Albergo Diffuso Monopoli

In reality this is just a collection of airBnBs run from a central reception. It has the added feature of providing breakfast at a cafe. We had not been told that reception was closed between 1.00pm and 4.00pm. We arrived almost bang on 1.00pm and were somewhat grudgingly checked in and shown to our room. It felt as though it was our fault we didn’t know about reception hours! The room consisted of a kitchen diner, bedroom and bathroom. All very clean. It was up a very narrow spiral staircase. Rooms are not cleaned on a daily basis but extra towels are provided. The shower just about supplied enough hot water. Breakfast was in a cafe next to the reception. Great buffet spread and friendly staff. It was a shame that single use plastic cups were provided for juice as this isn’t great from a sustainability point of view. Not sure I’d stay again.

Where do I begin? The ladies at reception were NOT at all welcoming, far from friendly and NOT at all accommodating. We had advised them of our arrival at 12:30 pm with the hopes of an earlier check-in. Check-out is at 10:00am while check-in is at 4:00pm. Don’t tell me they could not have made arrangements to have our room ready. Important to note that they close at 1:00 and reopen at 4:00pm. We were exhausted from our drive and had to wait over 3 .5 hours to get the room keys in the extreme heat. The air conditioning didn’t cool down the apartment at all. That said, we didn’t sleep well since we were literally dying of heat. The lights in the apartment are set to go off automatically so we were constantly having to turn the lights back on. We also ran out of toilet paper and were told to pass by reception rather than having them bring it to us. Noting that they are closed in the afternoon and reception is in a separate building altogether. We also had to pull out the trash to avoid any service charges. Disappointed with the breakfast. Limited selection and tasteless. Silvia and the other girl at reception were very “antipatici” as you say in Italian. Bothered and with long faces. The only friendly face was Mario.