far from the reality of what a traveller will see upon arrival.
Oyster.com currently reviews and highlights discrepancies at properties in the United States and Caribbean.
Photos: JW Marriott Ihilani Resort / JW Marriott Ihilani Resort by Oyster.com
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Notorious Hotel Rooms
1. The Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida
During the Prohibition in the 1920s, Al Capone ran a speakeasy out of the Biltmore Hotel while camped out in the 13th-floor Everglades suite. The Al Capone Suite was where hit-man Thomas "Fats" Walsh was fatally shot in 1929.
Reuters/Handout
Christian Charisius, Reuters
1. The Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida
During the Prohibition in the 1920s, Al Capone ran a speakeasy out of the Biltmore Hotel while camped out in the 13th-floor Everglades suite. The Al Capone Suite was where hit-man Thomas "Fats" Walsh was fatally shot in 1929.
Reuters/Handout
2. Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California
Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes racked up millions of dollars in hotel bills while staying on and off for 30 years at the four bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel from 1942 onwards. He'd order pineapple upside down cake from his personal chef at 3 a.m. and dance with young starlets.
Reuters/Handout
3. Holiday Inn, Flint, Michigan
The Who drummer Keith Moon, who gained notoriety for his destructive lifestyle, celebrated his 21st birthday in 1967 at the Holiday Inn, in Flint, Michigan, by upsetting a cake, removing his clothes, shattering a tooth, and allegedly driving a Lincoln Continental into the pool.
flintgateway.com
4. Sunset Tower Hotel, West Hollywood
John Wayne reportedly brought a dairy cow to the balcony of his penthouse at the Sunset Tower Hotel, a 1929 Art Deco landmark, so that he would always have fresh milk.
Reuters/Handout
5. Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Florida
TV evangelist Jim Bakker checked into Room 538 of this hotel with former church secretary turned Playboy model Jessica Hahn in December, 1980. The sex scandal, with allegations of rape and hush money, brought down Bakker's ministry empire.
Reuters/Handout
6. Hotel Chelsea, New York
Sex Pistol Sid Vicious awoke in Room 100 of New York's Hotel Chelsea in 1978 to find girlfriend Nancy Spungen on the bathroom floor, dead from a stab wound. Vicious was charged with her murder but while out on bail he died of a heroin overdose.
hotelchelsea.com
7. Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin
In 2002 while ensconced in the Presidential Suite Pariser Platz at Berlin's Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Michael Jackson dangled infant son Prince Michael II out of the third-floor window.
Hotel Adlon/Handout
8. Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Washington D.C.
Room 871 of the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel was registered to a Mr. George Fox in 2008 and shared with aspiring singer Ashley Dupre. George Fox was later found to be New York governor Eliot Spitzer and Dupre was a prostitute.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-27-2010 @ 11:52AM
Jay Taylor said...
It is so upsetting when you think a hotel is going to look one way but it ends up not meeting your expectations. Whenever I book a trip I used iTravel2000.com. They have amazing deals on hotels and you are able to review everything about the hotel before you book the trip.
Reply
7-27-2010 @ 11:53AM
Jay Taylor said...
It is so upsetting when you think a hotel is going to look one way but it ends up not meeting your expectations. Whenever I book a trip I used iTravel2000.com. They have amazing deals on hotels and you are able to review everything about the hotel before you book the trip. I recommend checking them out at http://www.iTravel2000.com
Reply