Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Google Maps for Hotel Directions

I love using Google Maps and I do so religiously on a daily basis whenever I need to look up a location. Last year on my summer vacation to Bogota, Colombia, I made a huge mistake when I was hotel hopping from the Hilton Bogota to the Sheraton Bogota.

I looked up the Sheraton Bogota on Google Maps and it pointed me to the location below:

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I picked up a street taxi outside the Hilton Bogota hotel and gave directions to the driver to the location of the Sheraton. I was using the GPS on Google maps and the taxi pulled up to the location I requested, but I could not find the hotel. It was purely a residential area and I just asked the driver to drop me off at that spot since the meter was running.

I pulled up the address on the SPG app and it gave me a different location which was in Barrio El Salitre. The hotel was 4.5km away (2.8 miles away) as shown on Google Maps which was an 11 minute ride from my current location with no traffic.

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From then on, I learned to double check the address on the hotel’s own website. In addition, many hotel websites list the location with a visual map where you can double check on Google Maps.

Fast forward to today where I booked a room at the Intercontinental Real San Pedro Sula for my upcoming stay in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. I checked on Google Maps for the location and it displayed that it was located in the heart of downtown near Parque Central.

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I double checked the location on the hotel’s website and found that it was located next to the Multiplaza Mall and a 5 minute drive from the incorrect location.

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The lesson here is that you need to be vigilant and proactive in double checking the address of your hotel on the hotel’s main website, especially when you’re in a foreign country.

Has this ever happened to you?

 

About the Author

Points Summary
My name is and I write the Points Summary travel blog.

1 Comment on "Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Google Maps for Hotel Directions"

  1. I once used Apple maps by mistake. Enough said.
    Also…what the hell is up with that guy with the glasses in the Real InterContinental San Pedro Sula photo…. o_O

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