I took a group of 20 friends on a trip down the Tirrenian Coast and around Sicily.. This "agrpturismo" was recommended to me and reservations made by the person who did the reserving: a very helpful hotel director who knew the place personally. The first problem occurred when we arrived. Our group had started out to be 24, then 18 and finally 20. I had sent an email indicating we would need 4 Twins, 4 doubles, four singles. When we came there was pure caos. They had only three doubles and three twins, but, strangely, although they were missing a double ("matrimoniale") they wanted to put one of the twins in a double. In the end they used the doubles for the couples, and since they did not have enough twins, they gave us 7 singles instead of 5 (one was for the driver). I needed laundry service and had waited for the agriturismo on the theory it might be cheaper. Instead there was no laundry service. In a place oriented to families, it is unacceptable that there is no laundry service ("There used to be" does not cut it). Finally, there was no internet. The hotel claimed it had been out for a year and that they intend to sue Telecom. Maybe.
On the day of our departure, when I went to pay for the rooms, I found they were charging for the singles. i thought that was unfair because I had emailed the list, including names. The director was called. He said he had not received my email. I told him I could prove I sent it; he said he could prove he had not received it, though I am not sure how one does that. I suggested a compromise, but he refused. He said the roommates had preferred the singles, which was untrue. He said they could have changed the second night, which is absurd. In the end I calculated we were arguing about two singles and decided to let it go. As a big favor he gave me the driver's room free -- everyone else did without its being a favor -- but not his food. Everyone else gave both room and board. The director was foolish because I would think twice about returning to such a place, even though the grounds were very pretty.
- Masseria Degli Ulivi Noto
