IELTS Essay Bank · GT Task 1 letters · Complaint letter
Hotel Complaint Letter: Band 8 Sample Letter
210 words · Topic: Tourism ·
The question
You recently stayed at a hotel for a short holiday and were very unhappy with the service you received. Write a letter to the manager of the hotel.
In your letter:
- explain why you were staying at the hotel and when
- describe the problems you experienced during your stay
- say what you would like the manager to do about it
Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows: Dear Sir or Madam,
Band 8 sample letter
Highlighted = useful vocabularyDear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to complain about my recent stay at your hotel, which fell considerably short of the standard your website promises. I booked a sea-view double room for the weekend of 18–20 September as a surprise for my parents' fortieth wedding anniversary, and I had paid in full, at the premium rate, several weeks in advanced.
Regrettably, the problems began the moment we arrived. Despite our confirmed booking, we were informed that no sea-view rooms were available and were moved, without any offer of compensation, to a room directly above the kitchen. The extractor fans ran until well past midnight, so my parents barely slept on either night. When I raised the matter at reception, the duty manager was dismissive and implied that we had misunderstood the booking terms, which I found both unhelpful and discourteous.
Given that the occasion was a special one and that we did not receive the room we paid for, I would ask you to refund the difference between the two room rates and to investigate how our reservation was handled. A written apology to my parents would also go a long way towards restoring my confidence in your hotel.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully,
Omar Haddad
Word count: 210
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The same question is ready on its practice page, with a Band 8–9 model answer to compare.
Why this is Band 8: criterion by criterion
Task Achievement
Band 8All three bullet points are sufficiently covered and extended. The purpose of the stay is made meaningful (a surprise for a fortieth anniversary, paid for "at the premium rate"), each problem is followed by its consequence ("my parents barely slept on either night"), and the request has three clear, reasonable parts: a refund of the difference, an investigation and a written apology. The tone is consistently appropriate — firm but courteous throughout. Only a slightly more explicit link between the special occasion and the compensation requested would be needed for Band 9.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 8Information is sequenced logically and all aspects of cohesion are managed well. The second paragraph opens with a sentence that frames everything that follows ("the problems began the moment we arrived"), events are told in chronological order, and the third paragraph ties the request back to earlier points ("Given that the occasion was a special one…"). Referencing is precise ("the matter", "the two room rates"). Paragraphing is sufficient and appropriate for a formal letter.
Lexical Resource
Band 8A wide range of vocabulary is used fluently and precisely: "fell considerably short of", "without any offer of compensation", "dismissive", "discourteous" and the idiomatic "go a long way towards". Collocations are natural and the register is exactly right for a formal complaint. There is one slip in word form — "in advanced" should be in advance — which is the kind of occasional inaccuracy Band 8 allows.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 8A wide range of structures is used flexibly: a past perfect for the earlier payment ("I had paid in full"), a passive with an embedded parenthesis ("were moved, without any offer of compensation, to…"), a sentence-final relative clause ("which I found both unhelpful and discourteous") and a fronted "Given that" clause. The great majority of sentences are error-free. The long "Despite our confirmed booking…" sentence is slightly heavy with commas, but it remains clear, so the grammar sits securely at Band 8.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- fell considerably short of
- failed to reach a standard by a large margin; a strong, formal alternative to was worse than.
- confirmed booking
- the precise term for a reservation the hotel has accepted; it strengthens the writer's case.
- without any offer of compensation
- a precise detail that shows the hotel failed twice: first the room, then the response.
- raised the matter
- formal collocation for mentioning a problem to someone in authority.
- go a long way towards
- idiomatic way to say something would help a great deal; it softens a request without weakening it.
How this letter could reach Band 9
- 1Remove the one word-form slip (in advance); at Band 9 errors are extremely rare.
- 2Make the justification for compensation fully explicit — for example, state that the noise spoiled the anniversary the stay was booked for — so every part of the request is visibly earned.
- 3Break the long "Despite our confirmed booking…" sentence into two, so the complex grammar reads as effortlessly as the vocabulary does.
This is an original sample letter written by IELTS-Bank to illustrate Band 8 against the public IELTS Writing band descriptors. The band scores are our assessment, not an official IELTS result. IELTS-Bank is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, or Cambridge University Press & Assessment. "IELTS" is a registered trademark of its respective owners and is used here for descriptive purposes only.