REVIEW | B&B Vico Roma, Italy
, from sunny Italia!!Ciao
Rashad and I spent a week in one of my FAVE holiday spots - Pizzo, Calabria in Italy! Pizzo is in the south of Italy and boasts stunning coastal views, delicious Calabrian cuisine and authentic cobbled streets!
We stayed at the cosy B&B Vico Roma - right in the heart of Pizzo Piazza and here my thoughts about our stay!
The Room - 7/10
Our room was spacious and well lit with three lights (two bedside and one central, main light) as well as a lovely Juliette balcony which opened up to the front aspect with views of the sea (yay!) and another apartment which was directly in front of our building (boo!). The theme of the room was modern with a rustic white finish and grey and brown fixtures. We also had an en-suite shower room with a similar colour scheme and a walk-in shower with unconventional overhead "rain forest style" shower and jets.
Room Facilities - 9/10
Like most hotels/B&Bs in hot countries, we had air-con in the room which also doubled as a heating system (not that we were ever cold). We also had surprisingly fast and free Wi-Fi, a mini-fridge and flat screen, wall-mounted TV.
Communal Areas - 7/10
The communal areas consisted of the kitchen and stairwells. The kitchen was also bright and airy and allowed us to cook the basics with a fridge-freezer, microwave, cooker & hob, kettle and tea/coffee facilities. There were also a few cutlery and crockery items too. Sadly, we ended up washing our clothes by had as we had no washing machine on site and no launderette near-by. We also bought cans of food but had no can opener so these items ended up back in the suitcase!
Breakfast - 7/10
Part of our deal included a free, "Italian" breakfast each morning across the Piazza at a nearby restaurant. This breakfast included a stuffed croissant (I usually chose chocolate) and a hot or cold beverage.
Cleanliness - 5/10
threeAt the beginning of our stay, we were informed that the room would be cleaned every days. Unfortunately, we waited for four days and actually heard the cleaner arrive and leave the room opposite ours! After calling our host, Francesco (for the second day in a row), he promised that the cleaner would come the next day, which she did. Our room was cleaned once during our stay and we had at this point, run out of fresh towels and loo roll! We also had a couple of incidents where we spotted a small crowd of ants on the floor and the table - the room was not particularly dirty or sticky so we found this quite odd.
Location - 9/10
One thing I absolutely loved about this place was the location! As you know, I am no stranger to Italy (or Pizzo for that matter) but this has been the best place for local shopping and amenities! Being situated right in the Piazza, we were just moments away from plenty of bars, cafés, restaurants, mini-supermarkets, churches, retail stores and corner shops. The beach was less than 10 minutes away by foot and so was the strip by the marina.
Staff Interaction - 9/10
From the point of booking right up until our departure, Francesco was very good with communication. Before our stay, I must admit (being Little-Miss-Organised and a tad bit of a control freak), I had emailed him a few times with questions and queries. His response reached me within no less than a few hours, sometimes within the hour! We also called a couple of times with regards to the cleaning, he was always immediately available to answer any questions and did recommend a few places (mainly his restaurant which was a minute's walk from the B&B and the other restaurant where we were able to grab our free breakfast).
So, let's weigh up the pros and cons, hmm?
The Pros
Location: I can't stress enough how well located the B&B was, being so close to most local shops, restaurants and amenities, I just wished there were more cocktail bars nearby or at least somewhere we could shake a leg!
Free breakfast: Now this one for me was both a pro and a con. The pro was that the breakfast was free and included in the price. It was nice to be able to get a little fresh air in the mornings (or early afternoons on some days) and have a coffee/freshly squeezed juice and pastry waiting for us! (See the con below)
Room size: I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how spacious the room was. There was more than enough space for us to "live"comfortably for a week and even space for a sofa and desk.
Response rates: Again, Francesco's quick response rate did put us at ease if or whenever we needed a question answering or help with anything, especially since he was so busy running a full time restaurant AND the B&B.
The Cons
Room storage: For such a spacious room, I felt a little let down by the lack of storage space. I felt that maybe more time and effort was put in to the decor and modern features. I mean, I'm sure Rashad was more than happy living out of his suitcase but c'mon, a woman with clothes, shoes, bags makeup, jewellery, accessories (the list goes on) would DEFFO need a little more cupboard space than what was provided.
Bed comfort: Guys. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm always so busy running around doing 100+ things at once so when it comes to bed time, I need to be comfy! The bed was OK but the let down was the pillows. One pillow each is not usually an issue for me but they were terribly flat and every morning I woke up with aching shoulders or a stiff neck. We were given little cushions (for the couch) but I'm more than certain (in the nicest way possible) that they didn't get cleaned very often and after our incident with the ants and cleaning, I didn't want to risk a breakout on my face!
The views: Although it was lovely to see a little of the sea from out balcony, most of our view was blocked by the building in front of ours. This also meant that our balcony was in the shade so our clothes took much longer to dry, even when left out in the peak of hottest days.
Cleanliness: I may be a bit of a clean freak, but I'm sure it's more than fair to say that we should not have had clusters of ants in the room, cleaning only when prompted a few times and left with dirty towels for the majority of the holiday. Luckily, we both had beach towels which we used until the cleaners finally arrived.
Shared kitchen: As much as I actually did enjoy our stay, had we known in advance that the kitchen was shared, I'm 90% sure we wouldn't have booked this room. I actually only found out that we were to share a kitchen with the guests of the other room a week or two before our arrival! This was also nowhere to be seen on the website at the time of booking.
Breakfast: Again, had we known that breakfast was going to be so ..minimal.. we probably would have chosen another place. As tasty as the croissants were, we did expect a fuller and more appetising breakfast, but hey ho.
Final Thoughts & Overall Opinions - 7/10
Overall, we really did enjoy our stay and things such as the location and tasty meals really boosted our experience and over shadowed the cons. I would strongly recommend staying near the Marina or Pizzo Piazza if you are thinking about staying in Pizzo and if my cons wern't too off-putting, you should stay here too! I'm sure I will return to Italy for a fourth time and if I were to pass through Pizzo again, I would do it all again (but probably stay in a different hotel/B&B).
So there we have it, my honest thoughts about B&B Vico Roma. If you're thinking of staying too, you can check out the booking.com link here. What do you think - did I hit the nail on the head? Or was I too harsh? I always welcome feedback, send a quick message if you wanna get in touch! :)
Happy travelling!
xox
