B&B Torre Sibissi Bari

Really convenient location and easy to get to. It works well for a stay in Bari or as a base for visiting Polignano or Monopoli.

The breakfast was plentiful and well stocked, which is the only reason I’m giving even the minimum one star. Everything else made this a terrible stay, unlike any experience I’ve had at another property. I booked four rooms well in advance, back in December, for April 4th to 6th. They were for family members coming from outside Bari for my daughter’s baptism, and we were paying for their stay. I’d asked several times for them to be looked after well as our guests. Getting a response was difficult from the start. I spent weeks writing and calling before anyone answered. When we arrived, one room’s door was broken and left completely open. After considering a few options, the guests were offered an apartment instead, which seemed to solve things. But just ten minutes later our family called to say there was no hot water. We eventually reached someone and were told help would come right away. At 11:30 PM the water was still cold, and we were still calling and hoping for a reply. The hot water issue came back on the next days. We found out the boiler was wood-fired, so without wood being added the water stayed cold. That happened EVERY MORNING. Another room had no blankets, and its heating didn’t work. We’d repeatedly told them there were children staying. After paying so much, we ended up making a terrible impression on our guests. I’m sorry to say it, but this property should be closed completely because it isn’t suitable for hosting guests.

I stayed on Tuesday night. The building looked lovely from outside when I arrived after dark, but the room was a different story. There were two millipedes on the floor and another on the curtain. I had to open and close it whenever I went out so people couldn’t see into the room from the front garden, and I was worried one might fall on my head. There was no real ventilation. The only window was a small one in the bathroom, and it was very hard, maybe impossible, to open. The shower was covered in mold, there were cobwebs everywhere, and the sewer smell was so bad it kept me awake. Breakfast looked promising, but my cappuccino came with very cold milk, even though another guest had already pointed this out. Nothing was done, so I chose the packaged option. The chocolate muffin smelled and tasted like the sewer odor in the room. I told the woman serving breakfast about all of this and asked for a discount. My single room had cost €75 plus €2 tourist tax, while a couple paid €84 for a double. She said we’d have to contact the owner. We gave up at 7:20 in the morning because I’d already found it incredibly hard to reach her before. I came away with a very negative impression.

The breakfast was generous and had plenty of variety, and the service was very friendly and helpful, especially the receptionist. The room was good value for money, though upkeep and cleanliness could be better, particularly in the shower.