Residence Melodie

Great attention, an excellent place with a pool, and breakfast included.

We expected a kitchen, but there were no pans, and it was full of cobwebs and soot. The property was like an open-air construction site, with screws and bolts everywhere. Cleanliness was awful: I had to ask for the crib my son was meant to sleep in to be cleaned because it had an inch of dust. The shower was encrusted and partly detached, the bidet was rusty so we didn't use it, and the mini fridge didn't work. Sharing a fridge among four families wasn't a good solution either, since it couldn't even keep the water cool. The croissants at breakfast were good, but being told that I had asked for an extra coffee doesn't help the impression. On our last day, after leaving the rooms for cleaning, we asked if we could use the pool and barbecue. We were told to leave because his daughter was due to arrive and they were doing the Easter cleaning. When you pay to stay somewhere, you expect at least basic cleanliness. Payment was cash only, with no receipt. I asked to pay by debit card and couldn't. I pay taxes too. If you have a pool, you shouldn't shout at 16-year-olds who can't swim because of your own fears. As a parent, if I send my child to the pool, I'm sure there won't be a problem. I wouldn't leave a 2-year-old there alone. The photos on the various sites must be very old, because they gave us the wrong impression. I had hoped for a few relaxing days, but there were too many dangers for the children. I'm sorry, but I won't stay here again. A disappointment from every angle.

The place is beautiful and could offer much more if it were looked after, but it's poorly maintained. There was trash by the pool, including empty and broken beer bottles, and an open construction site with tools strewn around. Other reviews suggest this has been going on for years, with the work stalled and making no progress. The pool wasn't properly cleaned either, with dead bugs and leaves in it. I took a net and cleaned it myself. The kitchen was dirty. The owner had a woman clean it, but whenever I asked for something, she complained about previous guests, telling stories about how they stole pots and pans or broke things. The reality is that the place needs staff to handle cleaning and welcoming guests. The owner didn't seem to care and acted as if he were offering luxury service. For a high price, the service is low quality, with no attention to details or guests, as though everything is owed. If you have low expectations and no needs, it might be fine. We had a lovely three days, but I wouldn't return or recommend it.

The best part was the cleaning lady, who was genuinely lovely. The rest of the stay left us feeling awful. We’d planned to come back for another holiday, but after this experience, we won’t book here again. The property was in very poor shape, and its Booking.com photos don’t show that. I regret not taking pictures, though we’d trusted things in good faith. We also didn’t receive an invoice, even though Mr. Pippo had talked about meeting standards and blamed others for Italy’s problems, calling them all illegal. Our one night began quietly enough. The room had dust and cobwebs, a filthy fridge, and a bidet with parts that looked rusty for years. Around the property, dangerous work tools were left lying about, it felt like an abandoned construction site, and the pool bathrooms were dirty and some areas seemed unsafe. Still, we put up with a lot and didn’t complain. Mr. Pippo even agreed to extend breakfast by an hour because we had a 7-month-old baby and getting there earlier would have been difficult. We’d also agreed beforehand that we could use the pool after checking out. Mr. Pippo said there wouldn’t be anyone there because guests would be at a wedding. He never gave us a time limit, and I have the WhatsApp messages to prove it. We assumed we could stay about half a day, as we’ve done at other places, without inconveniencing anyone. Mr. Pippo saw us by the pool several times that day. Later, the wedding guests arrived. We heard them shouting inside, apparently because the air conditioning in their rooms wasn’t working in 40-degree heat. From what we could make out, they said he was treating them like animals, and he shouted back. We should have taken that as a sign of what was coming. At about 6:30 PM, he came over and yelled at us in an arrogant, accusing way. He claimed he’d told us we could only stay until 12 PM, though he’d never said that, and insisted we couldn’t be there any longer and would be going to bed soon anyway. We felt deeply uncomfortable and were driven out as if we were thieves. We kept explaining that no time had been given, that we would have respected one if it had, and that we were about to leave. He continued to accuse us of making him wait, even though he had to go to the wedding too. He showed us no respect and never considered that there might have been a misunderstanding or that he’d forgotten to mention a time. He didn’t apologize at all, and we left feeling condemned. All the decent things we’d managed to find about the place, and it took a lot of imagination, were wiped out in minutes. Politeness, respect, and empathy clearly aren’t for everyone. I can’t understand what kind of place people who give 10-star reviews stayed at, because this one was nothing like that.