Agoda Altered Hotel Review

[hagler]

Thanks for highlighting this issue about Agoda OP. It will certainly affect my readings of reviews on there from now on. I use tripadvisor quite a bit and none of my reviews have ever been altered even when they have been negative.

Not having a go but why would anyone who was not into prostitutes or had some business there go to Pattaya anyway? It really does attract the bottom dwellers of the world.

Thanks again for the heads up on Agoda.

[Mrjlh]

Agoda may have other problems too. It may only be software glitch and they have been informed. I won't say the name of the resort because this is not their problem. I just booked a hotel room through Agoda. Had four choices of rooms for the resort I selected. I selected the third room choice down the list which was clearly listed under the resort I wanted. Up came the payment screen, fill it out and hit confirm. The reservation was confirmed. But the description was wrong. First thing I saw was it was for the following day I wanted, then I noticed it was for a different resort! In a different city. Only 300 Kms away! /not a little mistake. I made an instant cancellation plus explanation to customer service through their link. On top of all this the location description for the resort I'm staying at is over 120 Kms from the city it says it's in. There's another major city only 40kms away they should be using. I too sent a correction for that too being a nice guy. I re-booked at the correct resort using Agoda again. I'm looking to see if the same "error" pops up but this time only it only two choices given but at a higher price. The price difference was not that big of a deal.

But this is a big deal. Now I get a email showing the cancellation for the wrong resort. Plus they are charging me for the cancellation! I've sent in a complaint so let's see what they do. Sounds more like a bait and switch! Also going directly to the resort site....same price! No discounts! But I'm giving them a chance to fix the problem. I contest it through my bank if needed.

Edited July 24, 2011 by Mrjlh

[MrRed]

It sounds like a great hotel,pool partys are great to watch and observe the flocks behaviour....aha!! birdwatching

[Richard4849]

TV does the same thing. Try saying something negative about one of their sponsors and see how long it stays up.

[manarak]

Agoda does not charge upwards 20%.

They charge between 7 and 16% depending on the deal.

[manarak]

but I am concerned that prostitution was endorsed by the management of the hotel.

In Patttaya??

Your jokiing right ???

This is just a wind up yes????

I have stayed at many hotels in Pattaya including Amari, Garden Cliff, etc. . There were no prostitutes at these hotels that I could discern. Sorry to hurt your feelings, but not everyone is after a prostitute in Pattaya. Some of us have families. A typical hotel does not encourage individuals who are not guests to enter the pool area especially knowing they are prostitutes and is then rated 4 star on Agoda.

WELL SAID ...too many members here think everyone should put up with bad service and low standards because you go to Pattaya ....like it is some kind of excuse?????

We all know what Pattaya is about BUT many places are not just about bar girls or low life sex tourists

Well, a BBQ party with girls is not bad service nor is it low standards.

[kunash]

i have read some ''terrible'' reviews about the mandarin oriental in bangkok on tripadvisor, where the ''top hotel'' of bangkok was absolutely slated. tripadvisor, it would seem, would post all reviews, good and bad.

[NCFC]

I've posted several reviews on Agoda. And the one time I posted a negative review, it was deleted.

[roamer]

I had the same issue, the deleted my entire post on a hotel in Manila, it was a complete dive but based on all those so called positive reviews I chose the dump, I merely wanted to warn others what to expect.

Agoda is a travel agent, they charge upwards of 20% commission so I guess hotels get pissy when they see all the negative reports. BTW tripadvisor is owned by is owned by Expedia, I don't think there is a neutral site for reviews anymore.

Perhaps TV will dedicate a section for hotel reviews in the future.

Just lifted this from Asiarooms:

will not go there again

the room was definitely not worth of the money. it said that regular price was over 3000b. i got it with 1088b trough asiarooms . i would have paid maximum of 500b for that room. location is bad, breakfast was useless. can't really find any good things of this place. not worth the money!

another one.

pictures on internet tell a different story

was nothing like the picture on the website, something completely different, wallpaper showed damp in places and was peeling of the wall, bathroom had ants crawling around in one corner, not properly tiled and cleaned. room smelt of smoke and was unclean. this hotel is down a side street, staff can not speak much english and even fail to understand the basics, in the end after a few hours of arriving we found another hotel. they wanted 400 bhats for use of a towel in one room, we paid and left. defo no go hotel as needs alot of work in terms of cleanliness and service.

Some sites still posting the negative reviews.

Edited July 24, 2011 by roamer

[Atmos]

I use Trip Advisor often, have contributed 58 hotel reviews and try to be as accurate and non-emotional as possible, ie facts.

I tend to ignore the reviews that are on the emotional side - eg 'didn't like the receptionist', 'a rude staff member', even 'didn't like the food' can be very judgmental as maybe simply a case of eg "I don't like Thai'Malaysian/whatever food anyway'

And taken in context - a perfectly adequate hotel we've used three times in the past two years for stays of 3-5 days has a few negative reviews on its overall standard - not related to cleanliness/hygiene - but needs a paint, needs new carpet. Rooms range from 350 for the 'old' to 500 for the 'new' wing. Really, at 350 baht what did they expect? Five-stars at that price?

Checked on TA for some of my reviews - two in particular were not favourable to the hotel for clear and valid reasons, and I see they are still on TA, un-altered.

[OlafStapleton]

You were just upset wife was with you!

[toybits]

To the OP - BUT why go to Pattaya?

[Gary A]

I have learned that some reviews for hotels are WAY off the mark. The last hotel that I stayed at in Pattaya had a review that described the staff as surly, incompetent and not helpful at all. The breakfast buffet was described as inedible.

I found the staff to be totally the opposite and enjoyable to talk to. The breakfast buffet wasn't great but some of the offerings were quite tasty. At least there was a decent variety to choose from.

I wouldn't base my stay at any hotel by reading reviews.

[stevenl]

This happens on a regular basis with e.g. Tripadvisor and Agoda for hotels and all possible other activities. Positive reviews, even those clearly written by the management themselves, are allowed and negative reviews, also those clearly written by dissatisfied guests, are removed.

Be very, very careful with judging hotels based on all these sites.

[LindsayBKK]

I would think that like others have mentioned wording needs to be short and direct.

eg. Would not stay again. Noisy. Hookers using swimming pool.

Some Thaivisa members live in Pattaya so not the best forum to post for sympathy.

As I found out when posting re: Warning about Tiger Airways, and look at them now.. som nam na

Hotel Forums will get a better response.

[robbiecia]

I don't know about you guys, but i most certainly DO read customer reviews before booking a hotel.

As far as i'm concerned it's the only way to get unbiased feedback.

If the reviews are largely negative, why would I stay there?

I simply won't use Agoda if they are deleting negative comments, as it defeats the purpose of having comments in the first place.

The OP is entitled to his opinion, and should be allowed to post whatever he likes in the hotel reviews.

As an advertiser on this forum, Agoda are being rather quiet. Maybe they can't be bothered to defend themselves.

[PattayaParent]

but I am concerned that prostitution was endorsed by the management of the hotel.

In Patttaya??

Your jokiing right ???

This is just a wind up yes????

I have stayed at many hotels in Pattaya including Amari, Garden Cliff, etc. . There were no prostitutes at these hotels that I could discern. Sorry to hurt your feelings, but not everyone is after a prostitute in Pattaya. Some of us have families. A typical hotel does not encourage individuals who are not guests to enter the pool area especially knowing they are prostitutes and is then rated 4 star on Agoda.

WELL SAID ...too many members here think everyone should put up with bad service and low standards because you go to Pattaya ....like it is some kind of excuse?????

We all know what Pattaya is about BUT many places are not just about bar girls or low life sex tourists

The Amari is a well konwn 'Guest Friendly' chain that has no problems allowing prostitutes in with hotel guests.

If by Garden Cliff you mean Royal Cliff then ditto.

[PattayaParent]

I don't know about you guys, but i most certainly DO read customer reviews before booking a hotel.

As far as i'm concerned it's the only way to get unbiased feedback.

If the reviews are largely negative, why would I stay there?

I simply won't use Agoda if they are deleting negative comments, as it defeats the purpose of having comments in the first place.

The OP is entitled to his opinion, and should be allowed to post whatever he likes in the hotel reviews.

As an advertiser on this forum, Agoda are being rather quiet. Maybe they can't be bothered to defend themselves.

I always think that most of the reviews of the places I'm looking to stay at are negative on Agoda.

[JohnnyFeelIt]

To the OP - BUT why go to Pattaya?

He probably met his wife there, but now they look in disgust at anyone else doing the same thing.

A guy I know married a Pattaya whore, 3yrs down the line he'd get angry if prostitution or bars etc were so much as mentioned at his house, which coincidentally, was in central Pattaya. Denial?

[supaprik]

yes Agoda does change reviews and they are NOT to be trusted at all, No one should use their booking services

[robblok]

Strange that the guys don't defend their name. I would not use them anymore. I don't mind prostitutes in a hotel but i do mind that they delete negative comments.

Now you cant make up your own mind because the information is screened first by them. This is totally wrong because if you see something negative you yourself can decide if it affects you or no.

[Ulysses G.]

I would think that like others have mentioned wording needs to be short and direct.

eg.... Hookers using swimming pool.

This would be positive advertising as far as I am concerned.

[Mrjlh]

Agoda may have other problems too. It may only be software glitch and they have been informed. I won't say the name of the resort because this is not their problem. I just booked a hotel room through Agoda. Had four choices of rooms for the resort I selected. I selected the third room choice down the list which was clearly listed under the resort I wanted. Up came the payment screen, fill it out and hit confirm. The reservation was confirmed. But the description was wrong. First thing I saw was it was for the following day I wanted, then I noticed it was for a different resort! In a different city. Only 300 Kms away! /not a little mistake. I made an instant cancellation plus explanation to customer service through their link. On top of all this the location description for the resort I'm staying at is over 120 Kms from the city it says it's in. There's another major city only 40kms away they should be using. I too sent a correction for that too being a nice guy. I re-booked at the correct resort using Agoda again. I'm looking to see if the same "error" pops up but this time only it only two choices given but at a higher price. The price difference was not that big of a deal.

But this is a big deal. Now I get a email showing the cancellation for the wrong resort. Plus they are charging me for the cancellation! I've sent in a complaint so let's see what they do. Sounds more like a bait and switch! Also going directly to the resort site....same price! No discounts! But I'm giving them a chance to fix the problem. I contest it through my bank if needed.

UPDATE: After two more emails to them, "Agoda" correctly and satisfactory resolved my issue with them. As far as changing reviews I can not comment. But as far as their customer service goes they may seem a little slow sometimes but they do respond and do make every attempt to rectify an issue.

[TheMac]

Funny part being the Agoda ads in that page ... would they request TV to "modify" posts?

[Semper]

Funny part being the Agoda ads in that page ... would they request TV to "modify" posts?

Well, they do.

[PattayaParent]

I had the same issue, the deleted my entire post on a hotel in Manila, it was a complete dive but based on all those so called positive reviews I chose the dump, I merely wanted to warn others what to expect.

Agoda is a travel agent, they charge upwards of 20% commission so I guess hotels get pissy when they see all the negative reports. BTW tripadvisor is owned by is owned by Expedia, I don't think there is a neutral site for reviews anymore.

Perhaps TV will dedicate a section for hotel reviews in the future.

:cheesy:

I thought you are against censorship of posts????

[monty1412]

I got to thinking about this post and kirk0233's indignation.

Can you tell me how you knew they were prostitutes... was their a menu board or some mamasan there offering various selections and prices

Swimming in two piece bikinis...... just puzzled why you would add that in... is that some type of designatory sign or sure way to tell they are prostitutes.... so one piece bikinis ( which are not poplar in Thailand) would indicate something else.. what about shorts and t shirt.. something else instead...... makes me think of Victorian values type of thing.... "yes Agnes darling Im shocked just as much by you.. and did you see they were wearing two piece bikini's.. just abhorrent.. we shall go back to our lodgings to recover from this... I think a stiff Pimms might calm my nerves"

Confirmed with the hotel staff the next day that indeed some of the girls had gone back with guests.... you mean you actually sought out te cleaning lady and asked her about this.... how would she know and was she there when exchange of monies took place..... and why would you bother asking the next morning I mean certainly the evidence of two piece bikini's is strong enough on its own. Did you not have anything on that morning except to cross examine the cleaning lady as to the whereabouts of the two piece bikini harlots.... why the extreme interest.. was your wife with you when you grilled the cleaning lady ????

Agnes, Im so affronted at this open display of depravity Im going to write to agoda and warn everybody..... well what did you expect... of course they are not going to publish an unsolicited, unproven load of judgemental diatribe....... what did you expect.

Shocked that the hotel allowed this....... well maybe because they were legitimate and with their partners or friends or maybe just maybe they went back to rooms and slept...Im actually more worried about the originator of this thread than the actions and perceived sins of the girls at the party.

Kirk0233... I have you considered sunny Islamabad or even cosmopolitan Kuwait.. sounds like you and Agnes may be more suited to these environs than the steamy sex environs of Pattaya.

Still really curious why you would grill the cleaning lady the next morning????

What was that old saying... " the lad doth protest too much".

Tell me.. have you been back by yourself to the hotel since ?????

[hyperdimension]

I'm thinking libido problems.

[simon43]

Agoda does not charge upwards 20%.

They charge between 7 and 16% depending on the deal.

Not true.

My airport hotel in Phuket is charged 25% commission, my Ao Nang guesthouse is charged 17% and my airport guesthouse is also 17% (I think!)

I've had no major problems working with Agoda, but their commission rates are higher than some other popular agents, (such as Booking dot com), and therefore Agoda is not at the top of my list of preferred agents.

I cannot influence bad customer reviews on their web-site, and nor can I get these removed, (unless there was some very fundamental error or mistake in the review). Also, unlike TripAdvisor, reviews on Agoda's website must be submitted by genuine guests who have stayed at the hotel, (since they need to provide their booking number etc).

Simon

PS - In 10 years of living in Thailand (and owning hotels), I can truthfully say that the only Thai women that I have seen swimming in bikinis in my pool have been prostitutes. It's a Thai thing. Good Thai girls wear shorts/shirts etc, (at least in my hotel they do!)

After having 1,000s of Thai customers in my hotel, I know exactly what the score is here.

Edited August 5, 2011 by simon43

[simon43]

Tripadvisor, it would seem, would post all reviews, good and bad

Tripadvisor is all about website clicks and hits. People like to read about nightmare hotels. Bad reviews get more hits

Simon