Mathew Street -Booking.com-1711356056

I booked a hotel in December 2023 with booking.com. I made sure the booking had a free cancellation option as I needed to know from the hotel if their restaurant was open the day we arrived at it was January 1st. The booking.com page specifically said the restaurant was open on the day of our booking but when I made the booking I put in the special requests box a request to book a table for 2 people at 7pm. on January 1st 2024. Normally hotels reply about a reservation. I received an email confirming my check-in time was ok but I didn't get a reply about the restaurant. So the next day I both emailed and messaged them and still no reply. The hotel finally informed me that the restaurant actually wasn't open on January 1st, however this information was sent after the free cancellation period had expired! As I was driving 5 hours to get to this hotel (with my wife and 2 dogs) I specifically wanted a hotel with an on site restaurant, so I cancelled the booking, requesting the hotel waive the fee of 132€ as it was their fault I was cancelling after the free cancellation period. I never receive a reply or my money. I have contacted booking.com more than 6 times since the end of December requesting a refund. They always ask me to provide the booking reference and PIN and then say they have tried calling the hotel but no one has answered. Could I please wait until they hear back from the hotel. They obviously never hear from the hotel as I never hear from booking.com. Finally today, after chasing them yet again, they say they can't refund the money without the hotel's permission. The hotel is unlikely to give permission if it never replies to them! Also, the Hotel took the money from my credit card but it isn't listed as a payment to the hotel it is listed as a payment to their Greek restaurant! As the information on the booking.com page relating to the hotel's restaurant was inaccurate and the hotel did not reply to my 3 attempts to confirm the restaurant was open, before the free cancellation period expired, I believe I ought to received a full refund. I have even written to the CEO, but again, no reply has been received. I can supply the dates of the stay and name of hotel etc when required.