Hotel Villa D'Amato

The staff were incredibly courteous and helpful, and the price was great. We knew we’d be outside the center, but bus 224 was easy to use and picked us up basically right outside the hotel, taking us straight to Central Station. We stayed for a week. The room was very spacious, the bed comfortable, and breakfast filling with plenty of variety. The rooms are on the older side, but they worked perfectly well.

The bathroom was difficult to use because there was no shower hose, just a shower head. Water sprayed at an angle and spilled beside the bathtub, making a huge mess. The mirrors were dirty, and the light above the sink blinked and didn’t work. Breakfast had little choice and no vegetables. There was orange juice but no apple juice. We told the server in Italian that we needed senza glutine, but she didn’t understand.

The food was awful, so don’t bother with the all-inclusive option. The pasta was undercooked, the sausages overcooked, and the potatoes so bland I couldn’t eat them. The hotel is about 20 minutes from the city by bus, with a couple of good restaurants in the area. Our room needed attention: it had no light shade, and trim around the shower was exposed. The overflow trim was missing, leaving plastic sticking out. We were next to the hotel sign, which lit up the room late into the night. The interior was kept clean, and room service did a great job. The hotel needs a facelift and some fresh ideas in the kitchen.

The free parking was nice, and the beach was close, though there was a big downside: it was rocky and full of rubbish. I’d only zoomed in on it from a distance for the photo. The room had such a strong, unpleasant fragrance that we had to call staff to switch it off. The interior needs renovation too. Breakfast was horrible. When we arrived, there was no bread or eggs, just a few sweets and cereal. Nothing had been replenished, and staff only started putting food out after we asked. Then they blamed us for complaining because a bus full of people was already eating. But it wasn’t our fault that the others arrived then. Food should be available throughout service. They served instant coffee, and the juice was in plastic cups. One staff member came over to argue with the manager while we were still eating. The whole place gave us hostel vibes.