Carten Mini-hotel

Nothing worked and that isnt an exaggeration. Internet - doesnt work. Jacuzzi - doesn't work. Sauna-door broken so it doesn't work. Phone-doesnt work. Hot water-doesnt work.

We had to get 2 visits from a plumber to reset the boiler to get hot water. This meant not being able to shower one evening, and then one morning having to go out again without being able to shower.

We were told the sauna door was broken the morning of our arrival, and would be fixed on the Monday- it was never fixed and we never heard anything else about it.

There are lots of other things that need fixed. There is a plug in the bedroom that needs reattached to the wall. The button to flush the toilet is broken-it works but it needs replaced.

It's especially annoying there are so many problems because it could and should be a really nice stay but is completely let down by things that don't work and things that need fixed.

On the positive side -the bed is nice and the TV and AC actually work! Breakfast is also quite good-although one morning we got a cappuccino with no sugar (especially in Italy?!) and another morning I was given a flavoured yoghurt with my cereal when I had natural for the previous days - and of course it was a flavour I didn't like and couldn't eat.

The location is also excellent. Although I'm not sure why some of the reviews say it's very quiet-we stayed over the weekend and Saturday night was extremely noisy. This is absolutely nothing against Carten but just something to be aware of.

We also luckily double checked that the taxi we requested when we checked in was booked for the morning we left. It, of course, was not already booked and if we hadnt checked we would have been late for our flight home.

I hope whoever reads this takes this seriously and doesn't think that I am being fussy or complaining about nothing. I have never even come close to leaving a review like this before and I genuinely wanted it to be good so it is a real shame there are so many issues.

Carten did refund a nights stay from the bill and provided a bottle of prosecco for the sauna being broken but it's the sheer number of problems that there are that didnt really give me any option but to give them 1 star.

I wish I could give this "hotel" a zero. They should be sued for misrepresentation.

Me and my partner arrived at this "hotel" on 6th of October for my birthday, and we were "greeted" by an incredibly rude receptionist, who told us we cannot check-in for another 40 minutes, and told us to leave the "reception" and come back at 2PM. When we returned, we were told that we won't actually be staying in this hotel, but will have to go to a "sister hotel", 2 mins walk away from the premises. The receptionist took pictures of our passports which was very strange - never had a passport picture taken with a phone at a hotel.

Once we left, a man approached us and grabbed my suitcase and started walking without saying a word. We had to follow him without knowing where we're going. At this stage I was starting to get furious about the whole experience. With our suitcases it took us 9 minutes to walk to a completely different building, which seemed to host a variety of offices. It was not a residential building, let alone a hotel. I have attached a picture of the location of this "sister" hotel. The man dropped my suitcase which contained fragile items (luckily nothing broke), however he didn't apologise or said anything at all.

The "apartment block", or more of an office block seemed to be really old and in a bad shape, with a barely working lift. At this stage we felt we are being scammed or even worse. Picture of the apartment entrance hall is attached. When we arrived at the "apartment" / "room", the front door was broken and a handy man was desperately trying to fix the hinges, drilling the door for good half hour. A cleaner was frantically running around. The whole "apartment" had a small "reception" and one room in it. I use quotation marks to describe these because they don't seem to be an accurate description of an apartment or a reception. I have attached another picture.

The man who dragged my suitcase took pictures of our passports again, and sent these to some Whatsapp group. I asked him why is it being done and he said we must be registered with the police. Not sure police shares a Whatsapp group.

The said man then asked what time we wanted breakfast and what would we like. We said we wanted scrambled eggs, with a toast, and a coffee with milk. The next morning "breakfast" arrived, which was a cheese [spread] and ham "toastie" with a lukewarm black coffee. When we asked for milk the lady who brought the food didn't understand what we wanted. Eventually, the toasties went in the bin. I attach a picture of this "food".

Anyway, back to the arrival. Upon entering the room, we realised there was no sitting / living area as advertised. The room had a street view, and not the view from the actual advertisement. Picture attached. The room was not clean - the walls, curtains, cushions were all dirty. The "sauna" was just a shower with a steam option and a weird bench inside. There was no shower gel available. The shower in this steam room kept dripping at random times. The steam room was so filthy that at this stage I started taking pictures of everything and started compiling a list of items that I will include in my review. See another picture attached.
Anyway, we thought we'll give it a go and get into a hot tub. It took probably 45 mins to fill it half way, and when we turned the jets, the smell of rotten eggs filled the room. We immediately jumped out of the tub. I never felt so dirty in my life, I fear of having contracted some sort of infection from just being there. When we tried to empty the tub it never did - it was so clogged of whatever was in there that the water never got drained. We slept with a tub filled with water, which smelt of rotten eggs. It was disgusting. Worst birthday ever. I have stayed in 12 different cities in Italy in my life and this was the worst experience I have ever had.

This "hotel" must be avoided at all costs.