Note di Salina

Communication was difficult because the hosts either couldn’t or didn’t want to speak English, I’m not sure which. We were also greeted rather sharply and asked whether we spoke Italian every day. It gave me the impression that foreign guests were treated differently from Italian ones, especially those who don’t speak Italian, and that was unpleasant. The breakfast was good, with croissants, rolls and homemade orange jam, fruit, some prosciutto and mozzarella, and coffee or tea. But there was no buffet as described. You could collect the food from the breakfast area and take it to your room. We chose the place mainly for the private pool and the option to cook on the grill, but the BBQ wasn’t available during our stay. The pool also had set hours, 09:00-12:00 and 16:00-19:30. Since it’s an open pool and there didn’t seem to be an obvious reason for those limits, I was disappointed. I usually get up around 06:00 and like a morning swim, and with breakfast around 09:00 and the midday sun coming soon after, there wasn’t much time to enjoy it. The umbrellas were unsecured. When the wind came up they swung around, one nearly hit me as I got out of the pool, and others fell over and broke apart. It felt dangerous. It was also uncomfortable having the host’s son stare at us from about a meter away during breakfast, and watch us at the pool. For the price, what you get and the way you’re treated don’t feel acceptable. If you’ve stayed in nicer places, you may be unpleasantly surprised by how foreign tourists are treated.

The main difficulty was finding Note di Salina. There’s no sign or even a street number, and Google Maps sent us about 100m down the lane from the right spot. They helped us locate it once we managed to call. It’s a clean, comfortable B&B with a calm, relaxing feel. The room and pool have wonderful views, and the wharf and restaurants are within a 5-minute walk. Breakfast is simple and served in the morning.

There was no internet in the rooms. The owner is famous, but she wasn’t there when we visited; her son checked us in, and he didn’t seem well suited to the job. Afterward he was overly familiar, which isn’t what you book a holiday for.

The mattresses felt too hard for us.