Residence San Pietro Barisano

The staff were really helpful, and their English was excellent. Great place to stay in Matera!

The included breakfast was good, and the restaurant next door, which is part of the B&B, is unique to the city. The room was lovely, the staff were nice, and sleeping in this kind of place was a unique and interesting experience. There’s ventilation, but being inside the mountain still makes it rather damp. The views nearby are spectacular, with houses built on and into the mountain. It’s ingenious how people made a city out of rock. People have lived inside the mountain here for 10's of thousands of years, perhaps longer, and there’s evidence suggesting it may be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Getting here is very difficult, though. The B&B is inside the mountain and can’t be reached by car. You need to find parking, then carry your luggage up or down lots of steep stairs. It’s quite a task, and I wouldn’t recommend it for older or disabled people, or anyone with health problems. Bring as little as possible because you’ll have to carry it over all those stairs.

I got sick and was contagious, so traveling would have put others at risk. I contacted the property to explain why I couldn't use my booking, hoping they'd waive the fee, but they wouldn't and I lost the money. I never expected to get sick, of course. I'd suggest booking with a refund option. Very disappointed, and next time I'm in Matera I won't choose this place. Take care.

Matera itself is incredible, which makes this experience all the more upsetting. After checkout we asked to leave our bags, and were told we could keep them in our room. When we returned, the owner came in to get the key and saw my friend standing by the bathroom mirror. He suddenly started shouting, accusing us of messing up towels that had already been cleaned. I saw them and they were untouched. He got right in our faces and threw things around the room. We and the other guests were shocked, and we started to feel unsafe. We tried for about 10 minutes to understand what was happening, then left while he was still yelling after us. Looking at other reviews, it seems this has happened before. The verbal and near-physical assault ruined our time there. I wouldn't risk staying here.