3137 Villetta Velia by Barbarhouse

The room fridge was far too small for a place meant to sleep four, which made it awkward for a stay of several days. And although the B&B is about 800-900 meters from the sea as advertised, you'll pretty much need a car to get to the beach comfortably. I stayed at B&B Giorni Salentini from June 27 to July 2, 2025. When I arrived, the room was clean and welcoming. I only noticed around 6 PM that there was no clothesline, so I messaged the "Sottocosta" agency. They were slow to respond, but said they'd bring one the next day, which they did. It wasn't urgent, so I could let that go. More frustratingly, the water stopped at 7 PM that evening. The agency said a technician would come the following day, leaving me without water until it eventually came back. Cleaning happened just once, on the second day, with nothing after that. They didn't even replenish the toilet paper, which I consider unacceptable for accommodation like this. Breakfast was average and didn't match the variety or amount suggested by the photos and reviews from previous years. I'm writing this honestly, without exaggerating or adding anything.

The rooms were nice, with big modern bathrooms, and breakfast was excellent. Mrs. Serena and her daughter Fabrizia made it fresh every morning and were kind and very helpful. The agency hadn't told us that cleaning and fresh linens were scheduled only every three days. Luckily, Mrs. Serena cleaned our room and changed the sheets and towels anyway. We'd recommend the place.

We had a frightening experience because of the poor treatment and lack of customer service. After I first booked through Booking.com, they immediately said the reservation was penalized for being made too late. They then asked me to collect the keys in Porto Cesareo by 8 PM, even though the apartment was in Torre Lapillo, over 5 km away. I was travelling from Naples with two children and asked for some flexibility in case anything delayed us. The schedule had us arriving before 7:30 PM. Their answer was, "After 8:00 PM, it's €20/hour." After I complained about the lack of consideration, someone called and suggested booking directly instead, which would save €30. They presented this as a helpful arrangement: if I paid in advance, they could secure the booking and leave the keys in a box outside their office in Porto Cesareo. That seemed odd, since Booking.com protects against customer defaults by blocking the card. I believed they were trying to accommodate us and sent the instant transfer. As soon as the money arrived, they cancelled the Booking.com reservation without a penalty. I felt I'd fallen into their trap, and had lost Booking.com's protection if the property didn't match the listing. The listing on booking.com promised a breakfast buffet, daily cleaning, a drying rack, and more. Instead, when we collected the keys, we got tickets for breakfast 900 meters away. Breakfast was just a drink and a dessert, and I paid separately for my coffee. The cleaning never happened, despite being listed as daily, and the towels weren't changed. The outdoor lights stayed off at night, so we had to use our phone flashlights to get around. The entrance was dangerous, with a rusty, leaking gate, and the outside of the building was extremely dirty. I attached photos of both. On the last day the drying rack had disappeared, and when I called about it, I got no helpful response. I'm attaching a photo of the WhatsApp conversation with the number visible, since it's on the website.

We stayed here while on holiday in Torre Lapillo. The room was genuinely comfortable and very clean, and breakfast was really good. Fabrizia and Serena were wonderful, always ready to help with anything we needed for breakfast or the room. I hope we can come back next year. Highly recommended!