Holiday Home Zerosei a San Pietro

Don’t book here! We were left outside until the host finally answered and let us in. Like several other guests, we’d mistakenly booked one guest rather than two for a double room with a queen bed. We told the host at check-in there were two of us, and he got very angry and demanded the difference in cash. He wouldn’t amend the booking through booking.com, where we’d booked, and insisted on cash without giving any reasonable breakdown of the charge. There was mold throughout the room, cigarette butts, and an unbearable rotten smell from the bathroom. The owner was aggressive and absent during check-in, so we didn’t feel safe. After he verbally abused us for asking for a receipt, we paid for another hotel and left three nights early. He did his best to intimidate my partner and me. So far, the only receipt we’ve received was for the city tax. There’s no record on booking.com, by email, or on paper of our cash payment for the extra guest. Shame there wasn’t an option to give zero stars.

What a nightmare. The hotel was a disaster, and the hosts were worse. The man who greeted us didn’t even say hello and told us he spoke only Italian and Russian, so we had to use Google Translate. He gave us the room keys and told us to come back in an hour so it could be cleaned. When we returned, we went into our room, which we’d requested with two separate beds. We went out and called the hotel number to ask a few questions. A different man answered in broken English, and we could barely understand him. He directed my friend to room 2 even though ours was room 1. We went into room 2, and he made her pick up the keys so he could hear them, as if he was controlling her. He told us not to ask questions, only to listen, then ordered us to lock ourselves in the bathroom and send him photos of our IDs on WhatsApp within ten minutes. Their attitude was frightening. They just took our money, and we ran out as fast as we could. We were really scared. Don’t go to that hotel.

The manager was extremely rude and aggressive. I was afraid of him. He shouted at me and wouldn’t listen to what I said. There was no cooperation, just what felt like blackmail. I emailed to ask about late check-in and got no reply, so I contacted booking customer service to find a solution. Shortly before I arrived, I managed to call him. He said late check-in wasn’t possible, which was okay, and we agreed I’d come the next day. But when I arrived as agreed, he wouldn’t let me check in and said he’d canceled my booking. He said I could stay only if I met his extra demands: five-star reviews and more money for the “taxes” I’d already paid. I couldn’t do that, so I lost my money and had nowhere to stay. He said it was my punishment, even though I’d contacted booking customer service, and sent me away. It was degrading. I was still in Rome, so I had to book another hotel. If this accommodation has five-star reviews, I know why. They were forced to write them!

I was lucky to have booked a refundable room through a reputable online travel agent, or I could have lost all my money. I messaged the hotel through the agent to ask about check-in because we were due to arrive close to midnight, following the instructions in the booking confirmation. No reply. Closer to the date I tried calling and sent more messages through the hotel website, but still got no answer and couldn’t get through by phone. The online travel agent helped straight away by calling me and connecting me to the hotel. The manager apparently told them that he would only discuss check-in with guests personally by phone, and that it was their problem if they had no phone access. He was abusive and rude to me. He said the policy was that if you weren’t checked in by exactly midnight, they’d mark you as a no-show, cancel and relet the room, and keep all your money. He shouted that they didn’t care if a flight delay made you late. I still had five hours to cancel and get a full refund, luckily. The online travel agent handled that very well.