This hotel needs maintenance of its staff and premises to bring it back to the standard that it used to be.
We arrived at 3.45 p.m.: we had booked in January and last month informed the hotel of our arrival time. The grumpy female receptionist told us our room wasn’t ready. Poor first impression.
The fly screen to the reception room was torn in many places. Bad second impresssion.
The male receptionist said we could sit outside our room while it was being cleaned. He sent us some drinks. Our room was ready at 4.30, 45 minutes after our arrival. Poor third impression.
We were expecting a masseria similar in size to previous ones, typically 4 or 5 bedrooms. (Our fault for not researching enough.) This place is HUGE, I don’t know how many rooms, but our room number was 153. Consequently it is a long walk to reception, parking, rooms, pool, restaurant etc.
Our room was big, with a big bathroom. BUT: no kettle/coffee machine/cups/shampoo; the smallest soap ever seen; the shower head is held on by tape; there is a clear glass window between the bedroom and the bathroom (why not make it a one-way mirror, or use frosted glass, or a blind?), there are cracks in the walls.
Good point: quietest air con in Italy.
Second good point: comfortable bed. Second pillows arrived for second night without having to ask.
Sixth bad point: loose toilet seat - again sign of lack of maintenance.
The grounds are in a poor state. The “lawns” are more weeds than grass, and need cutting. The ponds are green stagnant water. There are many light fittings on the pathways that are broken or missing - some with weeds growing through them. There are weeds poking through cracks in the paving stones. the paving stones are cracked in many places which is a tripping hazard.. The retaining walls on the pathways are falling to pieces. The swimming pool has peeling paint, very cold, not obviously heated at all, even by sunlight. Maintenance required throughout the outside areas.
Our dinner on our first night coincided with two big tour groups which swamped the staff. The groups got the staff’s attention and we were left wanting and waiting. We were offered a fixed menu of two primi patti and two secondi patti: no a la carte, no antipasto or pasta, no price list. It was almost “a take-it-or-leave-it, we’re busy” impression. Dinner, when it arrived, was uninspiring.
The next day the female receptionist was still arguing with staff and guests, and could not clearly explain where breakfast was served, even in Italian.
Good point: male evening receptionist (Giovanni) very helpful, and good English.
Dinner on second night: better. There was only one (small) tour group, so staff were more attentive.
The price for the two nights (excluding dinner) was 153euros, including Booking.com’s commission. I guess you get what you pay for.
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