Do not be fooled by Agoda's Reservation Guarantee!
Do not be fooled by Agoda's Reservation Guarantee. They want you to think that booking with them is practically risk-free by promising relocation assistance or a refund if a hotel cannot honour your booking. I found out the hard way that this is nothing but a lie. I've been their customer since at least 2009 and have made countless bookings over the years. We only ever stay at 4 or 5 star properties, so when issues occasionally arose, the hotels themselves were more than capable of sorting things out. I never needed to contact Agoda's customer service for assistance until September 2026, during a family holiday in Santorini, Greece. We booked a property that Agoda listed as 4 star (ZENITH BLUE TRADITIONAL HOUSES - AVOID AT ALL COST!), but when we arrived, it was in fact a dilapidated B&B. There was no reception, no staff, no facilities, just a filthy, disgusting apartment that looked nothing like what Agoda sold us. Beyond the health hazards, think mould, mildew, rust, limescale, verdigris and flowing wastewater, it also presented serious safety risks. We paid for a 2-bedroom apartment with a private hot tub, but we were given 2 small, completely separate rooms, each with its own entrance opening directly onto a public footpath. We were travelling with a child, so having him stay literally in a separate apartment on his own was unacceptable. The doors could also only be locked or unlocked with a key, whether from inside or outside, so we would either have to lock him in or have him lock himself up. 😱 To top it all off, the hot tub was nowhere near the apartment but in a random public area beside a busy footpath, completely disconnected from the rooms. We contacted Agoda immediately with pictures clearly showing the discrepancies, but for 12 hours, we were tossed around between 4 incapable agents who gave nothing but useless template replies. After wasting our time, they finally said they won't provide any assistance and told us to book alternative accommodation at our own expense. 8 hours later, we were informed that we also wouldn't be getting our money back. 🤯 In what universe is it OK to take money for a service that wasn't delivered as described? In Agoda's universe, apparently, that's A(goda)-OK! 🙄 This completely ruined our holiday, and the most infuriating thing is that it could have been saved had Agoda simply done what they were supposed to do. Please do not use their services and take your business elsewhere but if you've already fallen victim, do not let them take you for a ride. They will stonewall you in an attempt to make you give up and tell you that they're just a middleman with no control over their partners. That is not true. They cannot completely absolve themselves of responsibility for facilitating a deceptive sale, so I encourage you to exercise your consumer rights and report them to the authorities!