I paid £99 to stay in luxury stargazing dome……

Dozens of couples and families have booked overnight stays in a luxury ‘stargazing dome’ only to discover an empty farmer’s field.

For the last six months they have been turning up at the isolated spot in the Yorkshire countryside looking forward to a night of glamping – lying in bed and staring up at the stars above – only to discover they have been scammed.

The unsuspecting victims have been persuaded to pay £99 a night in advance by adverts on Facebook and professional looking websites featuring images of a genuine award-winning Airbnb stargazing dome in Agnes, Australia.

The websites give a postcode location near Knayton, North Yorkshire, which covers farmland and a caravan park.

So far more than 150 people have arrived in the area looking for the luxury dome, only to discover the truth from the farmer or the owners of the nearby caravan park.

The online booking sites for ‘Star Domes’ are swiftly closed down before reopening under a similar name and conning more holidaymakers.

North Yorkshire Police have urged victims to contact them and passed on details to Action Fraud to investigate.

The criminals behind the scam have yet to be identified, but could be based anywhere in the world. The location of one of the early scam Facebook sites was said to be in Indonesia.

Genuine stargazing dome site at Catgill Farm, Bolton Abbey, that the scammers ‘stole photos’ from

Julian Potter said he had been turning scam victims away from his farm nearly every week as they knocked on his house asking where the dome was

Farmer Julian Potter, who rents out a farmhouse to holidaymakers, said since the summer he has had about 30 people come to his house looking for the stargazing dome they have booked.

He said: ‘I was cutting the lawn outside one day and a family turned up and said “we are here for the glamping” and I told them we don’t do that.’

Mr Potter said he contacted the nearby caravan park and was told ‘it’s a scam, we’ve had people turn up here as well.’

The scam website was called ‘tranquil gardens’ to start with and has changed names over time.

‘We have had loads of people coming and we just have to say “we are really sorry but hopefully you have booked on your credit card and you will get your money back”. It’s horrible seeing the children’s faces drop and the parents saying “oh my God what are we going to do now”.’

Mr Potter said: ‘There have been about six or seven different websites pop up and they all advertise on Facebook. People go on the website, think that looks rather nice and book it. We tell the police who close the website down and a day or two later another pops up with a slightly different name.’

All feature the same glamping dome.

‘It’s been predominantly couples. We had a guy who took his wife for their first wedding anniversary, which was a bit sad, she was crying her eyes out and he didn’t know what to do with himself.’

The genuine Airbnb in Australia. This was an image of the bubble dome used by the holiday scammers

Another image of the stargazing dome site at Catgill Farm, Bolton Abbey, which scammers used the photos of

The caravan park owner, who asked not to be named, said more and more people are turning up. The busiest time was October half term when 20 disappointed trippers arrived in quick succession.

‘This weekend we had three or four in on Sunday,’ he said.

Holidaymakers are also lured by the £99 a night price.

He said one of the scam websites had ‘stolen photos’ from a genuine Yorkshire glamping site with ‘stargazing dome’. The luxury glamping site at Catgill Farm, Bolton Abbey, charges around double that price for its premium pod and so victims believe they are getting a good deal booking the ‘fake’ one.

‘We have had to tell people who turn up here that it’s not real and obviously they are upset,’ said the caravan park boss. 

‘The websites look good and are reasonably cheap for what they are offering.’

One of the victims, events manager Samantha Cook, 39, booked to go for a night with fiancé Ryan Swain, 34, after arranging childcare.

The couple from Malton, North Yorkshire, asked directions at a local pub and were told they had been scammed.

Samantha Cook, 39, booked to go for a night with fiancé Ryan Swain, 34, after arranging childcare

The couple from Malton, North Yorkshire, asked directions at a local pub and were told they had been scammed

Ms Cook told the BBC: ‘I was devastated, I burst out crying because I had Ryan in the car. It was our last weekend until New Year that we had a full weekend together without work, so it was a bit gutting.’

Mr Swain, 34, an entertainer, said: ‘Sam was mortified, in tears and heartbroken. The website, looking back on it, looked really authentic and legitimate.’

The website even had faked Trustpilot-style reviews and a booking calendar to add authenticity.

Janice Kirby, 55, from County Durham, booked a stay and paid in advance but became concerned when she didn’t receive a confirmation email.

By chance she stumbled across a post on Facebook from Mr Potter’s farm, warning people about the scam.

She told the BBC: ‘I felt stupid. I always thought I would never fall for anything like that. It’s right what they say, if it looks too good to be true then it probably is.’

Both Ms Kirby and Ms Cook were given their money back by their bank.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: ‘We’ve received a report from the owner of a caravan and glamping site that members of the public have been arriving thinking they have paid for a stay through a third-party website, but there is no record of their booking.

Janice Kirby, 55, from County Durham, booked a stay and paid in advance but became concerned when she didn’t receive a confirmation email

‘We have referred the matter to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud. We’re aware the reportee has also reported the third-party website to the National Cyber Security Centre, and has contacted Facebook and other online platforms where it is being advertised.

‘We would urge anyone who’s been affected by this to contact us and make a report to the police – you can report online via our website, or call 101.

‘It can be difficult to spot a fraudulent website. Particularly when handing over money, people should take extra steps to ensure a website is genuine. Double-check its address, look for contact information, read the terms and conditions, verify any trust-mark labels or logos, and check online reviews from a number of sources.’