Countless travelers—like me—have likely lost their money to Somnath hotel booking fraud.
What do such people possibly gain by robbing pilgrims right at the Lord’s own abode? Can such people ever find happiness? Absolutely not.
These fraudsters, who have swindled so many devotees like me under the guise of hotel bookings, must surely be bearing the curse of their victims.
Let me share my story; I am writing this solely so that you do not fall into the trap of such hotel booking scams anywhere in the world. Please read it in full.
I decided to visit Somnath Temple with my family. I booked a hotel online, and we set off for the city of Somnath, located in the Indian state of Gujarat.
By 7 o’clock in the morning, we had reached Somnath and went to the hotel. But we were shocked to find out that there was no room booked in our name.
The receptionist asked me to produce the booking receipt if I had indeed booked the room online.
I showed the booking receipt and the screenshot of the online payment. What the receptionist said next left me completely shocked and extremely anxious.
I broke into a sweat and felt dizzy. Two people helped me sit down on a chair. My family rushed over and asked me what had happened.
I told my family, “We have been the victims of a major fraud regarding our online hotel booking.”
👉 Unfortunately, hotel scams are not the only danger travelers can face; here are 5 travel scams that still fool tourists and how you can avoid them.
How I Fell into a Fake Hotel Booking Scam in Somnath
I planned a trip with my family to visit the Somnath Temple in December and started searching online for good hotels near the temple in Somnath.
I checked several trusted hotel booking websites; the kind frequently advertised on TV and YouTube. However, when I searched for hotels in Somnath on these trusted sites, I found that most of them were fully booked.
There were some large, beautiful hotels on the outskirts of Somnath with vacancies, but due to the peak tourist season, their room rates were exorbitantly high.
I spoke to relatives and friends who had visited the Somnath Temple a few months earlier. Several of them mentioned a hotel called “Sagar Darshan,” located right by the sea, noting that the rooms offered a stunning view of the ocean.
When I checked the room rates for this hotel, they fit my budget perfectly, as the property is managed by the Somnath Trust. I looked up photos of the hotel online and was completely captivated by what I saw.
I thought it was almost impossible to find such a wonderful hotel within our budget. I searched for “Sagar Darshan Hotel” on various trusted websites, but the property was not listed on most of them.
Then, I searched for “Sagar Darshan Hotel in Somnath” on Google, and that marked the beginning of the fraud that completely ruined the trip for me and my family.
How I Found a Room at a Fully Booked Hotel
When I searched for “Sagar Darshan Hotel” on Google, the Somnath Trust’s website (somnath.org – Official Website for Sagar Darshan Atithi Gruh Booking) appeared first. Upon visiting the site, I discovered that all the rooms were fully booked, so I began looking for other hotels.
When I showed photos of the Sagar Darshan Hotel to my wife, she was overjoyed. However, her mood soured completely when I told her the hotel was fully booked for several days and we couldn’t get a room there.
I went to work. When I returned home in the evening, my wife smiled and told me that a room at the Sagar Darshan Hotel could be arranged. I didn’t believe her.
By the time I had freshened up, she had opened a website on the laptop named “Shri Sagar Darshan Atithi Grih” (Guest House).
I told her, “All the rooms at this hotel are full; I checked this website just this morning.”
My wife took my phone and dialled a mobile number listed on the website.
I said, “Hello, am I speaking to someone from Sagar Darshan Hotel, Somnath?”
A voice replied, “Yes, sir, this is the hotel manager from Sagar Darshan speaking. How can I help you?”
I asked, “Sir, we need a premium room; is one available?”
The manager said, “Yes, sir, it is available.”
I asked, “But your website shows all the rooms as fully booked.”
The manager laughed and said, “Sir, we have 25 rooms that are booked exclusively over the phone. The rooms visible on the website are reserved only for online booking, which is why they appear fully booked to you. If you wish to book a room over the phone, you can get one, as we currently have 3 to 4 rooms available.”
I was overjoyed to hear this and immediately asked him to book the room. Little did I know that what would happen after booking it would teach me a lifelong lesson.
How the Hotel Manager Convinced Me to Pay Again and Again
I asked the manager, “How much does a premium room cost, and how do I need to pay?”
The manager replied, “It is ₹4,488 per day—₹4,400 for the room rent and ₹88 for tax.”
After saying this, the manager sent me a QR code for the online payment.
When I scanned the QR code, the name shown on the bank account was Komal. I immediately transferred ₹8,800 to that account, sent the screenshot to the manager, and wrote a note asking him to book the room for two days.
A short while later, the manager called me.
He said, “I apologize, sir, but your payment has been rejected on our end because you only transferred ₹8,800 and didn’t include the ₹176 tax amount.”
I told him, “Oh, sorry. In my excitement, I forgot about the tax amount, but I will pay you the ₹176 as soon as I arrive there. Please book the room for now.”
The manager apologized. “Sorry, sir, our banking system rejected the payment. The money will be returned to your account within 2 to 3 days. In the meantime, please make the full payment of ₹8,976, including the tax.”
As soon as the manager said this, I immediately transferred ₹8,976 to his bank account and sent him the screenshot.
A little later, he called again to say there was an issue with their bank account, so they couldn’t accept the payment at that moment.
The manager said, “Sir, I have booked your room, but please make the payment again once our bank account starts accepting payments this evening. The money that was just deducted from your account will be refunded to you within three days.”
That evening, the manager called me again. I immediately transferred the payment of ₹8,976 to him again and sent him the screenshot.
A short while later, the manager called back. Apologizing, he explained that his bank was unable to accept our payment for some reason. Hearing this made me furious.
I told the manager that I would make the payment only after arriving at the hotel. He initially refused but eventually agreed.
Quite some time passed, yet the money deducted from my bank account was not refunded. I began to worry. Whenever I called the manager, he would claim there was an issue with their online server and that it would take some time. After a few days, he stopped answering my calls altogether.
My anxiety kept mounting. Finally, the day arrived for me to travel to Somnath city with my family. But upon reaching the hotel, I discovered something that completely shocked me.
How I Found Out About the Fake Hotel Booking Scam
I reached Sagar Darshan Hotel with my family. My family was excited. I was nervous. My wife and children were busy taking photos by the sea outside the hotel, and I went to the reception.
When I inquired about my room, the receptionist informed me that there was no booking under my name. I showed them the screenshots of the payment transfers I had made to the hotel manager.
The receptionist checked again and stated that no payment had been received in the hotel’s bank account under our names.
I broke into a cold sweat and began to feel dizzy. Some hotel staff members steadied me and helped me sit on a nearby chair. My family rushed over, asking what had happened. I told my wife, “We have been victims of a major fraud regarding our hotel room booking.”
My wife was completely shocked to hear this. Just then, the actual hotel manager arrived and asked how I had made the payment.
I showed the manager the QR code and the payment transfer screenshots. Seeming to grasp the situation immediately, the manager explained:
“A hotel’s online QR code or bank account is always registered in the hotel’s name, never an individual’s name. However, the QR code you scanned for the transfer was linked to a bank account under the name ‘Komal’—meaning it was a personal account.”
The manager told me that I was cheated because I transferred the money to a personal account called ‘Komal’ instead of the hotel’s account.
I opened the hotel’s website to show him where I had found the fake manager’s number.
“We had checked the site, and it looked just like our official website. But the name of the domain was ‘Shri Sagar Darshan’ and not ‘Somnath.org’,” the manager said.
It was, in fact, a fake website created solely to scam customers. The manager also informed us that this fake website frequently changes its domain.
He further explained that thousands of people are being swindled daily through fake websites—set up in the names of renowned hotels—targeting pilgrims visiting famous religious sites across the country, such as Somnath.
A similar Sagar Darshan guest-house booking fraud was also reported by The Times of India, in which a traveler lost ₹39,000 after making an online booking.
We realized that a major fraud had been committed against us, but whose fault was it? Ours, or that of the person who had created the fake website and scammed us?
Perhaps the mistake was ours, as we blindly trusted a fake website and transferred money to a personal account held by someone named “Komal.”
👉 Fake websites are not the only thing that can create unrealistic expectations for pilgrims; my Kedarnath experience taught me how social media can also show a very different side of a pilgrimage
How to Avoid Hotel Booking Scams
- If you are unfamiliar with the process of booking hotels online, do not attempt to do so.
- Use only trusted websites for online hotel bookings.
- If you are booking a room through the website of a famous hotel or chain, first verify whether it is the genuine website or a fake one designed to look identical.
- You can use Google to find information about a hotel’s genuine versus fake websites. Simply search for “fraud and fake hotel websites in [your destination]”; if any such fraudulent sites exist, you will find out immediately.
- If it is not peak season and you are apprehensive about booking online, you can visit the hotel in person, inspect the room, and book it there. In the past, when online booking was not widely known, people used to book rooms by calling directly or by visiting the destination and checking the room before booking.
A Bhaskar English report also highlighted a Somnath hotel booking fraud involving fake websites targeting pilgrims.
If you become a victim of a fake hotel booking website like I did, immediately lodge a complaint at the “Cyber Crime” department or your nearest police station.
Keep recordings of calls with the person posing as the hotel manager, and screenshots of payments made into the fraudster’s bank account. These are useful in the police complaint process.
👉 If you want to avoid peak-season crowds and enjoy a more peaceful spiritual journey, explore these 7 peaceful off-season spiritual places in India.
