The hotel had no running water, miswired electrical outlets, and a contract with fine-print that said that they'd charge your credit card £100 if you posted a negative review on the Web.
Tony and Jan Jenkinson stayed for one night at the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool, England, paying £36; Ms Jenkinson wasn't wearing her glasses when she signed the hotel's boilerplate and missed the fine-print that promised to punish her if she complained publicly about her stay.
The hotel has 256 ratings on Tripadvisor; 147 of the reviewers rate the hotel as "terrible."
Mr Jenkinson said he intended to fight the charge, adding: "Annoyed isn't strong enough for how I feel about this, what happened to freedom of speech?
"Everybody we have spoken to says they (the hotel) are not allowed to do this."
John Greenbank, north trading standards area manager, said it was a "novel" way to prevent bad reviews.
He said: "I have worked for trading standards for many years and have never seen anything like this.
Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review [BBC]
