Hotel Palumbalza Porto Rotondo

The reception team, housekeepers, and restaurant and bar staff all made us feel welcome and looked after from start to finish. They’re the reason I’d stay here again.

The sea is very close and it’s a nice hotel, though some towns are a bit far away. Reception service was very good. At breakfast, though, the service didn’t get top marks. Maybe the crew were tired after the season, but they still could have treated guests with more smiles. Their English was very poor. One woman spoke a little better, but wasn’t nice to us. We ordered juice for our kid, and she didn’t say it was out of stock until I went over to ask. Quite a few things had run out even though we came around 9:30-9:40, with breakfast served until 10:30. We tried the restaurant for dinner once. The mushroom soups cost 24€ and tasted like hot water with just a weak hint of mushroom. It barely seemed like soup, so we didn’t go back. The coffee wasn’t good either. When we ordered Americano, one was decent black coffee and the other was a dark tea color. After that, we stuck with espresso.

With no car, staying here felt impossible. There’s nothing nearby, no city center, mini market or restaurants. If you do bring a car, parking costs € 20 per day. The restaurant food was very bad. I got frozen fish with frozen spinach for dinner, a dish that cost €28. With that and another order of spaghetti with tomato sauce, which was also bad, the dinner bill came to €62.

The location is beautiful, close to amazing beaches, and there’s a great marina on site as well as a little rocky private beach. That was the upside. The hotel felt expensive for what we got. The room’s air conditioning didn’t work, and it was colder outside than inside. The bathroom sink was clogged from the day we arrived. Food was just ok and service was subpar. The staff were helpful, but didn’t seem very motivated.