Il Daviduccio ibla

The breakfast was a joke: one bread-textured croissant, two kinds of juice, two biscuits and yogurt. There was no bread, ham, cheese or butter, basics I expect at a B&B. There was hardly any toiletries, and the balcony door had no blackout curtain, just a see-through covering facing the road. The glass bathroom door offered no privacy. Service was appalling. At reception they asked for my card details and photographed the card, although we’d paid in cash as soon as we arrived. Room cleaning was virtually nonexistent, just towel changes. On the second day, the person in charge was with friends making a lot of noise in the afternoon, then knocked twice and opened our door with her key. We politely said we were there. She did apologize, but never explained why she was entering when the supposed cleaning had happened much earlier. It felt totally unprofessional. We visit Sicily around five times a year, but haven’t encountered this attitude before. Sicilians are known for being generous, humble and approachable, so we definitely wouldn’t recommend this place.

After booking at about 7:20 p.m., we planned to arrive soon. A public holiday meant local police wouldn’t let us drive into Ragusa’s Old Town, so we had to walk with all our bags from the parking area, about 20 minutes away. We reached the hotel at 8:29, just 29 minutes after the check-in deadline, but nobody was there to help us get in. The hotel hadn’t sent any instructions or contacted us after the reservation. Unable to access our room, we carried our luggage back to the car and found somewhere else to stay in Ragusa for the night. The administration kept our money. It feels like they simply stole it. Avoid this hotel and find another one.

The same thing happened to me and my girlfriend last night as to the woman who was left outside and lost her money. Bad weather made us a little late, and her response was that check-in had passed and she’d keep the money. We were left without anywhere to stay. We’re struggling financially, so we slept in the car in a foreign country. I’m not exaggerating. I’m sure she’ll come up with a convincing way to look like a “good human,” but if I were Booking, I’d take her to court. I hope nobody else becomes a victim of people who care only about money and not their fellow human beings.

The air conditioning didn’t work after a very hot day in Sicily, and only then did a staff member tell me there’d been a fire and the fire department had shut off part of the electricity. She apologized and said to open the windows for fresh air. I didn’t find that satisfactory and said they should’ve told us when we arrived. She sent me to the owner, David, who promised a full refund and said he’d arrange it with Booking. The spa at il daviduccio ibla spa was closed too, which disappointed the children a little, but we were only there one night and accepted it. We’d arrived to find no spa, then visited Ragusa’s centre, ate a meal after the hot day and returned to the hotel to discover the A/C problem. The night was uncomfortable. In the morning the staff acted awkwardly, and we didn’t even get coffee. Not very Sicilian. I offered to split the fee since the power cut wasn’t their fault and avoid the complicated Booking.com process, but they refused. David asked me to agree to a cancellation so he could refund us. I said Booking doesn’t work that way, but he told me to trust him and said he’d done it before. I had to tell Booking I hadn’t stayed at il daviduccio, as a no-show. I worried that David was afraid of a bad review and that marking it no-show would prevent me from reviewing on Booking, as well as make me lie about what happened. Still, I decided to trust his intentions, which he confirmed via Whatsapp. Nothing happened over the next few days. I contacted him several times and got little response, just that I should be patient and wait for Booking. First he said it’d be sorted within 48 hours, then that it was mid-August and very busy. In real life, 48 hours is still 48 hours, however busy it is. Once home, I contacted Booking.com. When asked about the refund, the staff said I’d cancelled too late and wasn’t entitled to one. Right. No money, no review. I learned to trust my gut. Ospitalità è un fenomeno sconosciuto: molto bene David!