IseoLakeRental - La Stallina

The listing says Monte Isola is in Siviano, 1,650 feet from the ferry port and a 10-minute walk from the center. It leaves out that there’s no transport from that port to the port where we were told to leave our cars, and generally only 3-4 departures a day. The dock is a 500-meter walk on an unpaved road that isn’t suitable for baby strollers. The town center is more than a half-hour of steep uphill walking, not the 10-minute stroll they suggest. On our first day, taking the bus from the center meant it took 2.5 hours to reach our cars. When we returned that night, we learned the taxi driver wasn’t theirs and wouldn’t be available. We took two taxi trips because of our group size, costing 30 Euros, but the driver wouldn’t take us to the property because the roads were narrow. The property manager confirmed that only their own taxi would take us there. Why hadn’t they told us we’d be at that driver’s mercy? We had to descend to the property in pitch darkness, along a badly paved road. Kids fell, my baby was hit in the eye when the stroller tipped sideways, I twisted my ankle, and both strollers were damaged. One needed repair, and the other broke and had to be replaced. In the morning, we tried to get medical treatment for my baby’s eye. We felt trapped, with the only realistic way out being the nearby port. Carrying my baby, I walked there and then went on to another town. From there we took a train to our cars, then drove to a medical center. Reaching the cars took close to four hours. The property manager didn’t reply to our WhatsApp messages during this time, and later said it was off. We decided to leave and find another hotel. On another night, there were no buses and we couldn’t get a taxi, so we had to sleep in our cars. Imagine how much fun that was.

The house and apartments were clean, well equipped and had a beautiful view. The island itself is beautiful too. But getting to the house is practically impossible with children, for older people, or for anyone who isn’t very fit. We were a family of 12 traveling around Italy, with a 67-year-old grandfather with a bad hip, four children aged 5-9, two babies, lots of luggage and strollers, and groceries for four nights. When we arrived at the port with our cars, the house manager told us to park about 500 meters up the mountain, far from the port. Parking cost 6 Euros a day per car. After our first night, it took 2.5 hours just to get back to our cars. On the island, we waited for a taxi and needed two trips at 15 Euros each for the ten-minute ride. The taxi left us at the bottom of a very steep path, around 60-70 meters long with about 100 steps. Even as a healthy young man, I found it a hell of a workout. It took everyone ages to carry the luggage, strollers, kids and babies up, and some of us collapsed to rest. Getting around the island also meant steep inclines and unpaved roads. There were rarely taxis. The bus station for the port was about an hour’s walk away in those same conditions. The driver assigned by the manager for our first night never answered afterward. Other drivers left us 1.5 kilometers from the house late at night. Those dark walks on unpaved roads led to an 8-year-old and a 2-year-old getting injured, and both needed medical attention. On our third night, we didn’t make it back at all. We were returning late from a celebration, and the taxi driver who said he’d be available didn’t answer, leaving us stranded on the mainland and sleeping in our cars. We couldn’t stay for the remaining three nights and offered to pay for the time we’d been there plus a cancellation fee. The owner wouldn’t consider it or refund any of the fee we’d paid in cash on arrival. We kept pleading until our scheduled departure. It felt like our only choices were to leave and give this person over 1,000 Euros for the unused nights, or stay. The customer service from the owner was disgraceful, disrespectful and unreasonable. I’ve never experienced anything like it. We’ll pursue the matter through the appropriate channels. I don’t recommend this place for families, older people, or anyone who isn’t completely fit and healthy. I’m not surprised by the owner’s disgraceful, unprofessional reply to this review. Instead of apologizing or trying to make things right, they accused us of wrongdoing and misrepresented the facts again. Thank you for that. We’ll see you in court.

This place was a nightmare, like a prison. Stay away. It takes about 1.5-2 hours to get to or from the mainland, and once you arrive there’s a steep uphill walk to the property, awful with babies, kids or luggage. The property is isolated. A taxi drops you on the main road, then there’s a long, steep and dangerous hike downhill or uphill. It costs 15 euro for up to 8 people, or 4 with luggage, each way. The taxi driver the property referred us to didn’t answer once during the four days we were forced to stay. Two suitcases were ruined by the road, and two of our kids fell during a dark night walk. One needed medical care, which took us four hours to reach. One night, with no taxis available, we slept in the car with our kids and babies. Besides the ferry, getting to and from the property cost more than half the price of our stay. The owner refused to identify himself and hid behind the property manager. When we raised the access problem, he wouldn’t cancel the booking and forced us to stay. On top of an 80 euros final cleaning fee, they added another 100 for leaving the place “dirty.” For us, that came to 300 euros. If only I could give them zero.

A beautiful place, but the location is awful. Getting there means a long, difficult hike. Don’t go with kids.