False Advertising: Hotel Pics That Don't Match Reality

July 12, 2012 — -- intro: When scouting hotels and vacation rentals thousands of miles away from home, would-be travelers may be dazzled by the luxurious accommodations often pictured online.

But when it comes to getaways advertised on the Internet, what you see is too often not what you get. Click through to see photos of travel accommodations posted online and then photos of the (far less glamorous) real thing.

Watch the full story on "20/20: Vacation Confidential" online.

quicklist:url: title: Cozy Getaway?

text: The website for this cozy Polish hotel shows a peaceful, flower-covered inn beneath a sunny, blue sky.

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quicklist:url:title: Powerful Misperception

text: When ABC News arrived at the hotel, we found nothing cozy about it. It was on a noisy street and stood in the shadow of the cooling tower and smokestacks of a power plant.

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quicklist:url:title: Florida Flora?

text: This photo of a premiere Miami hotel's "deluxe" room features two plants and colorful décor.

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quicklist:url:title: Barely There Flare

text: When a reporter with the hotel website Oyster.com visited the hotel, the "deluxe" room looked markedly different -- the plants and floral blanket were absent.

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quicklist:url:title: A Room With a View?

text: A photo from the website of a Costa Rican hotel showed a "Full Ocean View" room with a wall of windows.

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quicklist:url:title: A Window Into Disappointment

text: When Oyster visited the hotel and requested a "Full Ocean View" room, the room they got had just one window.

For more comparisons of hotel advertisements and real hotel rooms, check out Oyster.com's "photo fakeouts" page.

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