Hotel Conquista de Toledo - Not a good experience

I haven't had a problem with unclean-looking tubs, but I've definitely had my share of rooms with a view of an air shaft. Some hotels, but not all, have multiple categories of rooms (standard, superior, etc.) or specify which rooms have a view. It sounds as if you were put in one of the hotel's less-nice rooms.

Is that the hotel at Juan Labrador 8? Its rating on booking.com is 7.5. That's well within the range I'm usually OK with, but I know a lot of people here won't look at places with ratings below 8.0. Many of the recent reviews do not rave about the facilities (perhaps an understatement). Rates for weeknights over the next few weeks are mostly under 60 euros, which is pretty inexpensive for Toledo, I think.

OK, so I am a savvy seasoned European traveler, and this is not what I expect. I know what American standards are, and I know what European standards are and this is not as billed. I’ve always been a fan of Rick Steves, but I cannot endorse his recommendation of this place. I went on his suggestion, and I’m totally totally totally disappointed.

We’ve been on the road for six weeks in Europe, and this is my first night of disappointment.

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Is that the hotel at Juan Labrador 8? Its rating on booking.com is 7.5. That's well within the range I'm usually OK with, but I know a lot of people here won't look at places with ratings below 8.0

And 3.5 stars on Google, which is really not great, especially in Spain where I find that there is a bit of "grade inflation" vs., say, France or Germany (some cultures are more critical than others, after all).
I hope your next hotels will meet your expectations!

I just looked at the latest TripAdvisor reviews which are really bad and go back several months with poor reviews. I know that guide books cannot be current even if the date is 2023 since it was likely written a year or more ago. I always check other sources such as TripAdvisor.

Rick and I have different tastes in hotels, I believe, from watching his TV shows. (I've always wondered if he were a really hard sleeper).

I look on this forum, too, to see if there are current reviews. If not, I start a thread. It looks like yours is the only one, though. Thank you for making others aware. It's unfortunate that even though you're staying just one night that you have had such a disappointing (and filthy-tub) experience.

I found years ago that Rick's taste in hotels and mine don't match. This sounds pretty grim and backed up by what others have verified on Trip Advisor reviews and ratings. Get a good night's sleep and off you go in the morning.

balso: Since English is your second language, though nearly flawless, I do want to point out my opinion of a phrase. I find the formula, "didn't meet your expectations", used in the US to be snide because it shifts the responsibility for satisfaction onto the customer . The company shrugs off any responsibility for a good job but insinuates that the customer is a high-maintenance, demanding, impossible to please jerk. To me it's corporate crass. Absolutely no criticism of you, just this twisted phrase