Villa Rilke Duino

The good part is that they helped us with Amazon deliveries during the week and let us use the pool even though we weren’t staying there. But we still give one star overall, two for the very poor service and the willingness to help in the end. There was no apology and no alternative offered, and by then we’d already booked another place, which was much more expensive. The person in charge, who wasn’t the owner, knew nothing about our booking or the 300EUR and kept saying the hotel was full all week. He left us waiting for three hours with our little kids on a very hot day while he tried to contact the owner. We’d tried booking on Booking.com for four adults and two children, but there was a problem with one room, so we called the owner and arranged it by phone in native Italian, with no language barrier or misunderstanding. We sent 300EUR to secure the reservation. That was the last we heard from him. This was in June. When we arrived at the end of August, nobody seemed to know about it. Later, the owner sent a slip for the refund transfer, full of typos, and it took 72 working hours for the money to reach our bank account. Scam ahead, you risk having your holiday ruined. You’ve been warned.

I booked a large ground-floor room for my parents and their dog through WhatsApp, and told the owner the dog was big. I’d seen pictures on Booking.com in reviews showing a big dog by the pool, and it was listed as a pet-friendly place. But when my parents arrived, the villa worker knew nothing about the booking and said every room was unavailable. Later they said the dog was too big. Too big for what? We’d booked a large room. They wouldn’t let my parents stay with their dog. I don’t recommend this place. They could leave you with nowhere to stay, and it feels like they could scam you.

The surroundings of the house are lovely, and the owners have an artistic soul. The gentlemen at the B&B were polite, welcoming, and helpful. The rooms do need refreshing, though. Their glory days were in the 90s. Still, we’re happy with the time we spent here.

We’re already looking forward to coming back. The hosts were fantastic, always helpful and accommodating. Our room was spacious and very clean, and the sunny, bright breakfast room looks out over the pool and garden. A wonderful B&B!