I'm trying to return google places with a given name and location. Google Places API has 3 options for searching for places:
- Find Place
- Nearby Search
- Text Search
I tried all 3 endpoints, but certain places never get returned even when the query string exactly matches what I see on Google Maps
Example 1:
Searching for "VIK Hotel San Antonio" with Find Place API
URL: https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/findplacefromtext/json?input=VIK Hotel San Antonio&inputtype=textquery&fields=photos,formatted_address,name,place_id&locationbias=circle:[email protected],-13.64163&key={{google_key}}&type=lodging&rankby=distance&language=en
Params:
input:VIK Hotel San Antonio
inputtype:textquery
fields:photos,formatted_address,name,place_id
locationbias:circle:[email protected],-13.64163
key:{{google_key}}
type:lodging
rankby:distance
language:en
Returns:
{
"candidates": [
{
"formatted_address": "Av. de las Playas, 88, 35510 Puerto del Carmen, Las Palmas, Spain",
"name": "Hotel Las Costas",
"photos": [
{
"height": 560,
"html_attributions": [
"<a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/contrib/112252274241085829382">A Google User</a>"
],
"photo_reference": "ATtYBwIXdPlny9tLx8nEdYX2VOF-0J6QKZQl2UroHiOnBGYnwCEFhBHx41JFsKQH_q-bZRq7V0Vmo_RuB-0hMu2S9BPB7uyrL4_fOMxEehcRSjgAY3KZOkvQ_yKfli_Z_L86iLbyZxLT4K5kNGLo2bnEilUqsUNOz2J2Mf9IgMIIB2EsWmn8",
"width": 800
}
],
"place_id": "ChIJ0_jBN-QlRgwRZaZhj7c4zgM"
}
],
"status": "OK"
}
There's only 1 result returned, but that's not the correct place. It's another hotel nearby.
If we look at Google Maps however, we can see a result with exactly the name I was looking for:
I've noticed that this is happening with a significant number of the searches I'm making.
Other examples:
Text Search API:
URL: https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/textsearch/json?query=vik hotel san antonio&location=28.9215,-13.64163&radius=3000&key={{google_key}}&type=lodging®ion=us
Params:
query:vik hotel san antonio
location:28.9215,-13.64163
radius:3000
key:{{google_key}}
type:lodging
region:us
Nearby Search API:
URL: https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/nearbysearch/json?location=28.9215,-13.64163&radius=3000&keyword=VIK Hotel San Antonio&key={{google_key}}
Params:
location:28.9215,-13.64163
radius:3000
keyword:VIK Hotel San Antonio
key:{{google_key}}
Both of the above exampels returned a result for the same incorrect place.
I also tried the autocomplete API:
URL: https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/autocomplete/json?input=VIK Hotel San Antonio&location=28.9215,-13.64163&origin=28.9215,-13.64163&radius=3000&key={{google_key}}&strictbounds
Params:
input:VIK Hotel San Antonio
location:28.9215,-13.64163
origin:28.9215,-13.64163
radius:3000
key:{{google_key}}
strictbounds:
Returns:
{
"predictions": [
{
"description": "Oasis san Antonio, Avenida de las Playas, Tías, Spain",
"distance_meters": 185,
"matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 6
}
],
"place_id": "ChIJf3Nr-EAlRgwRZOOH9wrpdAQ",
"reference": "ChIJf3Nr-EAlRgwRZOOH9wrpdAQ",
"structured_formatting": {
"main_text": "Oasis san Antonio",
"main_text_matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 6
}
],
"secondary_text": "Avenida de las Playas, Tías, Spain"
},
"terms": [
{
"offset": 0,
"value": "Oasis san Antonio"
},
{
"offset": 19,
"value": "Avenida de las Playas"
},
{
"offset": 42,
"value": "Tías"
},
{
"offset": 48,
"value": "Spain"
}
],
"types": [
"lodging",
"point_of_interest",
"establishment"
]
},
{
"description": "Wok San Antonio, Avenida de las Playas, Puerto del Carmen, Spain",
"distance_meters": 275,
"matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 4
}
],
"place_id": "ChIJr5WokR0lRgwRb70lhPAPaSA",
"reference": "ChIJr5WokR0lRgwRb70lhPAPaSA",
"structured_formatting": {
"main_text": "Wok San Antonio",
"main_text_matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 4
}
],
"secondary_text": "Avenida de las Playas, Puerto del Carmen, Spain"
},
"terms": [
{
"offset": 0,
"value": "Wok San Antonio"
},
{
"offset": 17,
"value": "Avenida de las Playas"
},
{
"offset": 40,
"value": "Puerto del Carmen"
},
{
"offset": 59,
"value": "Spain"
}
],
"types": [
"restaurant",
"food",
"point_of_interest",
"establishment"
]
},
{
"description": "HiperDino Express SAN ANTONIO, Avenida de las Playas, Tías, Spain",
"distance_meters": 126,
"matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 18
}
],
"place_id": "ChIJsWi4kZQlRgwRjapantbE8fM",
"reference": "ChIJsWi4kZQlRgwRjapantbE8fM",
"structured_formatting": {
"main_text": "HiperDino Express SAN ANTONIO",
"main_text_matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 18
}
],
"secondary_text": "Avenida de las Playas, Tías, Spain"
},
"terms": [
{
"offset": 0,
"value": "HiperDino Express SAN ANTONIO"
},
{
"offset": 31,
"value": "Avenida de las Playas"
},
{
"offset": 54,
"value": "Tías"
},
{
"offset": 60,
"value": "Spain"
}
],
"types": [
"supermarket",
"grocery_or_supermarket",
"food",
"point_of_interest",
"store",
"establishment"
]
},
{
"description": "Bus stop San Antonio, Puerto del Carmen, Spain",
"distance_meters": 32,
"matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 9
}
],
"place_id": "ChIJC7ejPeElRgwRtwVyDTOBAcU",
"reference": "ChIJC7ejPeElRgwRtwVyDTOBAcU",
"structured_formatting": {
"main_text": "Bus stop San Antonio",
"main_text_matched_substrings": [
{
"length": 11,
"offset": 9
}
],
"secondary_text": "Puerto del Carmen, Spain"
},
"terms": [
{
"offset": 0,
"value": "Bus stop San Antonio"
},
{
"offset": 22,
"value": "Puerto del Carmen"
},
{
"offset": 41,
"value": "Spain"
}
],
"types": [
"point_of_interest",
"establishment"
]
}
],
"status": "OK"
}
Which again, doesn't have the correct place in the list.
I suspected that maybe the place is generated on demand and doesn't actually have a Google Place ID, but that seems very remote to me and I was not able to confirm this. There's a Places API Finder tool that allows you to search for a place and retrieve its ID, but it uses the autocomplete API for searching places. Since the place I'm looking for is not returned by the autocomplete API, I cannot obtain the Google Place ID
