What People are saying

Stunning viewsand excellent value for money

bigfunfamilyon 07/08/2010 11:54

We really enjoyed our stay at the Casa Vacanze Bosio Apartment , it was in a lovely quaint village up in the hills with a breathtaking view of the sea and olive groves. The Apt was very clean ,bright ,and slept 7 ,which was good for our big teenagers plus there was TV and internet (very important for us all)
Below was the family run restaurant which served delicious homemade dishes at a very reasonable price .
Parking was available close by and it was easy driving to the numerous beaches/ towns.
We really enjoyed our stay .....remember that being in an Italian village is not quiet..... we had the goats ,dogs ,clock and numerous other daily noises which we loved as it added to our culteral experience .
We would recommend this apt to all , we will be returning soon .
The family who run the restaurant and apartments were very helpful and friendly.

Beware

TravelingYankson 14/07/2008 14:39

We booked this apartment via holidaylettings.co.uk. The price was for a trilocal (2 bedroom apartment) for a week's period.

Prior to arriving at the property, the owner was cordial until the subject of the pool access came up. I booked the property a few months prior to arrival believing the "shared pool" access (stated in ad for property) was actually part of the price paid. Only until the week prior to arrival, did I find out that the pool was at another resort and if we wished to go swimming, it would cost us 10 euros/person/day extra. I felt misled because I had no choice but to stick with the property as I would have lost my deposit. Fortunately, after contacting holidaylettings.co.uk with regards to this, the matter was taken care of by updating the property's listing so future guests would not feel as I did.

Alas, the pool situation was only the beginning. Upon arrival, the owner explained the only parking available nearby was at the church. This was not a problem in itself, unless of course, you're there while services are held--impossible to either park or leave premises. Other parking available at property was a very small lot used by the locals (places for approximately 6 vehicles), about 200 meters away, and a larger lot about 500 meters away--does not work well for people with disabilities. This, to us, was a minor inconvenience; others may not view it as such.

Initial impression of apartment that was to be ours (#23) was "run-down, not kept up, sorely in need of a paint job". There were spiders in the upper corners of the bedrooms, there looked to be water damage on the walls. This we could deal with as it was just cosmetic. However, this was not the end.

The washing machine in the bathroom for the guest's use looked like it was donated from a thrift store; after using it for a load of wash, I discovered water on the floor. After inspecting the hose connections, it was determined the water was coming from the bottom of the machine. It should be replaced.

As night approached, we saw a cockroach on the kitchen floor. Killing it, we thought it just came in via the balcony as it was open for the sea breezes. It wasn't until the middle of the night when my son told me of the group of cockroaches scurrying the floor throughout the main area of the apartment. As it was the middle of the night, we did not have spray to kill the ones we saw so we had to do it the old-fashioned way--approximately 8. I was unable to go back to sleep that night as I was uncomfortable with the thought of them crawling on me. First thing next morning, we bought some spray and my husband sprayed heavily at all entrances to the apartment. We thought this may solve the problem until we noticed just how many were out in the common hall leading to the other apartments and the large cockroach/beetle that had been on the sidewalk turned upside down. Upon check-in, my husband and son had noticed the large one on the sidewalk but did not tell me of it.

Due to our feelings of unease and disappointment, and also because we were travelling with 2 dogs who could get sick by the bug spray, we decided to examine our options. We told the owner discreetly, as it was in the restaurant, we would check out the following day due this problem. She got upset at our unwillingness to "work with her", she couldn't understand why we didn't want to stay in another apartment (much smaller, thus having our son sleep on the futon sofa), and stating she had never had complaints about bugs before. Upon our waking the next morning to the sight of yet another cockroach, we were glad to have made the decision to go elsewhere. This apartment seems to have an infestation problem; my husband believes they may be behind the coat rack next to the main entrance as this is where the majority of them were found.

Needless to say, upon check-out, the owner who spoke English made sure her husband was there; apparently he speaks only Italian. Between my husband and myself, we have been in some really bad accommodations over the years (namely when we visited 3rd world countries while serving in the military), but none of our own choosing have ever been this bad. We felt misled before check-in and felt that the owner thought we were dishonest upon check-out.

In hindsight, we wish we made a scene in the restaurant in front of the other guests; maybe we would have gotten some compensation for our trouble. I guess I will learn from this experience. In the past, I have always gone to several websites to check out the reviews on various hotels and apartments. Unfortunately, this time, I was unable to find any reviews on this particular property. I chose to book this apartment as the price was a good one; I should have abided by that adage, "if something is too good to be true, then it isn't".

Needless to say, don't make the same mistake I did. If you should ever want to book an apartment on the Italian Riviera and are tempted by the prices offered by this property, go elsewhere, otherwise you will be disappointed.