Monasterystays Reviews 10

If I could give negative stars I would and I wish I had found these reviews before using the service. It is not clear that it is just a booking website. You can contact the monasteries and convents directly to book, so you are paying a fee for this site to just contact them and book. The booking fee's are ridiculously high and it's not clear that is just a booking fee so you think you're paying for the room as well. The nun at the convent told me this is a constant problem and it creates a lot of stress for everyone. So I was then hit with the actual accommodation charges so ended up being overall quite expensive.

I am currently disputing a charge with their company for a stay I believed to be cancelled. The company is fighting to reimburse me for a larger deposit and incredibly difficult to deal with.

Terrible experience! During the booking process the amount of the down payment suddenly doubled. With no further explanation. As I then informed them, that under this circumstances I was no longer intrested, I received very pushy and unpleaesant mails from them. They tried to create the Impression that I was obliged to pay 800Euro although I hadn‘t finalized my booking yet. I was more than relieved that I finally managed to escape from those shady business practices before I payed something. There is no possibilty to cancel once you pay the absurdly high down payment! AVOID!!!

Not easy to use at all. No inbox for messages.

Also, they have inconsistent, unfair pricing. I initially booked for two weeks at a monastery in Florence. I received a discount. They charged my credit card around $200 as a deposit, I surmise. Then they told me to pay the rest.

Days later I had to modify my plans and told them of it. They slapped on a 25 euro (or thereabouts) "adjustment." When I complained, they said that it was not a penalty but they it could be applied to a future booking? Really?

It sounds like a good idea, but it really isn't.

Be warned, there is a 20% booking fee "bundled" into the total price, but the fee is not detailed until the confirmation is sent and it's too late to cancel. This I find is a dishonest practice, as well as being a terribly high rate for a booking fee. I was happy with the overall price and was aware that it included a booking fee, but I presumed that the website would charge something like 20-30€ and the rest would go to the monastery. How can you justify such a high rate??? Honestly, I don't think it is a practice in line with the spirit of religious (aka honest and fair) institutions. If I had the possibility to cancel, I would, but I am now trapped in a non-reimbursable process. Very disappointed.

The website makes you think that what you see is correct. In reality, NONE of the properties I was looking at to book were available at that time.

During many back-and-forth with the rep it turned out, I could not book any of those options.

He ('Mark") booked accommodation for me, and right before I was going to pay I took a close look at the bill - there were hidden charges as well as higher rates per night, which is different from what is being advertised.

After seeing many similar reviews here, I was reassured that unfortunately, my experience was not unique.

I booked my stay with another business and paid for what I saw advertised.

I was v sorry to book through this website. I paid 247eu 4 the booking w/c indicated the guesthouse is free, 2 days later, it is cancelled and then refund is subject to banking rules? Website and policies is horrible!

watch out this website! did a booking and i regretted it! they add fees you dont know about and they are very high. you think you are booking something but then they tell you , you have extra to pay after when you arrive there. from 30 euros per night, you end up paying almost the DOUBLE when you count all booking fees. to change it afterwards, they charge you and to cancell they charge you even more, they are scammers, i asked for a refund, lets see if this happens at least.

Avoid! I had to cancel two booking very close to departure. It put me under a lot of stress to find somwhere new (on the very reliable Booking.com). I would never trust them again. They indicate availability on their website and then take ages to confirm it. A clunky, old fashioned and fussy website. If it cannot update its availability chart to real time data it is of little use to busy tourists. These convents are generally available directly or on other broker websites.

It is a good search website to see different monasterys you can stay in for your travels, but DO NOT book through the website.

They are not upfront at any time during the booking process about the booking fee they charge, whether in amount or percentage. You find this out after you have paid what you think to be the deposit amount and receive the transaction receipt. I was burned with a 45EU booking fee which was half of the price of the actual room!

What is worse is their blanket cancellation policy which means that you lose the booking fee and the deposit no matter what circumstances.