Villa Auriga

We paid a lot for a week here, and the apartment had a strange smell as soon as we came in. It seemed the cleaners had only mopped the floors, then left everything shut up. The agency handed over the keys after we paid the balance, and didn’t ask how the holiday went when we left. My husband, the children, and I spent much of the week, including at night, trying to get rid of insects. The window screens were broken, so bugs got in everywhere. The appliances were dirty too. There were safety problems for little ones: a drain in the garden was covered with two pieces of stone, and the stairs to the upstairs apartment had no locking gate, so the kids could get hurt. Other things were in poor shape. The hood got stuck in my hand when opened, and the bedroom closet by the window wobbled. The shower was very narrow, and the bunk-bed room was so tight it was hard to get in.

The best thing about the apartment is how close it is to the sea and center. There’s a mini market, tobacconist, ice cream shop, and pizzeria nearby, facing the sea in the Auriga sector, and the beaches are very wide. Bibione itself is still beautiful and has a lot to offer, though I wish the beaches were managed differently. Inside, the place has the essentials but needs attention. On arrival we had to clean up after a rushed, poor cleaning job: sand and dust everywhere, greasy dirty pans, a dirty cutlery tray, and greasy kitchen cupboards. Nothing seemed sanitized. We brought our own plates, glasses, and cutlery, and I also brought a sofa cover from home because the old sofa had one that looked like it had been there for ages. The refrigerator was small and rusty inside and out. Its wall socket was loose and dangerous, though the cleaner promptly fixed it. The broom handle kept coming off. There’s a double bed and a bunk bed set in a bridge wardrobe. The small wardrobe was already filled with bags of bedspreads and duvets, leaving very little storage and hardly any hangers. The walls had shoe prints in the bedroom and scuffs in the living room. The bathroom was large and had a window. Air conditioning costs extra, and there’s no washing machine, though there’s room for one in the bathroom. I’d replace the refrigerator and sofa, add a large chest of drawers in the bedroom since there’s room, put in a washing machine, and repaint the walls regularly. The cleaning company should do a proper job, and a cleaning kit for guests would help. The agency took payment, gave us the keys, and explained where the apartment was. That was all, and they didn’t ask about our holiday when we left.

It was clean when we arrived, but the furniture looked old and worn. There’s an odd smell from the kitchen drawers and cupboards when you open them.