I visited Montecatini while traveling on a Gate 1 Travel tour, with my group arriving on 05/18/26…read more The first day was totally uneventful. But the next day, after coming back from an excursion, I found around 20-30 dead honeybees in my hotel room. I have a severe bee allergy and carry an EpiPen because of the risk of anaphylaxis.
I immediately went to the front desk in tears asking for management, only to be told no manager was on site. While I was there, another Gate 1 tour manager witnessed the situation. My room was changed, and the rest of the evening was fine.
On 05/20/26, during another excursion, I ran into the same tour manager who had been there during the first incident. She told me that hotel staff had actually found a hive outside my window. Even though she called them wasps, I knew they were honeybees.
Then, on 05/21/26, after returning from an excursion in Florence, I found several dead bees and multiple live bees inside my new room. Once again, I went to the front desk asking for management, and once again I was told no manager was available.
A staff member came with me to the room to check things out. He saw the bees and kept taking photos and videos but didn't actually do anything about them. I begged him to kill the live bees in the bathroom, but he didn't. I went back to the front desk and insisted the situation be escalated, explaining again that a bee sting could cause anaphylaxis and potentially kill me.
At that point, my Gate 1 tour manager was contacted. I don't know exactly what was said, but my tour manager and the bartender, Roberto, came to the room, killed the live bees, and tried to figure out where they were getting in. They found what looked like another hive outside the window, sprayed the area, and really did their best to make me feel safe.
The hotel staff offered to move me again, but by then it was obvious this wasn't just one bad room -- it seemed like a bigger hotel issue. My Gate 1 tour guide explained that they tried to find another hotel, but everything nearby was booked and any available option would have been a downgrade. Since I was leaving in about 12 hours anyway, I reluctantly agreed to stay for the night.
What upset me most throughout this whole experience was the complete lack of urgency around what could have been a life-threatening situation.