Be careful what you book as they don't stand behind errors

I booked a hotel in st. petersburg (Abajour at Nevsky Hotel). The confirmation had an address, map and phone number, none of which were accurate. After 30 minutes wandering around the area in -7 degree (c) snow (and asking locals where the hotel was) I gave up. I called the hotel number that was actually a travel agent, not the hotel. I needed a place to stay as I had work to do so I checked into the closest hotel I could find. I contacted booking.com who Confirmed that the phone number was wrong. They found the correct phone number on google. They then contacted the hotel and managed to cancel my reservation without charge. However, I ended up at a hotel that was much more expensive. I complained that booking.com is responsible for the accuracy of the data on their website. After 25 minutes on the phone with them, being on hold for most of it, they have stated that their information is correct on the confirmation, even though they have called and I have called the supposed hotel number and confirmed it is wrong. They also claim the map on the reservation is correct but the hotel is not where it is supposed to be. Bad map, bad phone number, foreign city, -7 degrees, snowing, no mobile to call booking.com at $7.00 a minute. It is absurd that booking.com will not take responsibility.

The good thing about booking.com is that when it works, it's ok. When it doesn't they hide and make up whatever they like to ensure they will not be held liable. Even 1 out of 10 or 1 out of 50 bad experiences is enough to say, no thanks. You're better off using booking.com to identify a hotel, then googling the hotel directly and contacting them. That way, at least you are protected.