My last night in Istanbul I had a lovely dinner at the historic Haci Baba restaurant, opened in the 1920s.

But the fireworks came the next day when I went to check out of the Hotel Conrad Istanbul. The hotel tried to overcharge me by a thousand dollars. A THOUSAND DOLLARS!

First they claimed their rates had gone up since I made a reservation in December. I explained the concept of a confirmed rerservation setting a guaranteed price.

Then they claimed I stayed in a nicer room then my reservation called for. I explained the concept of a complimentary upgrade.

Domestically, I've been known to make hotel fix incorrect charges of $2, so I certainly was going to stand my ground here. I was prepared to miss my international flight if necessary and rejected the hotel's suggestion that I pay the higher bill and we'd "settle it via email."

It took over an hour before the hotel presented me with a correct bill. Absolutely outrageous and shocking. As someone who has averaged 60 to 90 nights a year in Hilton Hotels for the past 17 years, I've never had an experience like that before. It completely marred what had been a lovely stay at that hotel.