Giardino sul Mare

The trouble came at checkout, and I hope the crew takes this as clear feedback. Our Booking.com confirmation gave a checkout window of 10am to 12pm. We had the “no cleaning” sign up and the room double-locked. At 10:45, after our last walk around the pool, we came back to shower and pack. The door was shut but no longer double-locked, so room service had already been inside. At 11:10, room service knocked and tried to tell us with gestures that we hadn’t left yet. The language barrier made it hard to communicate. Then reception called at 11:20 and said we had ten minutes to leave, even after we explained we believed checkout was by noon. They didn’t listen, cut us off, and hung up. At 11:23 another receptionist called, this time telling us to leave immediately. We still weren’t ready and thought we had until 12. Again, they wouldn’t listen and ended the call. We went to reception at 11:25 with the booking confirmation, and only then did they acknowledge checkout was by noon. Maybe there was a misunderstanding, or the local checkout time was different from what Booking showed. But nobody had told us that. The hotel should handle a mix-up more professionally and work it out with guests, instead of using repeated knocks and calls to rush us out. An apology would have helped, but we didn’t get one. We hope this doesn’t happen again. Despite that, we did enjoy our stay and might consider returning to lovely Lipari one day. The hotel is beautifully perched on a rock, and the location is perfect, with restaurants and shops within a five-minute walk. The saltwater pool has a sea view, and steps give access to the sea. Our room was a little dated, but spotless and well kept, so we felt comfortable. Breakfast was good, though it could have been more generous. The breakfast staff were courteous and made great coffee. The bar has vintage charm, there’s a roof terrace, and the barista was super nice.