A filthy holiday let on Booking.com ruined our Mother’s Day weekend away – and they refused to refund us

After a long morning of traveling to Bury in Greater Manchester and lugging around our suitcases and bags, Mum and I were more than ready to settle into our rental house.

We booked the house through Booking.com for Mother’s Day weekend, March 14-15, so we could explore a new place together and spend time with my brother, who is studying at the university nearby.

The first red flag was the late check-in; The landlord moved the clock back to 16:00 instead of 15:00 due to a ‘minor delay with the cleaner’.

‘Good’, we agree, ‘at least it will be properly arranged for us’.

We spend some time sitting outside the characteristic Trackside pub on the second platform of East Lancashire Railway station, watching the steam trains go by.

But we couldn’t be more wrong.

Eventually we were sent the key code and unlocked the front door to find what appeared, at least in appearance, to be a modern and well-appointed abode.

Things quickly change when we first discover a stick bracelet discarded on the bath mat, and a closer look reveals more horrors.

Shortly after entering the facility, we found what appeared to be a club wristband thrown on the bathroom mat.

The kitchen counters were covered in crumbs and candy and it was obvious they hadn’t been wiped down after previous guests.

Even though we had to wait for the cleaner to finish with the property, we still find piles of dirt, dust and even hair on the floor.

The wooden stairs are dirty and the kitchen surfaces are covered in crumbs and sugar; clearly not deleted.

When my mother pulled back the sheets in disgust, she found crumpled bedding that looked like it had recently been put to sleep and then redone. There’s even dust and crumbs on one of the sheets.

Quickly sends the owner a message explaining our disappointment and receives a response within minutes.

We were told we could get a refund if we wanted to leave, but the owner couldn’t help but added: ‘There’s nothing else I can do at the moment.’

He also insists that the cleaner changed the linens and towels.

My mother accepts this offer.

Meanwhile, I start looking for hotels in the area to save the weekend, which is already half over.

Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be dirt and grime as well as piles of hair on the floor

We pull back the duvet to find wrinkled sheets that don’t look clean and fresh

The wooden stairs, a characteristic feature of the facility, are dusty and dirty.

With limited options, we eventually settled on a nearby Premier Inn and loaded our bags into an Uber, relieved to have figured it out.

We continue to enjoy the rest of the weekend and my mother contacts Booking.com to explain what happened and request a refund.

A customer service representative told us they had contacted the property owner and ‘made a formal complaint about the accommodation’.

This looks promising until it becomes clear in the coming days that Booking.com will not refund the £93.50 my mother paid for her stay unless the owner gives them a reply confirming everything.

This is despite us providing screenshots of our conversation with the landlord and evidence of the condition of the property.

Unsurprisingly, the owner quickly disappears and does not respond to Booking.com or my mother’s attempts to get a refund via text message.

In the end, all Booking.com offers amount to an apology and a voucher for £11.69 credited to my mum’s account.

“We tried to contact the property regarding your request for a full refund, but unfortunately we did not receive any response from them,” reads a message from Booking.com.

My mother was left out of pocket despite sending proof to the landlord saying she could get a refund if we left the property

Booking.com apologized and explained that they tried to contact the owner but did not receive a response.

They credited my mum with £11.69 to her Booking.com account; this was a fraction of the £93.50 he paid

‘As we require written confirmation from the property before a full refund can be issued, we ask that you contact the property directly and provide us with written confirmation of the refund agreement.

‘As we operate under certain partnership agreements, we have reached the absolute limit of the compensation we can provide.’

The eye-rolling message continues: ‘Please believe that if it were directly in our power to provide more, we would do so without hesitation.

‘The £11.69 we previously provided continues our sincere effort to support you as much as our current policies allow.’

After more messages, phone calls to Booking.com and unanswered messages to the host, my mum was left stuck with £93.50 out of pocket and memories of a disappointing Mother’s Day weekend.

However, on 2 April 2026, after the Daily Mail contacted Booking.com, my mother was finally informed that her money would be refunded in full.

However, he is not alone in his experience as other customers have also reported having issues with the platform.

In 2023, scores of Daily Mail readers have written in to share their nightmares, from landlords demanding more money to fights for refunds.

Sandra Whaley, from Shropshire, said she had booked a twin room with her friend and they were both in their 70s and “didn’t want to share a bed”.

However, on arrival they were given a double room and told that ‘no other rooms were available’.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I rang Booking.com and was told we could stay there and get a small refund. I’m still waiting.’

Another customer, Alan Frank, shared that he booked a room in southern France and found it ‘derelict, with a phone number scrawled on the door’.

‘The owner said he had not received any payment from Booking.com and that we would have to pay again,’ he explained.

‘But Booking.com had charged my card. We refused and were thrown out. Booking.com refused to refund us £115.’

Mr Nykola and Ms Lorraine Hryziuk’s stay in Blackpool took a turn when they realized their booking had not been ‘saved’.

‘I called Booking.com to say the booking was not completed. “We stayed somewhere else, but we paid for both hotels,” they wrote.

‘After 15 calls and 20 emails, Booking.com still has not refunded us.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Booking.com for comment.