A NEW hotel in Dublin has left guests fuming after they arrived to find it wasn’t open yet.
The hotel had even received glowing five-star reviews – despite no guests have ever stayed there.
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The Marlin Hotel, located on George Street in the Irish city, is due to open this month.
However, a number of disgruntled tourists found themselves arriving to check in, only to be taken to another hotel instead.
A German tourist wrote on TripAdvisor that they “booked and it was not open” and that they were dealt with by an “absolutely incompetent team”.
Another guest wrote: “Poor customer service. We had 2 rooms booked. Called ahead to let the hotel know we would be arriving late to be told told hasn’t opened yet. No email to inform us. Email filled later today. Not good enough.”
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One man slammed the hotel, saying: “My wife and I arrived to check into the Marlin Hotel in Dublin. Low and behold the hotel is not even open yet.
“We were greeted outside by hotel staff whom sent us to another hotel for our stay. I feel the hotel should have contacted the guests prior to arrival since our new hotel did not even have our reservation on file.
“Although the hotel arranged for our stay at another hotel, it is not ideal to have guests show up to the Marlin and see it is not even open yet and be taxied to another hotel.”
Social media user Rachael Robinson complained: “Have sent DM – refund from yourselves or @MarlinHotels would be appreciated.
“You can’t just change our hotel without giving us a choice or making us aware of the changes!! We wanted to stay near Temple Bar not in the middle of no where!!”
Despite this, the hotel had an average of 7.8 out of 10 on Booking.com, as well as five star reviews by people on Google.
According to the Times, guests claimed the hotel was “exceptional” and “very good”.
Other reviews gave it full marks out of five on Google.
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However, the positive reviews have since been removed by Booking.com, after realising they were reviews for the hotels that guests were moved to, not the Marlin Hotel.
A Booking.com spokesperson explained: “Only Booking.com customers who have stayed at one of the properties listed on our site are invited to leave a review after their stay.
“In this instance, due to a manual processing error on our side, a few of the customers that were relocated because of the delayed opening date for the property still received a review invitation for this hotel.
“We are working to remove this small number of reviews in order to guarantee transparency and clarity for other travellers, so they can make an informed decision about where to book that’s right for them.”
The hotel is expected to open on August 25.
A spokesperson from Marlin Hotel told Sun Online Travel: “The delay in opening the Marlin Hotel was unforeseen and the management team ensured that all guests who were scheduled to stay at the hotel, were accommodated in similar or upgraded accommodation in the local vicinity.
“We appreciate that some people were disappointed, however the circumstances were beyond the hotel’s control. We expect to open in the coming days and will resume taking bookings on Sunday 25, provided there are no further delays.
“Marlin is looking forward welcoming guests to what will be Dublin’s newest and most contemporary hotel.”
Rooms start from €299 (£270) on Booking.com.
A report last year found that one in three TripAdvisor reviews for hotels and restaurants were fake.
Some establishments offered to pay £7 for positive reviews and praise.
