Stayed here with my girlfriend in August 2007: lured by the great reviews the place

received on tripadvisor, I had booked a stay for 8 nights, ended up leaving after the

second night, what a nightmare!!

The place is stuck in the middle of a forest, 10km from the beach with no

shuttle/connection to it, you're literally stuck with goats and cows (which you meet

plentiful as you make your way to the resort on a rocky road on the mountains, in dire need

of renovation).

The "residence" (i'm not sure it even deserves this name, it felt more like a prison!) is

poorly run by a couple of bizarre elderly guys who are stuck in a timewarp in the 70s....

one of them is the owner, "L'Avvocato" (i.e. the lawyer) who is rude, aggressive and

intrusive to say the least. Quality of rooms was poor to say the least, with air con not

working properly and insects everywhere... Food was terrible, with no choice of what to

order, and the two guys running the show randomly sitting at guest tables and interfering

with their lives...very very VERY annoying!! Everything looks old there, from the pool, to

the main building, to the little "dependence" buildings where the bedrooms are located

(small, poorly built brick "houses") and the place has an eery feel to it, with many

unfinished buildings around it that were probably started in the 70s and now have trees

growing in them!

Overall a terrible experience. Ended up leaving after two nights, with the owner not

wanting to let us leave and expecting us to pay him extra for the "damage" of leaving

earlier...incredible!! Another couple left after the first night as well, and when we went

to the hotel in vieste in which we ended up staying, upon mentioning the name "paradiso

selvaggio" we soon realised that this place had a bad reputation and it happened frequently

that guests would leave and move elsewhere!

A word of advice: I was fooled into booking this place after reading the raving reviews on

tripadvisor. When we came back, and re-reading the same reviews having experienced staying there, we realised that most, if not all, bad reviews, are probably written by the owner, in the same style and using the same language... this, unfortunately, is a shining example of how tripadvisor can be misused to promote a rubbish place and fool unknowing tourists into booking a holiday in a place that they think will be amazing when in actual fact it is a nightmare!! At the time I didn't bother writing a review, but having seen that this place now has 51 5* reviews(!) all written by the owner, and only five 1* reviews (at the time I went, there was only one, which I quickly discarded... how I wish I'd taken it seriousl!), I have decided it's time to make voice heard and let everyone know what a dump this place is...!


I AM SURE THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES THERE: PLEASE SHARE THEM ON TRIPADVISOR AND GIVE THIS PLACE THE RATING IT DESERVES!!!

Cozy hotel, hidden from the main thoroughfare, an oasis for relaxation.

The staff was very friendly and welcoming from the very start: upon my arrival I was offered a complimentary coffee and croissant. I was given a bedroom overlooking some vineyards, on which the grapes had just started to grow.

I spent most of the time relaxing by the pool, with a good book, where I was spoiled by the staff or by going to the local beaches and visiting the numerous sea caves. There always seemed to be a small scale event in the area during the evening where I could go for enjoyment, such as chamber music concerts.

All in all, I highly recommend this hotel for those who want to relax and enjoy the local culture.

We stayed there for four nights in July. We found the hotel through TripAdvisor and booked it because of the great reviews. And here start the problems...

The hotel is situated 10 Minutes (by car) outside of Vieste on a hill in the forest. The view from there is great and there is really nothing around besides some goats and cows. It seems that the hotel was planned as a huge residence with hotel rooms and appartments. That must have been in the seventies. Unfortunately there must have been some problems, probably financial ones, because most of the appartment houses were never finished and are now spooky ruins just in front of the maybe 10 poorly maintained rooms. Our room was small, dirty and had a leaking roof.
The hotel staff consisted of three individuals, the bizarre owner, an elderly man who is still believing in finishing the hotel soon, his daughter who never did anything, and a young handyman, that was doing everything, cleaning, cooking, reparing. He probably did his best, but the service was still lousy, the qualitiy of the food poor. We were the only guests and he was continously asking us when we wanted to have breakfast (the evening before), so we didn't really felt free.
I must admit though that the whole complex has captivated me somehow and I was imagining what could have gone wrong. I liked aswell climbing around the ruins and somehow also enjoyed the bizarre and apocalyptical atmosphere...

Rustic rooms, stone built but with nasty metal doors and polstyrene tiles on walls and ceiling. The impression was naff and tacky. Some serious money needs to be spent on the site with its crumbling paths and outdated facilities. What had been done was tasteless and in a 1970's timewarp. Toilet was dirty from the last client and the shower wouldn't drain so I was ankle-deep in water. Discovered that the drain was full of hair. Place felt unwholesome. Owner was very eccentric, more concerned with playing out a fantasy of a 1960's playboy aristocrat than in actually providing a service. Informed us of his noble background and showed us with pride his plaster and glass Grecian urn tables from the local B&Q equivalent, but failed to get the rooms adequately cleaned. Got the impression that he and his daughter were inexperienced and not aware of what was required-or didn't care.