Europe Express

We booked our hotel with Europe Express back in January 2014 and paid our rooms in full in January! We were charged $ 844 US and when we got to the hotel the room rate for a Premium Ocean View was approximately 380 Euro or about $ 500 US. We asked the hotel clerk when we checked in because on their website the rate was also 380 Euro.
We were told that we were NOT allowed to ask the prices because the rate we were charged was between the booking agent Europe Express and Hotel Nixe. Basically this was an unpublished rate. The ironic thing is that Hotel Nixe gives discounts for rooms that you prepay (this is on their website), and we did prepay and they told us that the reason the rate was higher was because we reserved the rooms early. Clearly as a seasoned traveler, we always book our rooms early to get the best price not at the last minute because we all know it costs more if you wait!
We asked for a refund on both rooms for the four nights and we were denied by both Europe Express and Hotel Nixe. The rooms were tiny, bathrooms very tight, décor minimal… basically we got ripped off. We overpaid EE and Hotel Nixe a total of $ 2400!
We are asking for our refund from EE and Hotel Nixe. Do NOT ever book any room with this hotel unless you triple check the rates. We were told that we could have gotten the 380 Euro rate if we notified EE and Hotel Nixe 7 days before we arrrived? We were traveling and we put our trust in the hotel and their vendor. How were we supposed to know what the rooms looked like before we arrived. Isn’t that the hotel and the vendor’s responsibility. I guess you would have to go to the hotel to double check what you are getting before you arrive.
Tip: Never book with Europe Express