Lo Scrigno del Salento

The rooms themselves deserve a star, but the person handling reception and management ruined the B&B’s potential. I wouldn’t recommend it, and I’d rather forget the experience. We were four people and a 15-month-old baby, staying three nights across two rooms. At 3:00 PM I called to book and clearly requested check-in between 11:00 PM and midnight. The woman took the reservation without asking for my name or phone number, only saying we’d need to show our documents and pay on arrival. I called again at 8:00 PM to confirm we’d arrive at 11:00 PM. She noted it and asked us to call when we were near Taranto, about 20 minutes from Sava, so she could go turn on the heating. At 10:00 PM we called from near Taranto, and she confirmed she was heading over. We reached the B&B around 11:00 PM and politely asked her to open the rooms so our sleeping baby could go inside. She seemed annoyed and first insisted we had to register. After we pressed her, she let us in, but repeated that we still had to register. We left our bags and went to do that. Once we’d checked in, she demanded payment for all three nights in advance. We got out our debit card, but she said there was no POS terminal and that her partner would take us to withdraw cash. We offered to pay the next day, but she insisted the establishment’s rules required payment then and claimed she’d told me on the phone. When I pointed out she hadn’t said it had to be cash, she replied that she hadn’t thought it appropriate to mention that over the phone. We understood what was happening, especially since our 15-month-old was asleep at 11:00 PM, so we got the cash and paid. We asked for a receipt and were told it would be provided the next day. At midnight we finally got to our room. The thermostat was set to 5 degrees and showed a room temperature of 9 degrees. The rooms had only been heated by air conditioning switched on about 30 minutes earlier, so we were freezing, especially the baby. We still didn’t receive the receipt in the days that followed, even though we saw the woman again. The evening before checkout, we called to say we’d leave at 10:00 AM and wanted the receipt. Today, February 15, she gave us one dated February 12.

The property was centrally located, and our room was spotless. The owners were welcoming and very kind, with coffee and herbal teas available. They even mailed us a piece of clothing we’d left behind in the room. We’ll definitely return.

The beds were the most comfortable ones we had on our vacation, and the place was very clean, with lots of towels plus shampoo and shower gel. We only stayed one night, but enjoyed it. It’s near the road, though the soundproofing worked well. Breakfast at the pastry shop was super good.

The owners put real care and passion into running the place, and make guests feel at home. The property itself is charming and every detail seems carefully considered. I highly recommend it and will be back soon.