Two British tourists expressed their frustration after experiencing a less-than-luxurious stay at a Mediterranean resort they booked through easyJet, sparking intervention from the airline. The incident highlights the ongoing issue of travel promotions being misleading.
Will Marsden (@will_marsden) shared his dissatisfaction on social media platform X, alleging that he had been a victim of a "catfishing" situation as the Greek hotel he booked did not meet his expectations. His post, which quickly went viral with 2.4 million views, described how the actual hotel experience differed drastically from what was advertised.
Side-by-side photos that Will posted showed the stark difference: a gloomy pool area with dead grass and an obstructed mountain view compared to the picturesque image initially promised. In follow-up posts, Will tagged easyJet, urging them to address the matter: "Please sort it out, still waiting on a response."
easyJet promptly responded to the complaint, and the post garnered numerous reactions from others. One sympathetic commenter said, "This is the worst and I hope you're bouncing. Be mad when you get back home. Hope you can go into denial and carry on!"
Another user joked about the potential of a Netflix series titled "Catfished Europe Hotels…. Plenty of horror stories!" A third suggested that Will should take photos as evidence and file a chargeback for the misleading booking.
Some questioned whether Will had checked the hotel's reviews prior to booking. Will assured them he had, mentioning the hotel's four-star rating based on over 1,000 reviews: "They really weren't that bad, you get the odd few that were, but overall really good."
In contrast, a few defenders of the hotel emerged. One person commented, "We went here in 2022. We actually really liked it. It was worth the price we paid. Was it perfect? No. The grass was worn like in your pic, but the pool was certainly clean. Here are some pics for context. Not all the positive feedback is false."
