San Barbato 113

The room stayed uncomfortably hot day and night. There was no air conditioning, and the broken, badly fitted mosquito net stopped us closing the wooden shutters during the day. It also meant being woken at dawn, and we had to leave a ground-floor window open all night. The basic breakfast was just individual industrial jams and a few packaged supermarket items. In the middle of the Abruzzo countryside, couldn’t they offer something local? There are several maintenance problems too. An entire shower panel is missing, the front door is secured by a small, loose padlock that anyone could open with one hand, and the breakfast area is in direct sun. The one umbrella can’t shade all four guests. The garden felt generally neglected, and the owner wasn’t friendly. This makeshift B&B lacks basic comforts, despite offering to charge our electric car. It seems the hosts have lost the passion needed to run a B&B, if they ever had it. The old reviews suggest they did. Be wary of the super-enthusiastic reviews. We believed them, but our experience felt quite different.

We spent three weeks here in August, and had a wonderful time. It’s a charming, very clean and tidy farmhouse, a lovely base for discovering Abruzzo traditions. We enjoyed excellent breakfasts, dinners with friends and the legendary arrosticini, plus all the beautiful nature around us. Marcella, Massimo, and Alice were excellent company. Their dogs were wonderful, sweet, and well-behaved, and there was also an affectionate mare. We highly recommend the place.

The garden animals gave the girls somewhere to play, and the rooms were clean and comfortable. We had a great time thanks to the warm welcome and kind, helpful hosts. Recommended.

It felt like stepping into the house of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or Pippi Longstocking. Such an enchanting place, with two hosts who are truly something special: Marcella and Massimo. They were welcoming, thoughtful, attentive, and affectionate.