Am not sure if this guy was a deliberate timewaster or simply didn't want to give me his true booking details.

He tried to book me last night but I was already booked, then today but it would have been too late for my minimum booking time for an 80 mile round trip. Eventually settled on Thursday a.m and, as these places have no room phone to verify on the day, I asked for booking details..

Joe..er..Smith! Came the Gem of a reply and the booking ref?..556744** ( though you can probably guess the sequence   ) Needless to say it didn't exist when I checked ). I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and asked instead for a token ?20 mobile phone voucher to be texted to me to confirm ( for an 2+ hr round trip ).

Resounding silence was the stern reply.  

Just a reminder to all girls to ALWAYS get some proof of booking when a call can not be made to the Hotel - on the day of travel, ideally just before starting to travel  ( someone once booked me the night before then checked out at 7am the following day without telling me- so it was a huge relief I called reception beforehand to check )

Almost certain he plucked the name out of thin air and have the uncanny feeling he has tried to book me several times before on different numbers. His current number is: 079894032**

If in doubt as to whether he's a timewaster, I always ask for a deposit. It doesn't put off the genuine callers as they lose nothing. The deposit is only a teeny percentage after all, but it will put off the *car-park watchers* (..shudders..  )  XX