Casa Oretani

Mike was so kind and helpful, and we had everything we needed for a weekend. Casa Oretani is a simple place, but the rooms were clean, the beds very comfortable, and there was plenty of hot water. We didn’t use the kitchen, though it was fully equipped. Maybe next time we’ll get to enjoy the garden and pool too. Thanks for everything, Carmen.

It could have been cleaner. The air conditioning barely cools, and there’s no oven or washing machine.

The owner was kind and helped us call a nearby restaurant, and breakfast was fine. Our room was adequate, though fairly basic, and there were damp marks in the shower grout. What caught us off guard was being asked for another €3 at payment for a second guest. We’d booked a double room with two beds at €37 per night, so we felt that extra charge was out of place.

The beds were a bright spot, mine was really comfortable, and the house has four bedrooms, each with a bathroom. Towels were provided, and inside it looks lovely at first. We chose Casa Oretani on Booking.com because it was near an activity we had planned, and the free cancellation up to a week before suited our friends’ gathering. Mike answers questions on Booking.com chat or WhatsApp, though he wasn’t there that weekend. We knew the pool was small, but it was fine for a quick dip in the heat. A shower to rinse off the chlorine would have been useful. The wheelbarrow BBQ is certainly unusual, but it works. You need to bring charcoal, and its two grills were so burnt and filthy that we wished we’d brought our own. The patio felt very neglected, with weeds, plants, a vegetable patch, and bugs. I’m from a small town and don’t mind ants outside, but we know what kind of bugs grow in places like that. Clearing the weeds would make it an open patio with a tree in the middle. The air conditioning wasn’t working on July 22nd. We noticed the heat when we arrived Friday and thought it might just have been switched on; after we told the house manager on Saturday, it was too late to fix things. We spent the nights sweating and kept everything open during the day. It looked clean at first, but could have been much better. The extractor dripped grease, so we didn’t use it; there were ants on the kitchen counter, and the coffee maker still had grounds from someone else’s coffee when we went to use it Friday. The bathrooms could use work too, and I’d rather not get into the details. I know a bad review can have an impact, and I think small details make a difference in rural accommodation. These issues made the stay less pleasant than we’d hoped, and I wouldn’t stay here again.