تيبيكو ريزورت

We stayed for one night at one of the historic Trulli homes in Alberobello. Let me begin by saying that there comments aren't necessarily meant as a criticism, just that it's almost impossible to know this stuff without going through the process. First off, we received an email asking us what time we planned to arrive, as the check in, is as per usual, 3pm. However, the main office where you have to check in is closed between 1 & 3 pm daily so if you're at all early, you sit outside waiting in the sunshine. We were told check out is 10:30 at the latest. It was made clear that even that was stretching things. When we got to our assigned place, some minor annoyances: no pillowcases on the spare pillows; no Kleenex tissues. And the wifi didn't work. We had parked in a lot recommended by the hotel. The guy at the lot said the car had to be out by 9 am. The person at the resort office said 10:30 am. Given we were ready to leave by 9 we went to the lot only to find a chain and barrier across the entrance/exit. We called the office and they said if you look carefully you can unhook the chain yourself and remove the barrier, and oh yeah, please put them back once you have the car out. None of the above was a crisis just a series of annoyances so I would think carefully before recommending the place.

The room was nice but despite asking for a quiet Trulli, we were on a popular road where load tour groups walked past from 8:30am to 6:30 pm with tour guides (Italian and German) using microphones right outside the trulli. In addition, the music from the square where musicians were using load speakers and singing naff songs badly, was very annoying. I would advise staying in a quiet trullie on the edge of the area or outside of Albarello. You can easily walk around Albarello in one day. After being in Puglia for two weeks, we can honestly say that the breakfast was the worst so far. It was served in a pizzeria, where there was a limited range of food options, food was served on paper plates, we had plastic cups for drinks and I had to have muesli out of a tiny plastic cup for ice cream. No water was put out unless you asked for it. The young male receptionist was sour, unhelpful and grumpy.

It was a genuine trull! Once I switched off the refrigerator, the room was hushed. So lovely that I opted to postpone sightseeing until after the check-out. I enjoyed being a homebody in the historical trull. There was even a kitchen.