I booked a room at Holiday Inn Express Dublin City Centre in December 2024 through Booking.com and received a confirmation — only to have my booking cancelled 2 days before my stay on the 22nd of June 2025 with the excuse that they “couldn’t verify my card.” This is absolutely false — my card was valid, active, and working perfectly. No issues whatsoever.Instead of honouring the original booking, I was told I could rebook… but only if I paid €100 more for a different room. That’s not customer service — that’s a scam. It felt like they were looking for any excuse to cancel my cheaper reservation and resell the room at a higher price.I was left completely stranded and stressed trying to find a new place to stay — all because this hotel chose profit over professionalism. Booking.com also failed to step in and help meaningfully.Avoid this hotel. If they can cancel confirmed bookings over made-up payment issues and upsell you instead, what’s the point of booking in advance?
