Garruba 101

Wonderful Italy helped us by having Red Candy room cleaned earlier than usual when I booked at the last minute because of a family emergency, and I appreciated that. Room 1 is spacious and has a functional bathroom, but it’s stuffy, with too little ventilation and light from the street-level window. If you open the window and curtains, passersby can see inside. In summer heat, the AC is barely enough, especially when cooking. The “kitchen” has a temperamental small induction hob that only works when it senses a very heavy weight. There are just two pots and no frying pan, two glasses and mugs, though this is apparently a room for three and the second mug only arrived when I asked. The moka cafetière was dangerously faulty and was replaced after I requested it. There are three large dinner plates, espresso cups, and enough cutlery, but no salad bowl, pasta bowls, or saucers. I asked Wonderful Italy for a salad bowl and was ignored. They did provide the extra mug and a brand new moka cafetière. The kitchen paper roll was useful. We stayed six nights, and by the third we were looking forward to going home. We travel a lot and often stay somewhere with a kitchenette where rooms aren’t cleaned daily. Everywhere else, the room was cleaned and linen and towels changed every three days at no extra charge. Here, nothing was done unless we paid extra. We ran out of toilet paper and had to buy more. We also had to wash the dishes and take out the rubbish before checkout, so we were left doing some of the cleaning ourselves. Not amused. The location was convenient and was the main reason I chose it, though the area around Garruba 101 is now a fairly run-down part of Bari. There are plenty of places to eat nearby. If this had been a holiday, the accommodation would have spoiled it. There must be somewhere better than Red Candy room.