La Torre del Tempo

Perfect B&B.

The biggest reason we left two days early was what happened with the room supplies and the broken shower. On Sunday, we came back to the tiny room to shower before dinner and found that the little shower gel and shampoo hadn’t been replaced. I messaged about it, but got no reply, even though the message showed as read. When we returned Monday evening, there was still no one around, the shower was still broken, and the piece of croissant beside the bed had been there for three days. We’d left it there as a cleanliness test. It failed. I called, angry, and was told that for a five-night stay they couldn’t afford to keep replacing shampoo. The room still cost the same each night. In 30 years of traveling, I’ve never left a place two days early for a reason like this. We also reported the broken shower arm on Friday. It wouldn’t stay up so we could shower normally, and it was never fixed. We were told they couldn’t find a plumber over the weekend, but apparently the weekend lasted until Monday evening, when we finally left. The bathroom was extremely cramped, with no shelf for even a couple of things. The room itself seemed like a single converted into a double, and didn’t have basic furniture, not even a chair. By the second day we had to move the bedside table to make a clear path from the bed to the bathroom. We asked several times to change rooms, since we knew the double room on the first floor would be free on Sunday. They refused, for reasons I can’t dispute, though I think they could have tried harder to help guests who were so unhappy. The breakfast listing called it “rich,” but what that meant was a decent breakfast at a bar or pastry shop about 400 meters away, at most a cappuccino and croissant. There wasn’t anything for people who prefer savory food or juice. To their credit, when I mentioned my girlfriend prefers savory over sweet, they refunded what I’d paid. There were a couple of positives. The property is brand new, and Turi is well placed for exploring this beautiful part of Puglia. Of course, that location is an advantage of any accommodation in Turi. When we arrived, we found an Alpine-style staircase just inside the door. I was surprised, and the owner said the stairs could be seen in the website photos. My girlfriend and I both checked, but neither of us saw them there. The stairs also affect access to the second-floor rooms and kitchen. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone with mobility difficulties, even something common like knee pain, extra weight, or little experience with physical activity. There’s a lot to improve in the hospitality.

The location made it easy to reach the city center and get back out of town quickly. We stayed for a wedding and found it a pleasant surprise, with spacious, well-kept rooms. The owners were flexible about our needs, and the suite was especially large, with separate areas. Check the air conditioning, though, since ours didn’t provide enough cooling consistently.

Fourteen unanswered calls after you offered us a room. Then we drove 20 kilometers to find the place shut and ourselves left out on the street. That’s 14 counts of rudeness, then 20 more kilometers’ worth. You owed us that, Emilio.