Italian Hotel Faces Backlash Over "Fake View"
Printed Lake Scene Installed Instead of Real Scenery
Window Completely Blocked in Guest Room
An Italian hotel that promoted its rooms with a "picturesque lake view" is facing criticism after it was revealed that a printed picture of a lake had been installed in the window.
Photo of the hotel reservation page (left) and the actual hotel appearance posted on SNS (right). Hotel website, TikTok
According to a report by the British Daily Mail on the 17th (local time), Felicia Svensson, who works in financial support in Gothenburg, Sweden, recently shared her bewildering experience online after staying at a hotel in Baveno, northern Italy. Baveno is a tourist destination near Lake Maggiore, the second largest lake in Italy, and is renowned for its beautiful natural scenery.
The hotel Svensson booked is a four-star luxury accommodation, which had prominently featured photos of rooms overlooking Lake Maggiore on its website and reservation platforms, along with descriptions such as "rooms with a lake view." Because of this, she looked forward to the view outside the window even before her arrival.
After checking in and entering her room, Svensson immediately approached the window and opened the curtains. At that moment, the familiar "scenery of the lake and green hills" she had seen in the photos appeared before her eyes. However, she soon realized that this was not the real view outside the window, but merely a "picture"?a photo of the lake printed on fabric and installed on the wall.
The actual exterior scenery was not visible at all, and it was reported that the room's window was blocked off.
Svensson filmed this astonishing situation and shared a video of it on her social networking service (SNS) account. The video has gone viral, garnering over two million views online within just one day of being posted.
Internet users around the world who saw the video have responded with comments such as, "Isn't this basically a scenery scam?" and "I never imagined the phrase 'as beautiful as a picture' would become so literal." Some also remarked, "It looks like there isn't even a real window," and "I was fooled for a moment, thinking it was an actual view."
This is not the first time such a "fake view" controversy has arisen. In May last year, another hotel in Italy was exposed for deceiving customers in a similar way. At that time, an SNS influencer revealed in a post titled "Expectation vs. Reality" that, instead of a real sea view, a large poster printed with an image of the sea had been attached to the exterior wall beyond the window of a room promoted as having an ocean view.
As cases like these, where some accommodation providers use exaggerated images or replace actual scenery with printed materials to attract bookings, continue to surface, criticism is mounting that they are betraying the trust of their guests.
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