Apart from spelling, few things bring together the island of Saintes, in Guadeloupe, and the town of Saintes, in Charente-Maritime, opposite each other by an ocean and located nearly 7,000 km apart.
This is the bitter observation that Olivier and Florence, a couple from Carentec, in Finistère, who had planned a dream stay for two weeks in the West Indies, were able to sketch.
As reported by Le Télégramme, after enjoying Marie-Galante, when the couple arrived on the island of Saintes and tried to reach the hotel room that they had previously reserved for one night, they noticed of his error.
The hotel does exist, it is highly rated on the reservation platform, but is located thousands of kilometers away… in the town of Saintes, in the middle of Poitou-Charentes.
A mistake at 260 euros
“As everyone told us to spend a day in Les Saintes, because it is one of the most beautiful bays in the world and the sunset is, it seems, the most beautiful on the planet, I booked for 89 euros a hotel", relates the Finistère to Télégramme, which echoed his unfortunate adventure.
He adds that he chose it because of its rating, 8.5 out of 10, but also for its “ideal” location, in the middle of the city center.
Arriving by boat in Les Saintes on March 1st, Florence and Olivier went to the tourist office to find their hotel, the photo of which they had in front of them, but which they were unable to find on the island.
And there is disillusionment.
“The manager looked at our reservation and burst out laughing,” explains the tourist.
His partner adds that when organizing their trip, she had a doubt when booking the room due to its low price, but believing she was getting a good deal, she still validated the payment.
No luck for them, the reservation does not allow cancellation, the Bretons will therefore have to pay for this room which they did not occupy, in addition to the one reserved at the last minute on the island of Saintes, which they cost 180 euros.
Ironically, in 2022, during a stay in Greece, Florence and Olivier had already booked a hotel on the wrong island…