Santa Maria in Valle Holidays from £276

Spectacular Views, but a Deeply Disappointing Hotel Experience The view from La Bastiglia is absolutely spectacular. Unfortunately, that is where my praise ends. I stayed for five nights and paid to upgrade to the Daniela suite, expecting a comfortable, luxurious experience. Instead, I encountered one disappointment after another. The air conditioning did not work, forcing me to leave the windows open and put up with considerable noise. The television didn’t work properly, the private patio was covered in leaves and dirt, and the swimming pool was filthy. The bathroom was another disaster. The moment I turned on the shower, the handle fell off. Rather than treating this as a maintenance problem, the staff made me feel as though I had caused the damage. Despite reporting it, nobody ever returned to repair it, and I had to make do with the handheld shower for the remainder of my stay. Breakfast, which is included in the room rate, was dreadful. The buffet consisted overwhelmingly of sweets, with very little appealing variety. The cereal was stale, and some of the fruit was rotten. Even getting a simple cup of coffee became a daily exercise in patience. There was no self-service coffee, and I waited an unreasonable amount of time every morning just to get a cup. I also ate dinner in the hotel restaurant one evening. I ordered a simple pasta with truffles, a regional specialty I had been looking forward to. It was thoroughly disappointing, with an unpleasant, earthy taste