Woman scammed by ocean-view hotel poster in Italy B&B

A traveller claims her ocean-view room didn't look out to the sea but a large poster of the ocean. Photo / WikiCommons

Sometimes, you arrive at a holiday destination and realise the view from your hotel room is even more beautiful than you pictured. Other times, you realise it’s literally a picture.

An Argentinian woman has shared a now-viral video exposing an alleged hotel scam she experienced while on holiday in Italy.

Clarisa Murgia was travelling around Italy when she arrived at a B&B which she claims was described as a vacation of a lifetime. Muriga did not disclose the location but said she paid a premium price for an ocean view.

When she arrived at the room, she did indeed see a stunning ocean view, with clear blue waters and a sweeping coastline populated with distant villas.

However, she soon realised it was an illusion and the image was actually a large poster stuck to the wall of a building right beside her window.

In the clip, titled “Expectation v Reality” in Spanish, Murgia shows how, at first, the view does look quite real. Once she moves outside, it becomes clear the image is a poster, used to spruce up a narrow alley.

“Someone rented a B&B with a sea view. I feel scammed, guys,” read a translation of text overlaid on the video.

“No one has ever deceived me like this before, hahaha.”

@clarisamurgia

Espectativa vs realidad 😂 #italia #parati #italy #paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii #beach #playa #spiaggia #mare #vacanza #estate

♬ Risa Exagerada - Kosovo inefi

Almost 2000 people left comments on the video, many expressing disappointment on behalf of Muriga and others making jokes.

“Not even my ex lied that much,” one person wrote, while another said: “My luck in life is summarised in this video.”

One person pointed out that the ad was technically true as she did get an ocean view, it just wasn’t a real ocean.

Another said it was Murgia’s fault for not checking the accommodation location on Google Maps, as she could have seen it wasn’t close to an ocean or another building was next door. Murgia admitted she was “half stupid” for falling for the deception.

While Murgia did not share the location, several viewers said it was likely in Naples, a city with a reputation for crime.

The Argentinian isn’t the first traveller to be scammed by an Italy accommodation. Fortunately for her, she did have a place to stay.

A group of American women visiting Positano weren’t so lucky in 2023, according to a series of videos shared by TikTok influencer Alix Earle. In the videos shared to her millions of followers, Earle explained how the “girls trip took a turn”.

Speaking to the camera, the 22-year-old said it wasn’t until the group arrived at their accommodation that realisation hit.