“Una cantina messa a reddito con prepotenza”
The place is more than a Bed & Breakfast; it’s a cellar turned income source inside a private family space. From the start, the owner didn’t even want to accommodate guests, insisting that we leave the gate as we found it and find our own parking spot. Then, reluctantly, he asked us to close the gate himself, before even presenting himself. Access to the room is through a passage between two high raw concrete walls on a basement floor. As soon as you enter, you smell a closed, damp scent. The ceiling has two huge neon lights. The owner claimed he accepts pets, but when I booked with my dog and daughter, he gave me the third degree to confirm the dog was small and well‑behaved. I noticed he has a Treccani encyclopedia and a course. Clearly this is his family villa and guests are a necessary evil that must disturb as little as possible. The pool is front page in the listing, but upon arrival there’s a very ugly sign in front: “private pool, no bathing allowed.” It’s right in front of the rooms. Also, the lock on the room door is broken and he’s very annoyed that the last guest handled it normally, only that the mechanism breaks with simple actions like leaving the handle slightly tilted when exiting. He insists in a somewhat threatening way that I don’t make the same mistake.
I asked, since I came alone but paid for two people and a dog, if it’s possible to host a friend with two dogs for one night. He categorically excluded it. Then I offered a friend without animals, and he was very annoyed. The property is in a very inconvenient spot in the middle of woods; he asked me to get out of the car, apply the handbrake on a 45° slope every time I need to open the gate and then stop on a narrow two‑way road full of curves, to close it. The mechanism is broken due to a recent storm. The distance from the town is short but not walkable because it’s a bumpy road used by cars, making it dangerous. We’re in the middle of nowhere, with an unwelcoming host, in a cellar with neon lights. The room décor is chilling: only a synthetic leopard‑patterned rug on the sheets that probably makes you sweat from the start, and a blanket in the same style used improperly as a carpet. A cheap nightstand and an LCD screen. Given the coldness of everything, after gathering courage I went in front of the pool with the forbidden sign, loaded my backpack into the car hoping to find another accommodation in town, since all my meetings are there. I easily found a hotel room in the center, more welcoming, at half the price. They also accepted pets. I immediately called the owner to cancel my booking and explain I’d moved elsewhere, asking for a small refund. His answer was categorical: since you’ll pay taxes, he can’t refund even a cent. The tax payment does not represent the entire amount, and I freed the room immediately.
Giada·Há 3 semanas
