A Hotel's Honesty Backfires Spectacularly, Sparking a Surge in Bookings

A crumbling two-star hotel on Thailand's Phuket island has become an unlikely tourist magnet after its staff made an unusual plea: they asked guests to stay away. The Karon View Resort, acknowledging its own poor conditions, saw a surge in interest, particularly from Russian travelers, following the viral spread of its brutally honest responses to online reviews.

Travel agent Daria Perebaskina shared a compilation of the hotel's interactions on Instagram. The staff did not hold back, admitting to terrible service and self-deprecatingly rating their own establishment at 'half a star.' Their replies to guest complaints ranged from the practical—'Please choose another place to stay next time'—to the darkly humorous. One response read, 'Congratulations to your child for surviving the choice of this accommodation. We hope they grow up with good immunity to the fungal infections they endured here.'

This wave of candid self-criticism proved irresistible. Russian social media users flooded comments with expressions of sudden desire to visit. 'I want to check in specifically so they reply to my comment,' one wrote. Others stated, 'Now I want to stay in this exact hotel,' and 'I need to see this for myself.'

The phenomenon echoes a similar trend where a British travel blogger checked into what he called the UK's 'most disgusting hotel,' describing it as smelling 'of sweat and fear.' For the staff of the Karon View Resort, their attempt at transparency has, ironically, booked them a new wave of curious guests eager to experience the infamous hospitality for themselves.