Tourist falls for pricey bill trap while dining at infamous destination

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Amber Pace and her friend were island hopping through Greece (Image: Supplied by Amber Pace)
Amber Pace and her friend were island hopping through Greece (Image: Supplied by Amber Pace)

A furious tourist "went off" on a manager of a restaurant in a tourist hotspot after being charged €520 for two drinks and two appetisers.

Amber Pace, a 25-year-old assistant manager from New York, has said she "never want to step foot in Mykonos again" after her experience there in May.

She and her friend Aubrey had decided to explore the picturesque Platys Gialos beach, a stretch of waterfront dotted with bars and restaurants.

Ms Pace told the Mirror they had just planned to lay their towels out on the beach but were approached by a tout. She said: "As we were walking on the beach we were approached by a man who seemed overly nice and eager to see us. He told us that the sun beds were 'free' with the purchase of a drink each. We decided that was a great deal considering we planned on drinking anyway."

Tourist falls for pricey bill trap while dining at infamous destination eiqetidruikxinvThe appetisers that almost bankrupted Amber and her friend (AMBER PACE)
Tourist falls for pricey bill trap while dining at infamous destinationAmber and Aubrey were on a holiday of a life time (Supplied by Amber Pace)

The restaurant connected to the sunbeds was the notorious DK Oyster, a venue with a terrible reputation among visitors - with Amber's friend Aubrey, unaware of its reputation. The eatery has had a string of complaints over the years from people unaware of its large bills for meals and drinks.

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The two ordered cocktails - a Pina Colada and a Strawberry Daiquiri - but they weren't given a menu, just the waiter listing the drinks without saying the prices. The pair also decided to get a bite to eat while they were there.

Ms Pace said: "We did get a menu for the food but the prices on the menu were by the pound. I’m from America, I did not understand that at all. I just saw the price €20 for the fried calamari I got and my friend got the king crab legs that said €32.

Tourist falls for pricey bill trap while dining at infamous destinationA holiday snap of Amber (AMBER PACE)

"I told our server three times 'Please make sure it is the €20 one, I don’t want anything more than that' and he kept saying he understood."

But even before the bill came the pair weren't happy.

She continued: "We got our food & it was DISGUSTING. Even before we knew the prices…. my fried calamari was rubbery and had no flavour, and my friends' crab legs were super salty."

They could have got over a few bad plates of food amid the wider holiday, but they were in for a shock when the bill came.

Ms Pace said: "Our server gave us a paper receipt that said €98 for fried calamari & €185 for king crab legs. We nearly lost it. We tried to talk to the server and he kept saying “what you got was by the pound and it was 4 pounds minimum” we did not see that on the menu!!!!"

Tourist falls for pricey bill trap while dining at infamous destinationThe picturesque Platys Gialos beach dotted with bars and restaurants (AMBER PACE)
Tourist falls for pricey bill trap while dining at infamous destinationThe two were lured in by the promise of cocktails (AMBER PACE)

Amber put €100 on her card and the rest on her friend's but the next day the friend realised they charged her €420.

Amber said: "We went back there and completely went off on the manager. He was down right rude, and shrugged it off like he’s been having these issues before so it didn’t phase him. He basically told us it was our fault for not reading the menu properly. He laughed in our face and did not do anything about it."

They tried to go through their banks but any refund was denied. The whole experience overshadowed their trip to the island. She said: "Horrible experience and that place gives Mykonos a bad name. We looked the place up after everything and it has warning flags on all travel websites because they’re known for ripping tourists off horribly. I never want to step foot in Mykonos again because of that experience."

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Mirror contacted DK Oyster for comment.

The restaurant has a reputation for leaving despairing tourists with eye-watering bills. TripAdvisor reviews are swamped with customers complaining about the price and quality.

Charlie Jones

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