Prima Kings Hotel

The good being that this hotel is able to accomodate large groups of people in the dining room and is close to the downtown area. The bad is the room lacked cleaniness and space. The bathroom was quite small and had mold spots all over. Several of our travel partners got sick and not sure if it was related or not. It lacked a bar sufficient for the size of the hotel. Food was mediocre at best. Building needed a remodel desperately. The carpet in the hallways was gross.

The Prima Kings Hotel in Jerusalem has treated me terribly. In the summer of 2018, I made a reservation at the Jerusalem Prima Kings for April 19 – 21, 2019, and also requested a room in the hotel in which to host a family dinner (the Passover Seder) on the evening of Friday, April 19. However, the hotel would not provide a room for that dinner unless I had 40 – 50 diners, and I had only 18. So I had to find a room for the dinner elsewhere. I finally settled on renting an apartment nearby in Jerusalem, which I rented for a whole week - to sleep in and to hold our dinner (at a cost far above what the hotel wanted for sleeping rooms). So, in July, 2018, after I rented the apartment, I cancelled my April 19-21, 2019 reservations at the Prima Kings Hotel and thought that was all there was to do, that I was finished with Prima Kings. Apparently, someone at the hotel thought I also reserved a room at the Prima Kings for April 19 – 28, which reservations were, apparently, not cancelled when the April 19-21 reservations were cancelled. On April 19, 2019, I was in Jerusalem, at the rented apartment, and received an email asking me if I was registered at the Prima Kings Hotel. Of course, I said “no”, I was in the rented apartment. I thought this surely was a mistake. On Sunday, April 21, I went to the Prima Kings Hotel and asked to speak to someone about the matter. I was told that I could to speak only to “the manager”, but “he was out”. I waited in the hotel lobby for his return; in fact, my wife and I and another couple sat for lunch in the hotel lobby restaurant and waited; but no one appeared. With a conversation, I could have settled the matter in some fashion, but no one would speak with me. I subsequently called the hotel several times to speak with someone about this matter. Everyone I called directed me to someone else. The Jerusalem staff directed me to call someone in the Tel Aviv office, and the Tel Aviv staff directed me to call someone in Jerusalem. I left messages all over, but no one has ever returned my call, even to today. When I returned to the US, I learned from friends that this is a frequent game played by foreign hotels, and the Prima Kings Hotel plays it better that I do. It’s the game of “gotcha”. The hotel simply wants to collect the entire stay’s room cost. It charged my Amex card $2,561.38! I understand the concept of paying a night’s room cost for not showing up after having made a reservation, but that payment is designed to prevent the hotel’s loss, not to deliver it a windfall. The week of April 19 - 28, 2019 (with both Easter and Passover) was one of the busiest weeks of the year for tourism in Jerusalem. Everything was booked, and at a much higher than normal price. All of the restaurants are full; I know because we waited in line for dinner all week. Every hotel was full. I am sure the Prima Kings was full, and experienced no loss because of me, certainly after the first 2 days. Even if they thought I was going to check in, and I did not, they had plenty of time, during the first 2 days (April 19-21), to re-rent the room for the remainder of my “reservation”, that is, April 21 – 28. They suffered no loss after the first 2 days. This is simply an opportunity to pick up additional income with no cost. Since the hotel would not speak with me, I complained to Booking.com. The lovely woman on the phone was shocked at the hotel’s attitude, and offered to negotiate with them, asking if I’d pay a night’s stay; and I agreed to do that. After a few days, she responded that the hotel wouldn’t accept only one night’s room cost. So far, I still have not heard from the hotel, and I am disputing the $2,561.38 charge on my American Express card. Kevin King