Casale La Macina

Just what I was after: quiet surroundings and the beach within walking distance. The staff were extremely friendly, and Davide in the kitchen was really accommodating about my diet. A great stay.

The grounds are lovely, with a beautiful garden, a nice pool area and modern rooms. But the service was so unfriendly that it spoiled the atmosphere and the stay for me. The owner seemed to be around all the time, watching for anything she disliked and pointing it out in a very unfriendly way. She speaks more Italian than English, but seemed to expect everyone to understand her. The pool area is only open from 9:30 to 19:30, including just sitting there, and there’s no other lounge space beyond the iron breakfast tables outside. After checkout, around 10:30 or 11, we weren’t allowed to stay in the area. We were told it would cost 30 euros per person to use the pool for a couple of hours. Our taxi wasn’t due until 13:00, so we waited on the sofa instead. The owner still told us how to sit and said we should normally leave after checkout. You need a car to go out for dinner because the property is in the middle of nowhere. There’s no food there, and almost nothing reachable on foot apart from the beach. The road is a major one and completely dark in the evening. The staff didn’t speak very good English, which might have contributed to the unfriendly feeling, and couldn’t answer basic questions about getting around. The answer was always, “I don’t know.” We were given one key card for the property and room, and it also powered the room’s electricity. That limited our movements a lot because we “had to be all the together.” First they acted like this was normal, then said they’d give us another card, then said no, then said they’d lost the second one and gave us a key that only opened the room door. Breakfast was very good on the weekend, but the quality and quantity went down each day. So I have mixed feelings: it’s a nice property, but I didn’t find it relaxing. I felt I had to tiptoe around, which isn’t how I want to feel on holiday, especially at this room price. I’d look at the other places around Scopello. We stayed five nights at about 230 euros per night and booked directly, which is why I’m reviewing here. PS: After reading the response below, I can only say the owner is delusional as well as unfriendly 😅 Good luck to the staff working for her!

A great spot close to the beach, and good value for a moderate budget. The rooms were clean and cool, the pool was nice, and breakfast was nice too.

A quiet area and an amazing breakfast, really nice place to stay. One suggestion for the hotel: maybe don’t start cleaning rooms at 8 AM, since other guests might want to sleep longer.