I had a very disappointing and frustrating experience with both Casa Celeste Rome and Booking.com. A day before my stay, I received a phone call from someone with very poor English who informed me the room was no longer available and that I needed to cancel my booking. Left with no choice at the last minute, I cancelled and booked a different hotel — which ended up being significantly more expensive due to the short notice.To make matters worse, on the original check-out date (for the stay that never happened), I was charged £300. I had already paid for the new hotel with my card, so this unexpected charge was baffling. After multiple calls and weeks of back and forth with Booking.com, they were unable to identify where the charge had come from. Eventually, I figured out that the charge was for the cancelled Casa Celeste booking.Despite having call records, confirmation of cancellation, and multiple proof documents, Booking.com repeatedly failed to resolve the issue. Every time I called, they opened a “new case,” forcing me to explain the situation from scratch. I was constantly told “we can’t reach the property” or “they’re not responding to our emails.” At one point, a Booking.com agent admitted they have no authority to issue refunds and suggested I try contacting the property myself — and if they agreed to refund me, then Booking.com would process it. Useless.Contacting Casa Celeste directly was a nightmare. If phone calls were answered, met with “No English, No Understand”, and emails were never answered.My advice:Avoid Casa Celeste Rome at all costs. And if you value customer service and your peace of mind, think twice before using Booking.com. If something goes wrong, you're on your own.After a year of fighting for a refund, I’ve given up hope of ever seeing my £300 again — and the time I’ve wasted is something I’ll never get back
