Flats for you Maestro Sosa — Hotel in Valencia

Warning: potential scam. Tried to get money via bank transfer. TL;DR = I booked via Booking.com. The host contacted me via whatsapp saying my credit card guarantee wouldn't work and insisted that I send a bank transfer to keep the reservation.

Full story:

I booked this property via Booking.com. According to the payment terms, I guaranteed my reservation with a credit card that would be charged separately by the property.

One week before arrival, I received a message from the host via whatsapp. They said that my credit card was declined and I would need to use a 3rd-party payment site or else they would cancel the reservation. (My card is a daily-use credit card and I received no fraud warnings nor had I had any other issues in Spain.)

I tried using their site various times with several credit cards (thinking I could dispute the payment if there was something fraudulent). Every time, their site came back with an error.

Instead of a credit card or Booking.com, the host said that I would need to send a bank transfer or they would cancel the booking.

I mentioned that I'm not Spanish/European, so a wire transfer is slightly difficult. After consulting with my wife (who's Spanish), this is a common scam in Spain: Properties that seem too good to be true often demand that you send money via bank transfer to guarantee your spot. The property doesn't actually exist.

Now that I see that there are no other reviews on Google, I think this is the case.

Long-story-short. They canceled my reservation before I could get in touch with Booking.com. It's possible that it's a legit operation, but please protect yourselves: DO NOT SEND MONEY VIA BANK TRANSFER because you do not have...

Our stay at this accommodation was absolutely wonderful. The apartment was beautiful, modern, clean, and quiet.

The location is also excellent. The metro station is only about a 10-minute walk away, and you can reach the city center in about 15 minutes.

The immediate surroundings were super: right next door is a small, family-run bakery offering delicious treats for breakfast, which we loved! Just around the corner is a large supermarket, and there are lovely cafés and restaurants nearby.

The service and organization were top-notch. They are highly responsive to any questions and the staff is very kind and welcoming - Sandra in our case. Since our flight was late in the evening, we appreciated the option to store our luggage in the storage room on the ground floor. Everything is perfectly organized.

I highly recommend this place. If I ever visit Valencia again, I will definitely choose...

We had a great stay at this apartment. Easy to get around town from this location and situated in a nice neighborhood. The apartment is spacious and decorated beautifully. As a plus we had a small terrace at the back. Both the inside and the terrace keep most of the street noise out, as the walls are very thick. Thank you Lina for...