The scammers of Venice
Venice is one of the most beautiful cities I ever visited in my life. It’s everything you expect it to be and more. But my goodness did I get tired of the feeling that every person there is trying to scam you whenever they can.
It started with the hotel. Because our flight arrived late (23:30) and checking in the Hotel was only possible till midnight I had to pay 20 euro extra for somebody to stay awake and open the door for us. This was agreed upon beforehand and confirmed by email. Totally fine and understandable.
So, we arrive at the hotel around 1:00 am and the doorman is there and he checks us in. He then tells me I have to pay 32 euro. I tell him I have gotten written notice its only 20 euro. I show him the paper. He says that there is a ‘city tax’ they must pay and it it’s not included in the 20 euro.
Total bullshit of course and he knows it, I know it (A 60% tax for what?! Staying up late…fuck off) but Bianca and I are both tired and he has the key that we need so we just pay whatever he wants and that’s the first impression you get of the Italian business owners in Venice.
We go out for dinner the next day and I order a glass of house wine with our meal. It’s decent food and after I ask for the bill. On the bill, I see something interesting. It reads I ordered half a liter of wine for 7 euro. I ask the waiter about it and he acts surprised and he goes and corrects the mistake.
He comes back with the new bill. It now reads 1 glass of wine – 6 euro (what?!). I’m already done with this bullshit so I just want to pay the 38 euro bill and go back to the hotel. I give him 50 euro. He disappears for 5 minutes and gives me two euro when he comes back and walks away immediately.
I call him back instantly and insist I get my ten missing euro. Again, I am treated with the surprise ‘act’.
I do get my money it in the end. But I can’t help but wonder how often these ‘mistakes’ do work.
And it’s like that all the time everywhere you go. I found it extremely tiring. We ended up buying bread and ham/cheese from the supermarket just to avoid dealing with this behavior. I guess I'm not a pro at being a tourist just yet :).
It was a bit of downer on our trip (I just can’t stand dishonesty) but luckily the beauty of the city made it totally worth it in the end.
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good pictures!!
Thank you!
welcome
That's outrageous and would totally turn me off. I hate feeling cheated. So glad it didn't ruin your otherwise nice visit.
It turned me off as well. Then I just decided to avoid it. It was fine after that.
Yes, that was a common theme in Northern Italy where most tourists are. I lived in Sicily where it rarely happened.
When I visited Sardinia last year it wasn't like this either.
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