Hotel Mare Pineta

The room was basic and a little worn in places, but comfortable enough. The shower design let water get all over the floor, and there weren’t enough towels to mop it up. I couldn’t get any Wi-Fi for my three nights, even though the hotel says it has it. That was disappointing. The property is quiet and pleasant, and most of it is nicely maintained. It has great access to the beach: the sand is nice, the water pleasant, and the beach is very close, though many units are far enough away that you can’t really say they have a beach view. Walk south along the shore and you’ll pass through the Flamingo Resort, where you have to pay your Mare Pineta bill. Keep going and there’s a long stretch of beach. Some kind of misunderstanding about meals was hard to sort out because none of the staff spoke much, if any, English, and they weren’t especially helpful. I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, but for some reason couldn’t have dinner there, and I didn’t understand why. It wasn’t much of a problem since there were a couple of great restaurants nearby and I had a car, so driving around the area was easy. When staff weren’t being unhelpful, they were nowhere to be found.

Maybe they opened again before all the work was finished. There was still a lot going on, which made the stay unpleasant, and we hadn’t been told about it. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have booked. We arrived Tuesday, and as of Friday there was still no Wi-Fi or hot water. We complained several times and got only a shrug. Staff offered no help or alternatives and didn’t seem bothered. There were also small things that made a big difference. There are no stairs for getting in or out of the swimming pool, so my wife, who is six months pregnant, can’t use it. Breakfast was tinned fruit with limited choices.

I’ve never stayed in a worse hotel. The room smelled of garbage and sewage even after it was cleaned. There were spiders everywhere, with webs in some corners. The water was brown, and there was no Wi-Fi in the rooms despite the hotel saying there was. Whenever we asked, everyone told us to check with someone else. The cleaners left a note saying we’d used things from the minibar and should pay, but we hadn’t touched it. Nobody helped with anything. I asked the receptionist to book a taxi, but she said it wasn’t her job and I had to walk to another hotel. The person who books taxis wasn’t there, so we waited 30 minutes for him while three people did nothing. Three people couldn’t book a taxi and we had to wait for a fourth? Dinner was like prison food, with about four meal options. If I’d known, I’d have saved my money and stayed home.

The pool was clean, and the beach was very close. A nice lifeguard cleared away the seagrass every morning. The grounds had a pleasant feel, and the hotel room missed a lot of extras I would have liked. Wi-Fi only worked in the lobby, the TV had Italian channels only, and the pillows were small. I got a second pillow, though, and was satisfied. The toilet flush button wasn’t obvious. On our first day, the bathroom water was orange-yellow, but they said they’d fixed something in the water dispenser, and the water was clear again the next day. At night, a loud noise kept coming from the bathroom. It was creepy, and I couldn’t work out where it came from. Dinner was horrible. It might have been okay at cafeteria prices of €3, but not at restaurant prices of €25 or more, and the wines were too expensive. Check Google Maps for other places to eat. Breakfast was okay, but nothing special. Room service did its job well, and over the last year reception staff had learned to speak English, though how well depended on who was working. The tennis court was worn. This Italian three-star hotel didn’t meet the German standard I’m used to. It wasn’t an awful stay, but I definitely wouldn’t return. Three out of five.