Relais del Mare

The harbor view was lovely, and the room was very clean. The receptionist took care of breakfast, check-in, and cleaning, and looked after us well. We’d asked to leave our suitcases early, without asking to enter the room sooner, but the owner kindly offered early access. That sounded nice until we spent an hour and a half waiting while cleaning was rushed. The woman looking after us hadn’t been told, even though she was supposed to have until 3 p.m. to clean, and the Airbnb owner left her to handle everything alone. The room itself was clean and perfect. The bigger problem was that this was presented as a hotel, but was actually an AIRBNB. We checked twice on Booking.com, where it appeared as a hotel, yet our room was inside an apartment shared with a restaurant. The kitchen was less than a meter away and the service area just a meter away. We had NO privacy and didn’t feel comfortable leaving the room in case we disturbed the restaurant staff. Noise from loud music and service continued until midnight, and we could even hear our door being slammed. We couldn’t get to sleep easily before midnight, despite having to get up early. The breakfast in the photos wasn’t what we got. There were several dishes to choose from, but portions were small and simple compared with the generous selection pictured. The pancakes weren’t really pancakes either, more like the supermarket ones sold by Pasquier, with a brioche-like texture and taste. Hot water swung from scalding to ice cold depending on whether the cook was using it, so we had to avoid showering before midnight. The bed was queen-sized at best, not king-sized as listed. It was the third room with that option we’d chosen on our trip because of my size, and the other two hotels really did have king-sized beds. We felt cheated. My partner is diabetic, so we’d chosen a hotel where staff would be available at night if we needed medical help. There was no one there overnight. Instead, we got the drawbacks of an Airbnb without the benefit of having the place to ourselves. One evening, we went onto the balcony to enjoy the view and restaurant guests mistook us for staff. Taxi drivers also confirmed it was an Airbnb, not a hotel. Paying so much without decent hotel services felt like a lie, and it shouldn’t be listed as a hotel on Booking.com.