La Corte Dei Tancredi

The location near the historic center was the only good part of this stay. We felt stressed the whole time and would never go back. We had no other vacancies to choose from and it was too expensive for us, but I’d avoid it if possible. It felt like a scam, and I could only give one star for the location because the system wouldn’t allow zero. Getting inside was a struggle. We’d told the owner when we’d arrive, but waited outside for 40 minutes. The phone number didn’t work and there was no doorbell. Eventually an older woman came out onto the balcony above the entrance. We thought she was the owner, but she didn’t speak English. She seemed to expect everyone to speak fluent Italian, and we got no help. We understood she lived upstairs, but with no bell, it seemed like we’d have to shout or throw rocks at her window. The place was damp and smelled moldy enough to give me a headache. It’s by a very busy street and parking lot, so it was noisy late into the night. There are supposedly two windows, but they’re so small and hidden they barely count. We spent as little time there as possible and only slept there. The kitchen was greasy and dirty, including the appliances, dishes, cutlery, and pots. Every flat surface felt sticky. The refrigerator reeked of old cheese, and opening it for even a second made the whole place smell like old socks for a while. We couldn’t store anything in it, not even water bottles, because the smell was so nauseating. The cupboards had old, rotten buns and some disgusting playing cards and other stuff. The shower head was old and sprayed water around the bathroom. I wouldn’t go barefoot in the shower itself. The bathroom mirror and all the other mirrors looked plainly dirty, as if someone had wiped them with an old rag. The power outlets were broken, and we had to be careful not to pull them out of the wall or push them in. The TV remotes were disgustingly greasy. The WiFi password was on a greasy handwritten piece of paper, and we couldn’t make it out, so we gave up and used mobile data. Old stereos, TVs, and what looked like trash or someone’s belongings were scattered around behind dirty, old curtains. The bed sheets and towels were the only clean things in the so-called apartment. Don’t lift the sheets to look at the mattress, it was covered in strange stains and disgusting. The air conditioner didn’t cool the room, just seemed to work as a fan despite our attempts to change the settings. The water was freezing, and we had to figure out how to turn on the boiler ourselves. The owner gave us no instructions.