Hotel Fake-Out Photos 3

Oyster.com compares hotel marketing photos with real photos taken by their hotel reviewers. See if you can determine why some pictures are photoshopped fakes.

Oyster.com uncovers the truth about<a title="hotel" href="http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/top-hotels" target="_blank"> hotel</a> photos posted on pamphlets and websites. See the fake photo, and then compare it to the real photo taken by an Oyster reporter. Take a look at how perfectly staged everything is set up at the <a title="Grand Palladium Bavaro Resort & Spa" href=" http://www.oyster.com/dominican-republic/hotels/grand-palladium-bavaro-resort-and-spa/" target="_blank"> Grand Palladium Bavaro Resort & Spa</a>’s buffet in the Dominican Republic. This marketing photo in on the resort’s website.

Here’s the real deal. The food at the buffet looks like people have already picked over the food. The presentation isn't as perfect as it appears in the hotel’s marketing photo.

This is the image the<a title="California Hotel and Casino" href=" http://www.oyster.com/las-vegas/hotels/california-hotel-and-casino/" target="_blank"> California Hotel and Casino</a> in Las Vegas used to promote their Deluxe King rooms on their website.

Although the off-the-Strip property is clean, comfortable and quiet, the real thing just looks colorless. Oyster.com’s hotel reviewer felt a bit let down by the lack of “tropical-island-paradise” décor promised on the hotel’s website.

Sometimes the waterin a photo is too blue; the trees are too green; and the cocktails are too yellow. This photo of Miami’s <a title="Blue Moon Hotel" href=" http://www.oyster.com/miami/hotels/blue-moon-hotel/" target="_blank"> Blue Moon Hotel</a> is conveniently cropped so you can’t get a full view of the pool.

Apparently the pool at the Blue Moon Hotel is big enough for at least 1 fabulous person, or at least it appears that way based on this photo above.

Ah, the Dominican Republic. At the <a title="Don Juan Beach Resort" href="http://www.oyster.com/dominican-republic/hotels/don-juan-beach-resort/" target="_blank"> Don Juan Beach Resort</a> the surrounding buildings seem to disappear, and from the pool, there appears to be an unobstructed view of the beach.

In reality, the pool at the Don Juan Beach Resort is very close to the sand. If you stand just a little to the left and turn your camera a bit to the right, as the Oyster reporter did when he visited, you’ll see that part of the hotel looms over the pool. The building, cleverly omitted from the marketing photo, spoils the view and disturbs the serenity, even if the pool is just steps away from the sand.

The photographer for this marketing photo got down and dirty to capture this pool at the <a title="Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills" href="http://www.oyster.com/dominican-republic/hotels/don-juan-beach-resort/" target="_blank">Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills</a>. By crouching low near the pool, the photographer can get a wide-angle shot that makes the pool appear larger. When part of the pool is out of sight, it’s hard to tell where it truly ends or begins.

Reality check! Oyster.com’s real photo shows the pool in its entirety. You can clearly see that the pool isn’t as large as it appears in the marketing photo.

Similar to the fake-out photo at the Crown Plaza Hotel Beverly Hills, this fake-out photo a hotel pool can lead potential guests to believe that the it's larger than it appears. Notice how this marketing photo at <a title="The Orlando" href="http://www.oyster.com/los-angeles/hotels/the-orlando/" target="_blank"> The Orlando</a> hotel in Los Angeles only shows a small corner of the pool.

As Oyster.com’s photo shows (featured), the pool at The Orlando hotel is quite tiny. Don't expect any elaborate pool parties here.

We doubt that the beach at the <a title="Barcelo Capella Beach Resort" href=" http://www.oyster.com/dominican-republic/hotels/barcelo-capella-beach-resort/" target="_blank">Barcelo Capella Beach Resort </a> in the Dominican Republic is often as beautiful as this photo looks. In fact, an Oyster hotel reviewer saw the beach at its finest and snapped some photos.

Oyster.com’s hotel reviewer went back to the beach near Barcelo Capella Beach Resort at another time of day, and found the beach littered with seaweed and some trash. Although it’s not the resort’s fault, the seaweed-laden photo -- when compared to the hotel’s pristine marketing photo -- provides a striking contrast.