A
Definition of Bed and Breakfast Accommodation in One Place May Not be the Same
as in Another By
Philip
Suter
I
was going to visit Barcelona, Spain in February and meet up with relatives who
had stayed there before. They had previously stayed at a reasonably priced hotel
in the centre of the city.
I
tried to find out more information on the Internet, but unfortunately they did
not have their own website and was listed on one of those sites that you could
add your own comments and photos to. The photos of the room (taken by a previous
guest) did not too exciting so I searched the Internet for alternatives. Hotel
prices in Barcelona appear to be fairly high, even in February so being resident
in England and knowing that Bed and Breakfast accommodation in the UK and Ireland
and the Chambre d’hôtes (equivalent) are good value tried searching for Bed and
Breakfast accommodation in Barcelona.
I
soon found a place that was in the city centre, had en suite accommodation and
called itself “A comfortable, quiet and modern Bed and Breakfast in the most
central place of Barcelona”.
Arriving at the place on a warm February evening, we were shown the place. 2nd
floor apartment with a double room with en suite facilities, plus communal lounge,
2 further twin bedrooms and bathroom and a kitchen. The place looked like the
good photos on the owner’s website. One thing was missing – Breakfast. Now in
Britain and Ireland the B & B business has traditionally provided a cooked breakfast
although more and more establishments are now providing a croissant/rolls and
coffee/tea continental type breakfast, as you would find in France. In this Barcelona
B & B after 5 nights stay there was no breakfast!
Upon
my return home, I took another look at their web site. In small print was the
phrase “Another advantage of this bed and breakfast is the full equipped kitchen
where guests can prepare their own breakfast, lunch or dinner, or help themselves
to cold drinks or fresh fruit whenever they want.” My comment would be – although
a modern kitchen, it did lack anything to make coffee with (no kettle) only a
saucepan and considering the accommodation was for two other double rooms as well,
the two small cups would not be much use! The operators of such establishments
in Britain, France and Ireland could not get away with this and in the UK could
be prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act. On the 2nd March 2006, I decided
to email them...
Dear
Sir / Madam -You advertise "Bed and Breakfast" and when we stayed there for 5
nights in February, never had breakfast delivered. Surely you should not be advertising
your place as a Bed and Breakfast unless you actually provide breakfast? - I look
forward to hearing from you. Regards Philip Suter
At
the 9th March 2006, I had still not had a reply. So much for good customer relations.
If
you are booking such a place, confirm by phone or email that if they call themselves
a Bed and Breakfast that they actually serve it. They did state on the booking
receipt sent by email that they wanted to be paid on arrival. What they did not
state, was that they would want 10 euros extra to process a credit card.
My
relatives stayed at the “not too exciting” hotel, it was not luxurious, but had
the owners portrayed it themselves on a website and shown the room we visited
then we would have stayed there. The price was much cheaper than the B & B and
you paid extra for breakfast. (But you would have got it) Take care on your travels
and if someone is offering bed and breakfast in Barcelona be prepared, although
you might get a bed you might have to find your own breakfast somewhere else.
Philip
Suter is a Director of jml Property Services; http://www.jmlproperty.co.uk
a UK based company offering Insurance products on line at http://www.jml-property-insurance.co.uk
and a holiday home advertising service http://www.jmlvillas.com
and management training within the uk. He a travel writer and is a very experienced
property consultant with over 30 years work in the Residential letting business
in the UK and served on the National Council of ARLA. He is a Fellow of the National
Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and a Member of The association of Residential
Letting Agents (ARLA) Article
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Suter
N.B.
This information should not be relied on for accuracy and is presented here without
the responsibility of jml Property Service and the website it is being displayed
at. ©jml property Services 03-06
See
also
Barcelona
in February
The
Hideaway Spa Guest House Javea Costa Blanca Spain
