He Paid 105 Euros for a Night in Zadar, Was Greeted by a Bucket
Video from an apartment in the Zadar area sparked a heated debate about the price-quality ratio of private accommodation on the Croatian coast.
Video from an apartment in the Zadar area sparked a heated debate about the price-quality ratio of private accommodation on the Croatian coast.
A Reddit user with the nickname FocusSuperb4188 shared a video that quickly sparked an avalanche of reactions. The footage shows a cracked toilet cistern in an apartment in Zadar, with water constantly leaking from it, and a bucket and a rag placed underneath as an improvised solution. For a night in this accommodation, he claims he paid 105 euros.
What particularly angered the author of the post is the fact that he booked the accommodation through the Booking platform just one day before arrival. He believes the owners must have been aware of the malfunction but still rented out the apartment at full price. "The accommodation was booked yesterday. I didn't book it two months ago. So, they knew it was broken and still rented it out at full price. If I had known it was broken, I wouldn't have booked it," he wrote in his post.
The post quickly became a place for venting frustrations about accommodation prices on the Adriatic. One commenter ironically noted: "That's what happens when you look for something cheap. If you had paid 300 euros per night, the bucket would have matched the tiles and leaked less." Sarcastic comments like "What luxury" and "Elite tourism?" followed.
Some users went a step further, comparing the price with what can be found abroad. One pointed out that in Tunisia, for about 110 euros per night, you can find a five-star hotel with breakfast, while another claimed that for a similar amount, he is currently staying in a hotel right by the sea in Italy.
Part of the discussion focused on practical advice. The guest was recommended to immediately report the issue to the booking platform. "Send a message to Booking and ask for a refund," was the direct advice. Others were more cautious, noting that a full refund is not guaranteed, but reporting during the stay increases the chances of a resolution.
Some commenters felt that a significant discount would be fair in this situation. "Maybe it really broke yesterday, but then they should give a 50 percent discount or a refund," one wrote. There were also those who defended the hosts, suggesting that the malfunction could have occurred unexpectedly and that finding a handyman in the middle of the season is difficult. "You can ask for a discount, that would be fair. But immediately posting photos and announcing a bad review isn't necessarily the solution," one user said.
On the other hand, harsher tones were not lacking. Some argued that finding a handyman is not the guest's concern, as they paid full price, while others said that an apartment with such a defect should not be rented out at all without prior warning. One user tried to calm the passions and asked for more context: "Can you film the rest of the apartment so we get the full picture? If everything else is tip-top, the impression might be different."
From the post itself, it is not possible to independently confirm when exactly the cistern cracked or whether the owners knew about the defect before the guest's arrival. However, the photo once again sparked the well-known debate about what guests rightly expect when they pay over a hundred euros for a night in private accommodation on the Croatian coast.
