B&B Mezzabrino Vista Castello

We had a wonderful time in the family atmosphere, with a spectacular view over Itri Castle and the sea-facing landscape. The place was clean, and Sperlonga is about 10 minutes away on the scenic road. That view alone makes the trip worthwhile.

The property itself is beautiful, but the rooms feel stuck in the 1950s and badly dated. The owners and staff could at least greet people with a smile, a good morning, or a good evening. Breakfast is served outside the property, and it was miserable: €3 per person gets you coffee and a croissant, with no other choice unless you pay extra. That pretty much guarantees I won't be coming back.

We paid €140 per night in advance, and I expected more for that price. On our second night we had the blue room, which suited us much better: it was airy, had two balconies, and a very large bathroom. The view of the castle is real, and thankfully the rooms and the fresh-smelling sheets and towels were clean. Breakfast was packaged supermarket sweets on a terrace, but it wasn't the one pictured on the website. It was upstairs by the rooms, not under the cool portico. We stayed one night on each of two weekends. Having to pay the full amount when booking was a first for me. At other places, even booking a week ahead, we'd paid a 30% deposit and settled the rest on arrival. The property sits high up, and the road there is steep, narrow, and completely unlit at night, which felt dangerous to me. The listing explicitly said there was a TV, but there wasn't one in the rooms. We knew there was no room fridge, but had been told guests could use one downstairs. We were on the second floor, and when the children were thirsty at 3 a.m. I had to go down to get cold water. There wasn't even a small bottle waiting in the room when we arrived, and when we asked, we were told the water was in the fridge. Our room was very hot when we arrived at the agreed time, and it took quite a while to cool down.

The castle view is breathtaking, and that's the one thing I'd keep. The owner was intrusive and didn't make us feel welcome. Prices seemed outrageous for what was provided, and the furnishings were forgettable, especially those mattresses.