A visitor in London has unveiled an image that underscores how significantly advertised hotel room images can differ from reality.
Tourist Jerone Tan checked into the five-star Tower Suites Hotel in London, just meters from the Tower of London, expecting a “floor-to-ceiling view” in his room, as in one of the photos was seen which he showed posted.
The promotional photo featured the Tower of London behind the windows, fresh flowers on the coffee table and desk, and patterned cushions. Mr Tan posted a photo of the actual room on Twitter alongside a promotional image, with his reality check image showing an external wall extending halfway up the windows and the Tower of London being entirely absent. The flowers, on the other hand, are conspicuous by their absence.
This promotional image is used by the Tower Suites Hotel in London to promote their signature suite and one bedroom apartment and was the image seen by tourist Jerone Tan when he booked the latter
Mr. Tan posted this picture of his one-bedroom apartment on Twitter to highlight the differences from the promotional image
Mr Tan, 46, who lives in Singapore, told MailOnline Travel: “I wasn’t expecting a great view. What I expected was a view – floor to ceiling windows.
“What we got was a wall covering most of the view. It felt really claustrophobic.’
The company that operates Tower Suites, Blue Orchid Hotels, tweeted to Mr Tan that “images on our website are for reference purposes only and not all rooms are the same, including the view.”
But Mr Tan argued, “At the end of the day, everyone will agree that it doesn’t even come close to matching any of the images on the website.”
Mr Tan paid £1,138 for a three-night stay at the Tower Suites in a “one-bedroom apartment” but was upgraded one notch to a premium “Signature Suite” after check-in.
He made the booking on booking.com, which shows a living room picture for the one-bed apartment and the signature suite, which are identical, with Blue Orchid Hotels explaining that this is because some one-bed apartments are in the tower suites same Tower of London offer as Signature Suite.
The booking.com page for a one bedroom Tower Suites apartment that Mr Tan was looking at
The Signature Suite is billed with “magnificent views over the Tower of London”.
But Mr. Tan pointed out that a wall partially blocked the view.
He explained that he was moved to different rooms twice after checking in on Wednesday June 22 after complaining.
His second room – a one-bedroom apartment – had a “full view of the train tracks” but was disturbed by an “electrical hum” that made sleep difficult, he said.
Mr Tan, who works in banking, saw a return of the exterior wall covering the windows in his third room – another one-bedroom apartment – which is the room he photographed and posted on Twitter.
Mr Tan decided to check out after just one night and stay elsewhere and was given a full refund for the two unused nights, but only, he says, “after a flurry of complaints on social media and numerous exchanges with guest relations”. . .
Mr Tan added, “They never apologized or admitted there was a problem.”
Tower Suites told MailOnline in a statement: “We regret that Mr. Tan remained unhappy with the staff’s sincere efforts to understand and resolve his concerns and chose to depart earlier than his scheduled date. The comfort of our guests remains our top priority and we hope Mr. Tan will work with us again to resolve his isolated concerns.’
The hotel has hundreds of very positive reviews on Tripadvisor. But Mr. Tan’s experience was not entirely isolated.
Tripadvisor reviewer ti_boo34 wrote on June 9 after staying at the Tower Suites, “We booked directly with the hotel by phone and requested a room with a nice view. [But] Our room (724) overlooked a very ugly building/wall. There was also a loud electrical hum that was constant at night and very annoying.”
When asked if the experience has put him off visiting London in the future, Mr Tan replied: “London is one of my favorite cities in the world. So much energy, good and varied food – yes, I am convinced of that – and things to do. Unprecedented.
“I would still visit London but be very careful when choosing hotels, especially with the crazy prices at the moment. I would be wary of the local brands/chains.
“I’ll probably stay at hotels where I’ve had good experiences or stick with the international chains in the future.”