Resort Marina di Castello Golf & Spa

We arrived at the hotel around 11pm tired and hungry. We checked in and asked the sullen looking receptionist if there was anywhere we could get a snack or a drink, he just relied "No". So first impressions were a little disappointing but we were shattered so we decided to just find our room and get some sleep. The next morning, we went down for breakfast which was served by another sullen looking chap and consisted of croissants, cheese and ham, and scrambled eggs. After breakfast we decided to stock grab some snacks and drinks for the room, we asked at reception if there was an onsite mini market and were told no and the nearest shop is a mile away. As me and my partner are disabled, we asked the receptionist if she could call us a taxi, she said, "just walk, it's only 20 minutes away!" We had little choice but to trek to town in 34° heat. We bought some snacks, drinks, fruit and some essentials and called the only taxi firm there was but as soon as he realised we weren't Italian he hung up the phone on us, we asked a shop assistant for help and when she called he refused to send a taxi and said he was busy! So we had to walk a mile back sweating and panting! There seemed be be no other guests in the hotel besides one other couple which we found very strange in August. The food was nice, but there was only a choice of pork, fish or pasta with fish which was the same menu for lunch and dinner every single day! We ordered a pizza for room service one evening and I swear I have never seen a worse pizza in my life! Just pizza base with blobs of cheese on which was also burnt! The pools were lovely, clean and relaxing but there were signs saying no food, drinks, smoking and we were told off for playing music on our mobile even though we were the only ones there! The following day we realised there were wasps nests under the decking around the pool and my partner was attacked and stung multiple times while swimming! Then the electric kept going off in our room, and we noticed the fridge wasn't working and the aircon was leaking, we reported it to reception but it was never fixed. There is absolutely nothing to do in the hotel, just one lounge bar which was empty with no aircon or WiFi, and going into the town wasn't an option as we'd have had to have walked and its a VERY rough dangerous area! By the 3rd day I was in tears and trying to find a flight home. We spent the remaining evenings sitting on the balcony, staring at the hotel which was in complete darkness after 9pm, being devoured by swarms of mosquitoes like I've never seen before, thousands of them, on filthy old plastic chairs. Oh, and the beach deserves a special mention, it's all fenced off and absolutely covered in rubbish and washed up wood. Such a shame as the hotel is beautiful and has so much potential, but it's in the middle of nowhere and town looks like a post apocalyptic war zone with decayed buildings, rubbish everywhere and gangsters staring at you.

The area in which the hotel is located is sad, the hotel itself is in serious need of a thorough renovation. Locals enjoy priority over tourists here in terms of treatment. They walk in and out as in a public swimming area and are attended to at their beck and call. You have to ask the lifeguard for sun loungers and towels at the pool and after 6 p.m. you are no longer allowed to swim or go near the pool... Dinner is a very limited menu per day, à la carte is completely excluded. Breakfast has no local charm whatsoever, not even fresh fruit or the option to fry an egg of your choice... even the cappucino is nothing to write home about. We have rooms on the 4th floor where ants have found their way through the bottom of the sliding window. It has been promised to solve this, but I fear it a bit. The Spa is closed, the grill restaurant mentioned on *********** does not seem to exist and you cannot go on the golf course or rent a bicycle. The staff is doing their best, but I can imagine that the whole situation is not really having a positive effect on them. In short, a faded glory that mainly serves locals to use the swimming pool facilities.