16 Most Outrageously Misleading Hotel Ads (PHOTOS, POLL)

Posted: 06/23/2010 4:30 pm EDT Updated: 05/25/2011 4:50 pm EDT

We love the Internet more and more every day. We stumbled upon Oyster.com, the first hotel research and shopping website dedicated to publishing the 'hotel truth': objective reviews and un-doctored photography taken by anonymous staff members. It's a great concept: an entire business set up to show people what they're getting into with their hard-earned cash. Oyster put together their top picks for worst hotel marketing/reality offenders.

Photos courtesy of Oyster.com

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Worst Hotel Photo Fakeouts

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This model will have a tough time going surfing in The Aqua Hotel's "pool"...
... which is in fact no bigger than a hot tub.
The Grand Palladium Bavaro's buffet looks a lot more appetizing in the resort's 1980s-era website photo...
...than now.
All too often, mega resorts market their beaches as pristine, serene, and romantic; in reality, most are anything but.
Take, for example, the above photo of Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana. Crowded with lots of chairs and lots of people, it's anything but deserted.
The California Hotel and Casino website promises rooms that feel like a tropical island paradise, and backs up the claim with colorful photos.
The real room-- while clean and comfortable--looks bland in comparison.
Lush foliage, cushioned lounge chairs and patterned Jacuzzi tiles make the Breezes Montego Bay hot tub look like a tropical paradise.
Too bad they don't actually exist.
The quiet beach paradise depicted in the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort marketing photo does not seem to be quite so serene these days.
Ongoing construction will mar the setting until the Disney Vacation Club Resort opens next door in 2011.
The Hyatt Regency Washington is certainly located near the U.S. Capitol building...
...but not as near as the hotel website's photo, taken with a zoom lens, indicates.
Hotel 91's website claims that it is located in New York City's vibrant Lower East Side, steps from Chinatown, SoHo, Little Italy, and Wall Street.
The website photo conveniently hides the Chinese characters beneath the hotel sign, which are a big tipoff to the hotel's real location – in the bustling heart of Chinatown.
The magic of framing...
...hides the magic of Macy's.
Couples planning to say "I do" at the Riu Palace Punta Cana might encounter a few unexpected guests at their ceremony.
Since nothing says romance like an uninvited onlooker in a leopard print sarong.
Marketers can't show you real guests, but they're always more than happy to include one, singular sexy lady in an eye-catching swimsuit.
Oyster.com's photo of the Riu Negril Club's pool gives you a real impression of what it's like to sunbathe among the swarms of swimmers splashing about
When a hotel stages a photo with everyday items – a laptop, say – it's not hard to forgive. But this artfully staged photo of the The London West Hollywood terrace goes beyond the realm of probability...
...as there aren’t many people who would bring elaborate, flowering garland with them on vacation.
pdxgirl06:What a lovely view of the city!
pdxgirl06:Ohh, they forgot to mention the parking structure being built...
This marketing photo is cropped to hide the reality of a small, unattractive pool.
Throw in a few cocktails and some color enhancement and you’ve got a truly misleading photo.
The potted plants, pretty models, and a perfectly arranged chairs in the marketing photo make the hot tub pool at Breezes Runaway Bay...
...appear a lot lovelier and more orderly than it does in real life.
It’s not often you find a beach in the middle of a desert, but in Las Vegas there’s no hotel amenity too crazy (roller coaster, anyone?)
If the beautiful Mandalay Bay beach looks too good to be true, perhaps it’s because the beach is so crowded during the day that it’s nearly impossible to find a seat.
The Mandarin Oriental's pool is teeny tiny in real life, suitable only for a quick dip...
...nothing like the vast, blue expanse of water in the marketing photo.