Warning: Booking.com sent my family to a bankrupt, fenced-off resort in Belgium and is refusing to pay travel damages.
Hi everyone, I wanted to share a massive cautionary tale about Booking.com and how they completely abandoned my family after sending us across three countries to a resort that has been shut down since October 2025.
If you think your holiday is secure because you have a confirmed booking voucher, think again.
On 10th October 2025, I booked a stay at the ‘Waterside Elegance Sky Pad’ in the ‘Your Nature’ resort in Belgium. We planned our entire holiday around this specific trip to accommodate our two young sons - including our eldest who is non-verbal and autistic.
In the months leading up to the trip, Booking.com sent us multiple written assurances that the booking was "all in order," took our tourism tax payment, and even sent us a check-in voucher on 4th March 2026.
We drove a total of 9 hours across three countries (UK, France, Belgium), paying for Le Shuttle crossings, fuel, and an overnight stay in France to make the drive easier on our kids.
We pulled up to the resort on 3rd April 2026 at 3:20 PM only to find:
The main entrance blocked off by metal construction fences.
An empty car park and a "CLOSED" sign on the main door.
By sheer luck, we ran into an onsite property owner who introduced us to the caretaker. The caretaker explicitly told us that the resort went into administration in October 2025. He also stated he had told Booking.com’s partners numerous times that the resort was completely closed, but they "kept sending people."
We were left stranded in a foreign country with two crying, exhausted children. We had no choice but to immediately pay a fee to scramble onto a return Le Shuttle train back to the UK that same evening.
While we were driving back, completely stressed out, we received an automated message from them saying: "We hope you were able to check in quickly... We wish you a vacation with the warm feeling of a home away from home." Absolutely insulting.
Once we finally got back to the UK, Booking.com eventually sent an update admitting the property was unavailable. Their brilliant solution over an Easter Bank Holiday weekend? A link to rebook alternative accommodation for the same price or up to €60 more - offering us high-rise apartments.
While they eventually refunded the bare accommodation cost after intense pressure, they are completely dodging our claims for the £449.94 in wasted out-of-pocket travel expenses (trains, fuel, food, and Airbnb).
Our insurance company has confirmed this is an error entirely on Booking.com's part, and we have cited multiple UK law breaches to Booking.com:
- Section 50, Consumer Rights Act 2015: They gave explicit written assurances that the booking was secure, which we relied upon to book non-refundable travel.
- Section 49, Consumer Rights Act 2015: Total failure to perform services with "reasonable care and skill" by taking money and advertising a defunct resort for 6 months.
- Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008: Misleading omission by completely failing to identify that the resort was unavailable.
We've sent numerous emails with zero meaningful progression and have had to involve my local Member of Parliament to escalate this matter. He got a swift response to say they're dealing with it but since then, replies have been slow and it's clear they're playing delay tactics.
They even waited 3 weeks from one email before replying to ask for something we'd already sent them the same day they asked for it.
Booking.com does not verify their listings, ignores onsite caretakers telling them a resort is closed, takes your money anyway, and leaves you stranded hundreds of miles from home without paying a penny for the wasted travel expenses they caused. Avoid them.
UPDATE: Wow, I wasn't expecting this level of response when I posted. I genuinely appreciate all the comments, advice, and messages.
We’ve been given some brilliant new angles on how to approach this, including formal legal routes, financial options, and even national newspapers (some of whom we've reached out to, and others who have actually reached out to us!).
To address a few comments asking why we turned right back around: as mentioned, our eldest son is autistic and non-verbal. It takes an immense amount of time, routine, and care to prepare him for a trip or a new environment. When everything collapsed at the gates, the safest and best option for our family’s well-being was to simply return home to the UK. While other travelers might have scrambled for a backup hotel, weighing up our specific situation meant this was the only right choice. It also legally mitigated our losses and stopped us from risking even more money on an emergency booking we didn’t want.
Just to add too, when we booked and even after we returned, the Google listing was still live and accepting reviews (which I left to warn others). Their website was and still is up and running. Google has since been updated and reviews turned off. I would also add that we had visited the location before so knew it existed.
We’ve learned a costly lesson, and Booking.com will never see a single penny from our family again. I'll keep you all updated as the legal/media side progresses!