Il Podere Hotel Restaurant

The worst part was the storm. Water poured through our ceiling and completely flooded the room, so we had to go to reception in the middle of the night and move. The replacement was smaller and didn't have the bathroom size we'd paid for. It wasn't a huge difference, but I was surprised no one offered a discount for the inconvenience. I've never had that happen in a four star hotel. Other things were frustrating too. Hot water was available only at certain times. The bar was open two hours a day, but when we asked for a drink, we were told it could serve only nonalcoholic beverages. The hotel gate didn't open automatically, so every day we waited a minute or two for someone to notice us or called reception. Breakfast was poor, with supermarket-bought items and no homemade cakes. The rooms were generally clean, though curtains and less-used areas were dusty if you looked closely. One night there was a wedding and we couldn't sleep, with no warning beforehand.

It’s quite far from other places, so if you want to walk into a city center, this isn’t the spot. The nearest big city is about 15 minutes away by car. Still, I had a very good stay and would recommend it. The people and service were nice, and the food was good for the price. The noise from the next room’s bathroom woke me up, and the shower was odd, spraying from all three outlets at once. Those issues were minor for me.

Bring earplugs. We could hear every shower in the building, and the restaurant noise was loud too. We had just two other guests around for most of the week, then a coach group arrived for one night and gave us a sense of how noisy a fuller hotel could be. It’s clean and spacious, but it didn’t feel like a four star place. Even with only a couple of other guests, we couldn’t get an upgrade. That might not have mattered as much if the shower were modern and worked well. One morning there was no running water anywhere, and nobody left a note or even a complimentary bottle so we could brush our teeth. The towels had holes in them. Breakfast was no fine dining: the eggs sat in a chafing dish that wasn’t warm, with just one small night light candle underneath. Not four star quality.

Avoid it. Even one star feels too generous.