1978 Borgo Maresca by Perle di Puglia

At €1,000 a night, this villa was massively overpriced, poorly maintained and unsafe. We’d never stay there again, and I’d strongly advise others to avoid it. The biggest scare was the fireplace. It burned wood hidden behind a gypsum door, and the TV above it fell to the floor. The gypsum itself was catching fire. We were awake and managed to control it, but if we’d been asleep, it could have turned into a very serious situation. The water heater never worked, so hot water was unreliable at best. Power also went out four to five times every night. We had to wait each time for the responsible person to come and restart the main switch. It was completely disruptive and unacceptable. The owner then tried to blame our children, who are 2 and 7 years old. We would never let them near a fireplace. Blaming them instead of accepting responsibility for unsafe construction was outrageous. Service was terrible throughout, with no urgency or accountability, and even basic amenities were faulty.

We had no hot water for the whole stay, and the repeated power cuts made the villa uncomfortable. Worse, fire came out of the fireplace and the TV fell to the floor. The fireplace seemed badly built, with poor workmanship and wooden materials that were a clear fire hazard. After all that distress, being asked to pay €3,000 for alleged damages is unreasonable. The problems came from the property’s own faults and lack of maintenance. What a joke.

The owners were no help and showed no interest in fixing the problems we raised. The place was badly maintained and nothing like it was presented: lots of things were broken, dirty or neglected. A very disappointing stay, and not worth the money.

Fantastic!!