Albergo del Sedile

The room is a modern take on a Matera cave, and staying there gives you a sense of the city's traditional character. You do have to go down stairs to reach the rooms, but those few calories are worth it. Breakfast was nice. The main drawback was that there was no hot water because of a problem.

The front desk and staff were great, and the location is ideal for exploring the Sassi and Matera. The shower, though, was awful. It could use a lot of bleach, there was no hot water at night, and by morning the temperature was either scalding or freezing with no in-between. The water pressure was very weak, too. The Wi-Fi connection was horrible.

The staff were very friendly, and the host was great. Most of the hotel looks nice, though the room interiors weren't amazing. One drawback is that the rooms open straight onto the breakfast area, so people eating there might peek inside. I found it a little too expensive, but still decent overall.

I’ve worked in hotels for 30 years, and I’ve never had a stay go this badly. We got there around 11:30 PM, not knowing check-in ended at 11, and found the hotel closed. After several calls, a woman said she’d speak to the manager and try to help. I called back more than ten times, but she never answered. We’d already paid for the night, and now I have nowhere to sleep. This felt incredibly disrespectful. This isn’t a four-star property, and that woman shouldn’t be working in hospitality. Very, very, very bad.