Villaggio Barilari

The pool is lovely, and the setting is surrounded by nature. The accommodations, though, are very old and were dirty, with mold and insects. I live in the mountains, so I know nature comes with the setting, but walls can still be repainted and treated against mold, and years' worth of cobwebs can be cleared away. If you can put up with anything, you may be fine here. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone claustrophobic or afraid of spiders.

The apartment was comfortable, pleasant, and practical, and the owners were kind and helpful. The ground-floor setup worked well for us with our dog, who is 14 and a half, and nearby attractions were easy to reach. A microwave and an electric heater would be useful in spring and autumn.

The location is fantastic, and I really enjoyed the pool, which was well cared for, along with the outdoor areas. There are gazebos and swings for sitting outside at any time, including in the evening. The open-air cinema in the woods and the theater performances were also original, lovely touches. Mr. Federico was kind and helpful when we arrived, explaining things and suggesting places to visit. We followed his advice and saw the beautiful nearby lakes and villages. It's a very quiet place where you sleep in the cool woods and get a close experience of nature. I think it deserves to be experienced at least once, as long as you're not squeamish about insects and spiders, since unfortunately they were everywhere. We stayed in August 2023. I expected to do some cleaning, and I'm a real clean freak, so I brought rags, sponges, bathroom and kitchen sanitizer, my own dishes, pots and pans, sheets, towels, and compostable cups and plates. Still, I spent three hours cleaning on arrival, clearing cobwebs from every corner, killing spiders, and shooing flies and horseflies out the windows. With the houses set among the woods and pine trees, I didn't expect to be completely free of bugs, but I did expect a bit more care. The walls were slightly moldy throughout and needed painting; the furniture, bathroom fixtures, and plumbing could use an overhaul too. Some people like vintage furnishings, but I'm not one of them, and I didn't enjoy that aspect during the holiday.

The one good thing was the setting in the woods. Everything else made for a disgusting experience. The sheets were dirty, as were many of the dishes in the apartments, and some beds had clearly broken slats, so the people assigned to them couldn't sleep comfortably. The owner ignored the arrangements we'd made. We were supposed to be alone apart from another group staying with us, whom we never even met. Instead, he left us with a third group of elderly people who complained about everything, although we weren't being disruptive. We were 26 young people, so naturally there was some noise even when we spoke quietly. The owner had assured us we could use the BBQ, but on the day we arrived he produced a made-up ordinance saying we couldn't. After looking into it carefully and persuading him, we got the go-ahead, as if we should have needed to. The elderly guests still complained about the smoke, even though we were cooking by our apartments, nowhere near theirs. By then it felt like they simply wanted to pick on us. The owner insulted and abusively attacked some of my friends over trivial things, then thoroughly inspected all the apartments. He found nothing wrong and returned our entire deposit. A couple of hours after we left, though, he contacted us claiming that items were missing. The items changed each time, and he accused us of theft and threatened to report us unless we deposited €150 into a bank account he chose. Then there was the supposed discovery of a pair of third-generation AirPods, which he used to intimidate us with an offer to trade them for some pillows and a candelabra that had supposedly vanished, despite escaping his thorough inspection Monday morning. Our luggage barely fit in the cars and suitcases. Everything is in writing, and we have proof. Perhaps this gentleman also forgets that he invoiced only about €500 of the €2,190 total, leaving roughly €1,690 WITHOUT AN INVOICE. These guys and this establishment need a thorough inspection by the NAS and the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Finance Police). Places and people like this shouldn't be allowed to stay open or keep working.