Masseria Santa Barbara

Hotel Villa Flora Relais

"Months in the planning, 28 hours flying from Australia, our 7 week road/fly trip travelling from Athens to Spain, was interrupted by a terrible stay at this place. We chose it for a pitstop to relax and regenerate and their promise of magnificent food, cooking classes and their proclaimed wine cellar. It is nice sure, if you can look passed its faux building and the rubber pool. It has a view, but reality is it is in a very shabby part of the country, surrounded by litter everywhere...so a gated oasis in the cheap end of town. The staff were amazing (5 stars)....BUT the manager was hostile and insolent,... and this review is specifically linked to him. Rarely would I do a review like this but the bottom line, the place makes all sorts of promises on their website and their intranet, mostly fake or staged, this place it is NOT a place for travellers - you will be nothing more that an annoyance to him. We stayed for 4 nights and was only allowed a seat in the restaurant once - why...because they had events on for locals. A wedding, then a baby shower, then a birthday and then a christening, all taking the whole restaurant. It is clearly a place for the well-to-do locals. The food was magnificent on the only night we could get a table, and the service impeccable, but the manager was MIA for us with no communication at all. We had booked 6 months in advance, booked the lux room and had requested cooking classes - why else would you stay in a gated location way out of town, claiming to offer really special stuff. We received no notice, no apology, no alternatives, no understanding....nothing...and when we asked HIM for assistance, the scowl on his face was palpable. The place is sweet, but at the end of the day, fake. The staff, including kitchen, were 1st grade, so manager goes from 0 stars to 2 stars for, I assume, his recruitment. My apologies to the staff - you were great and very diplomatic. But you mr flashy no sox manager, you have one job..."