Hotel guest is shocked to discover the New York room she booked via Airbnb looks directly into a RESTAURANT – and the window is disguised as a mirror on the other side
- Desiree Baker booked the room at Cassa, a hotel near Times Square, via Airbnb
- Photos on the website showed the room with a view out over Manhattan
- In reality the room looked directly into the adjoining hotel restaurant
- Desiree’s TikTok of the extraordinary discovery has racked up 6.5million views
A woman shared her shock at arriving at her New York City hotel room only to discover the only window opened directly into a restaurant.
Desiree Baker booked the room at Cassa, a hotel near Times Square, via Airbnb, believing she had found a bargain in the middle of Manhattan.
Photos on the booking website showed a room with a view out over the city.
It was only when she woke the following morning and opened the blinds that she realized the room looked directly into Tempura, the hotel restaurant, with the closest table less than a foot away.
The restaurant wall is lined with mirrors, which are actually room windows.
Expectation: Desiree Baker booked the room at Cassa, a hotel near Times Square, via Airbnb, believing she had found a bargain in the middle of Manhattan. Above, photos from the listing
Reality: It was only when Desiree woke the following morning and opened the blinds that she realized the room looked directly into Tempura, the hotel restaurant, with the closest table less than a foot away. Above, a couple having dinner at the table next to the hotel room window
What a view! The window looks directly into the restaurant. They are disguised as mirrors on the other side, so diners do not know that there are rooms looking into the room
Desiree’s video of her extraordinary discovery has gone viral and racked up more than 6.9million views in 24 hours.
The room appears to be the Park Double at the Cassa Hotel and Apartments, which is available to book directly through the hotel website. Desiree booked via Airbnb, although the room listing is no longer available.
Explaining the situation, she said: ‘It’s a good location I thought, perfect, this is a perfect place to stay. When we got here it was dark and we just went to bed.
‘When we woke up there were blackout shades but I was so excited to see the view. I thought I was going to see a building, a skyline or whatever.
The room appears to be the Park Double at the Cassa Hotel and Apartments, above, which is available to book directly through the hotel website. Desiree booked via Airbnb, although the room listing is no longer available. The Airbnb photos are slightly different
Desiree showed how the hotel room windows are disguised as mirrors in the restaurant (left). Right, Desiree filming the mirror hiding her hotel room in a separate TikTok video
View from inside the restaurant: Showing a wall lined with mirrors, which are actually windows
‘I roll up the shades… and we are in a restaurant. We are fully in a restaurant. I can open up this window and fully join these people at their dinner, at their lunch.’
The video shows Desiree opening the window into the restaurant. Another post shows her raising the blind to find a couple enjoying dinner at the nearest table.
Desiree shared a screenshot of an alleged exchange with the Airbnb booking host, who has another listing on the website.
When Desiree asked about a refund for her stay, the host replied: ‘Apologies for taking some time to reply to you, actually we were going to cancel your reservation as we had some room issues, however we were able to manage to host you.
‘I believe everything went and is going well during your stay and glad to know that we were able to host you during this time of year.’
Desiree contacted the booking manager (top), who did not address concerns over the restaurant view. Airbnb also contacted her to offer a coupon or a partial refund (below)
Desiree also received a message from an Airbnb representative, who wrote: ‘We found out about your experience from the TikTok video — needless to say it definitely shocked us and it’s not the experience that we want our guests to have.
‘We will definitely be following up with your host here, but we just wanted to make sure you were taken care of.
‘It looks like your check-out date was today (Dec 20th) so I imagine there’s nothing we can do to sort your current reservation but I would be happy to offer you a coupon on a future Airbnb stay or perhaps discount part of your original stay as a cash refund. Let me know what you think, or whether you have a different request/desire.’
Desiree said she was happy with Airbnb’s response.