Koh Chang resort sues expat over bad review

[europtimiste]

The resort owner or company should kick out this Czech restaurant manager who's behavior is more harmful to the reputation of this resort than the comments of Wesley Barnes.

So what was this alleged harmful behaviour? From what I have read, he withheld the corkage charge in an attempt to diffuse the situation. Maybe you should go to one of Hua Hin's 6,000฿ a night hotels for a meal, taking your own alcohol, and tell us how you get on. If they eventually drop any corkage charge, maybe you should write a stinking report about their service.

I agree with the gin bottle problem, he was wrong. But by the staff refusing to let him see the 6000.00 Baht room was the first wrong step.

[pharvey]

Well seems it's come to an end - as has Mr Barnes' job and I suspect his stay in Thailand - can be expensive being an obstinate tight @rse.

US Man Avoids Jail in Thailand Over Bad Resort Review

"A US man in Thailand who was arrested for writing a negative hotel review will avoid legal action and jail time.

Wesley Barnes had posted several reviews allegedly accusing the Sea View Resort of "modern day slavery".

He was subsequently detained and charged under Thailand's strict anti-defamation laws.

Police said Mr Barnes and the resort had managed to reach an agreement, which included an apology to the hotel and to Thailand's tourism authority.

He was also told to send a statement to foreign media organisations that had previously written about his then possible arrest, including BBC News.

In it, Mr Barnes said that he apologised for his "repeatedly false and untrue statements... made to maliciously defame Sea View. These reviews were written out of anger and malice".

The statement said he regretted his actions, adding that "the hotel has forgiven me and agreed to withdraw the complaint".

Colonel Kitti Maleehuan, superintendent of the Koh Chang police station - the island where the resort is located - told the AFP news agency that both parties had met over a mediation session overseen by police.

Mr Barnes will also have to provide "an explanation to the US embassy", said AFP - though it did not elaborate.

The hotel had said it would withdraw its complaint against Mr Barnes if he met all these terms.

Mr Barnes had ahead of the mediation session told news agency Reuters that he wanted to "end this case once and for all".

If found guilty, he could have faced up to two years in prison."

Full Story: - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-54473407

[handdrummer]

"All's well that ends well."

[caller]

Apart from yet more negative publicity for Thailand as this was widely covered by the Worlds media.

[PeteC]

The resort hotel in Thailand got its public apology. The unhappy American guest who spent two nights in jail for criticising the hotel online got his criminal charges dropped. But it was Tripadvisor, the giant online travel review platform, that got the last word.

Wesley Barnes, the American traveller who was arrested after being charged with criminal defamation for posting critical reviews of the Sea View resort on the island of Koh Chang, quietly left Thailand this week.

With Mr Barnes safely out of the country, Tripadvisor took punitive action Wednesday against the resort, posting a one-of-a-kind notice on the Sea View’s page warning travellers that the hotel was behind the jailing of a guest for his harsh reviews.

“This hotel or individuals associated with this hotel filed criminal charges against a Tripadvisor user in relation to the traveler writing and posting online reviews,” the warning reads. “The reviewer spent time in jail as a result.”

https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/2018 ... isor-label

[PeteC]

More detail, with a link to the resort Trip Advisor page showing the warning.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54914768