Penthouse Station Luxury Suites & Apts

AVOID AT ALL COST. The owner got very aggressive when we asked for help, blamed us for the broken blinds and even demanded money for them. The photos had clearly been heavily retouched to make this deplorable apartment look better. It was 3 degrees Celsius outside and the air conditioners didn’t work. The kitchen was badly equipped, the fridge ridiculously small, and the extractor fan was broken. Four chairs shown in the pictures were missing, there were no sofas, and the automatic blinds didn’t work. Sheets and blankets were completely inadequate, cold air came through poorly sealed windows, and the beds smelled. We felt very unsafe, with doors that opened outside but no key to lock them. The owner had left apartment keys in an open box outside, available to anyone passing by, and never told us. One shower drained badly; the other had no door to stop water splashing out. There were disgusting stains everywhere and hair in the bathroom sinks. It was very obvious the apartment had been used for poker games, parties and very low-quality recordings. Trust me, any other option is better. You’ll only be saving yourself by choosing not to stay here.

There’s a nice balcony with outdoor seating, air conditioning and two small fridges. The apartment was clean and easy to get into on our first day, and the host quickly sorted out problems we had with the Jacuzzi and hot water. It’s about 100m from Brindisi train station and an easy walk into town. The kitchen facilities were missing. There was a kettle and coffee machine, but signs all over the apartment said food and drink were banned and guests would be fined for having any there.

We spent one night here after booking on booking, where it had an overall rating of 9.7. There were pictures on the wall of a dirty jacuzzi, which didn’t make us feel welcome. When we turned it on, it was filthy, with hair, algae, a bad smell and a white film on the water. The instructions beside it threatened a fine if guests left the hot tub dirty, so we followed them and sent the owner photos on wattsapp. He immediately video-called, very angry, called us liars and said the dirt was normal and we didn’t know about hot tubs. An apology might have helped, but instead he got aggressive and rude, and suggested we’d dirtied it ourselves, even though we stayed calm and polite. He was on holiday at the seaside and said I’d ruined his evening by upsetting him. Then he hung up, saying, «if you’re not happy go put 0 stars i don’t care » We were surprised someone that aggressive had such high marks, so we looked through the comments. We found dozens of 10's under his own name, Francesco. What client would rate the same hotel dozens of times every day? I also suspect other pseudonyms have reviewed it multiple times. The reviews under real names are very negative, and this man seems to want to swindle. Don’t go if you don’t want an unprofessional, rude host shouting at you.

Penthouse Station is in a great spot, just a 3-4-minute walk from the train station. We took convenient trips to Lecce, Bari and Ostuni. Francesco answered all our questions, even about trains back from Lecce, and sent a video of the timetable on his screen. We were in touch over WhatsApp before arriving and got useful restaurant and local transport advice. My husband and I stayed nine nights in the Luxury Suite with a hot tub. It was a huge jacuzzi, easily comfortable for both of us, and the roomy jacuzzi area had a TV and complimentary prosecco. Gina, the amazing maid, set the jacuzzi to turn off automatically, so we didn’t have to think about switching it on or off. The apartment itself was huge, with a comfortable bed, a soft light blanket and a coffee machine for our daily Italian coffee. Francesco was extremely friendly and helpful. He let us check in early and check out late to fit our flight times. We had an enjoyable stay and I highly recommend Penthouse Station. I’m sure I’ll book it again if I return to Brindisi.