Il Pioniere

My partner and I stayed at this B&B last night, and it was awful. The room we were given was dirty, with hair on the sheets and an indescribable smell. At night, criminals knocked on our door. The owner was truly rude. For 80 euros plus tourist tax, the experience was hard to accept. There was no refrigerator, water, or soap, and we had just one towel for a couple. It was the kind of situation where you’d want to call the police.

The room also had yellow marks on the sheets. We looked inside the pillows out of curiosity and found them completely yellowed, so I had to sleep with a towel over mine. There were older and newer blood stains on the blankets too. Hotel bedding should be spotless; if a guest leaves blood-stained sheets, they need to be changed before the next person arrives. There were only three hangers altogether, and I found a used razor blade in a drawer. The room was poorly ventilated and extremely dim. White lighting would have helped, but there was only a weak yellow light. I also spotted a bottle cap under the desk. It stayed there for my whole visit, despite the morning housekeeping.

The room itself was lovely, with exposed beams, and it was clean and spacious. Having a fridge and little table was a real help with our schedule and special dietary needs. The location was excellent, with the train station, Scaligero Castle, bars, good restaurants, a pharmacy, and supermarkets all nearby. There were some problems. The air conditioning broke and couldn’t be repaired, even though a technician came that day. I’d booked three months ahead and hadn’t understood that breakfast wasn’t included. I thought this might have been due to an issue after booking, but it wasn’t a big deal. The owners were extremely accommodating and offered us a different room. They did everything they could to make up for the trouble. I’d definitely recommend the place. The managers are genuinely kind and available 24/7. If they seem less available at a moment, they’re probably busy handling a thousand things at once.

After a long, tiring trip, I arrived with two very heavy suitcases and asked how I could get them upstairs, explaining that I had an arm injury. The receptionist replied curtly that there was no lift to the rooms and nobody to help. She didn’t make me feel welcome or show much concern for what I needed. In the end, another guest’s father, who had just arrived to check in and witnessed this, kindly helped carry my bags up.