Booked thru Expedia. Needed a hotel room for 2 nights, and this was listed as a Resort. We had a…read morenice stay, but a few misunderstandings ruined the experience for us.
Pros:
- Good location! Near beaches, the marina and close to downtown (we had a car and drove). 5 min walk to a lovely beach
- Clean
- Great pool
- Nice bar/cafe
- Rooms are nicely sized with great (spacious) terraces.
- The resort does not have too many rooms so it does not feel too crowded (it's not a mega resort)
- A/C in rooms work well, but the cross breezes lovely
- kitchenette
- Tennis court
Cons:
- Not great if you don't speak Italian. Most employees and guests do not speak English, and not too interested in trying (other than the lovely employees at the bar/cafe)
- Front desk staff not welcoming. Not interested in being hospitable. Behave like guests are an inconvenience.
- Loud music/ activities from 4 pm onward: The hotel has activities around the pool/ bar in the evenings. Games, music etc. All Italian, and they do not include if you don't speak the language. They played a soccer game around the pool, and didn't even ask my kids to participate. Same with the kids dance party. We felt left out. We tried to stay away in the evenings -- there was a lot of music and announcements and parties (but we were left out!). One evening music was from Mexico/ USA (songs like YMCA etc) -- but we weren't asked to join in. They would ask others to come up and dance but not us. It was odd and off putting. We had to deal with the noise from 4 pm - midnight, but never included in the fun. Not that we wanted to, but it's unavoidable if you are out sitting at the bar or poolside. I found it strange that the 'hosts' did not make an attempt to say welcome or ask us where we were from etc. The kids would have appreciated a little welcome. You dont have to speak Italian to be able to dance!
- Wifi Only available at the bar - cannot check wifi in your room. Not relaxing with all the entertainment and announcements over the loudspeaker in the evenings. I wish they had wifi in the rooms! The bar is open air (and no indoor place to sit), one evening was rainy and cold so it was uncomfortably cold to sit here. People were in jackets.
Office Timings: When we got there at 1 pm - the office was closed from 1 - 4. No possibility to check in early etc. Anyway we sat by the pool. They have an onsite store, but it's never open!
Our bad and strange experience: When we booked online, there was no explicit explanation of how this place worked. They were marketed as a 'resort' and offered us rooms for 2 nights.
We showed up at 1 and the office was closed till 4, but at the bar they told us we could use the pool.
However, They don't offer pool towels. Now for people traveling from the US this is highly inconvenient as we don't make transatlantic trips with our towels in tow!
When we checked in to the 'resort' our room did not include basics that are standard at any 'resort' or hotel - like pool towels, toilet paper, soap, trash liners for the trash can. The room had a kitchenette but no dishwashing supplies included. Again when you travel overseas, you do not carry this stuff with you. And on a 2 night stay, we had a lot of sightseeing and were not planning trips to the grocery store.
They would not rent us pool towels. They would not allow us to have more than one bath towel per person. So we were very short on towels.
We had to buy them.
Now, had we known this, we would have made an alternative choice. Between buying towels, toileteries and other kitchen/ room essentials - we had to spend close to €100 AND waste time.
The worst part of this, when we left we were charged €40 for cleaning. €140 more than planned!
This is a residence unit, but in the US residences, time shares etc that offer nightly rentals (as opposed to weekly), charge a little more for one night but absolutely include the use of towels, toileteries, trash bags etc. Bizarre.
Direct quote from their website, "The S'Incantu Apart-hotel of Villasimius offers the possibility to stay in apartments inside a resort, taking full advantage of the hotel services and b&b option. The services of a hotel by the sea, about 600 meters from Campulongu beach".
This does not suggest that you need to provide your own towels, soap trash bags, and then clean the room yourself!
The front desk staff were more interested in making sure the rules were being followed and were about as helpful as the DMV. No sense of welcome/hospitality.
If they want to use international websites to sell empty units by marketing it as a 'resort', please offer some kind of 'starter kit' and pool towel rental option. We do not travel with the kitchen sink. If not, make this perfectly clear in your listing. Also, try to be more welcoming. If you want to take our €€ $$$, you need to treat us better. Do not list yourself as a resort any more. It should be S'Incantu Apartments.
