broganns2022
Google
What A Disappointment ||We really wanted to love this place, as it has so much potential, but the staff needs a serious lesson in hospitality. The limitations of the Inn itself could have been overlooked if not for the unfriendly and inflexible attitude of the people who work there. Such a shame, as the grounds are beautiful and the food is delicious. ||We had problems right away. We booked through a travel agency who notified the resort in the morning that we would be arriving early around 12:30. We were told in advance that our rooms would be ready around 2:00 but that we could use the pool and common areas until then. However, when we arrived, the woman at the concierge desk could not find our reservation for over 15 minutes because our rooms were mistakenly listed under our travel agent’s colleague’s name. Our agent insists that this was a mistake on the Inn’s part - that they had our names but failed to enter them into their reservation system. It is not a large property and has only a handful of rooms, so I am not sure why the woman at the front desk couldn’t use deductive reasoning to find our reservation, but that is a whole other issue, along with her inadequate English, which made communication especially difficult. This booking error could have been a small setback, but the woman was so defensive and irritated about the confusion, and not at all apologetic or reassuring. She acted like the problem was our fault and that she was the one who was frustrated and inconvenienced, failing to appreciate our internal concern about there being no record of our booking. The moment she realized there was a problem, should have kindly asked us to hold one moment while she sorted things out, rather than frantically asking us to repeat our names over and over again (I even typed it on my phone for her to read, twice) and when I tried to answer her, putting her hand up to stop me from talking because I was apparently interrupting what she was trying to do. The woman did eventually call someone who figured it out, but the woman never accepted responsibility for the confusion or tried to make it up to us in any way. Terrible energy from the moment we arrived. This initial experience was disorganized, unwelcoming, and gave us the sense right away l that our time at Fiori & Frutti was not going to be enjoyable. ||Next, we were informed by the same woman that we could use the pool but would only be given towels once the room became available in approximately 2 hours. We were also told there was no place for us to change into our bathing suits. Using the pool was the entire reason we asked our agent to call in advance earlier that morning, as we chose not to do more sightseeing or activities in favor of relaxing by the pool at the Inn instead. After these multiple issues with check-in, our agent called the Inn again and was told we could use the pool if we had our own towels, which, of course, we did not bring from America. Why we were not offered fresh towels and a place to hold our luggage and change into bathing suits is beyond me, but certainly not the type of service and hospitality we are used to or expected from Fiori & Frutti, especially after the debacle with our booking. ||Instead of sitting by the pool as planned, we passed the time before our room was available at the more casual bistro restaurant. Our lunch at the bistro was exceptional, as was our dinner at the gourmet restaurant later that evening, albeit the service there was very slow. There were two men working at the bistro. One was friendly and flexible, kind and accommodating. The other not so much. In fact, he later balked when we asked if he would take a photo of us, claiming that he was very busy and acting as if it was a great inconvenience to take our picture, even though there was only one table of guests enjoying some wine at the bistro at the time. His unfriendly attitude matched that of the woman at the front desk. We hurried through our awkward “Last Night in Italy” photo moment, regretting having asked that man for help and feeling quite certain now that our presence on the property was a nuisance to those who worked there. The staff at the gourmet restaurant were friendlier, and our dinner there was the best part of our stay, as well as the only time we felt welcomed, accommodated, and comfortable. ||After lunch, we were never told that our rooms were ready but we figured we’d get our heavy luggage out of the car, which was parked in a back lot. We had to walk quite a ways and drag our large roller luggage across the long stone driveway, which was a challenge in 90-degree heat. There was no valet or assistance of any kind until we got inside main building, and no mention at check-in of such service or even a luggage caddy, so we were on our own to manage it all. There were also no instructions or signage about where to park our car. As we struggled with our bags over the gravel, a staff person (waiter from pool) walked past us and smiled. He never offered to help or notify another staff person.||Just like the woman who initially checked us in, the other people who occupied the concierge desk throughout our stay were equally unfriendly, never greeting us or smiling or welcoming us in any way when we walked in the door. Not one person at that desk ever even looked up, evidence of a culture of inhospitality amongst the staff. We always had the feeling that we were interrupting or annoying the front desk staff person simply by entering the building and walking up to our rooms. ||Before dinner, we tried to shake off the bad vibes by taking a stroll around the property, which is pretty. Unfortunately we were never given a tour or map of the grounds or any information at all about the farm. Most of the gates were closed and there was no signage except those restricting access. Given the inhospitable atmosphere, we did not want to risk getting in trouble, so we sat on a bench while we waited for our dinner reservation, getting attacked by mosquitos and wishing we had spent our last night back in Trieste instead of listening to our travel agent who promised a good experience at Fiori & Frutti, which it certainly was not. ||The Inn building itself leaves much to be desired. These deficiencies could be overlooked had the service been better and the staff been more pleasant. As other negative reviews have stated, the walls are paper thin so there is absolutely no privacy, and very little sleep. The clunky and difficult-to-use door keys do not help with the noise, as there is an echo in the hallways every time someone tries to enter their room or lock the door on the way out. The bed is hard and uncomfortable. The air conditioning does not stay on when you leave the room, and it turns off in the middle of the night, despite the summer heatwave. The light above the sink was out in one of our bathrooms. No washcloths. No hand soap. No hair conditioner. No tissues. No magnifying mirror. And the shower is horrible: tiny, with very little water pressure and water temperature that fluctuates from scorching hot to freezing cold for the duration. And it is infested with bugs (I will spare you the photos and videos). ||Lastly, breakfast begins at 8am and there is no coffee offered before that time. Seeing as I was woken up at 4:30 from the guests in nearby rooms, I could have used a little caffeine before 8am, if even self-serve. I searched the grounds for coffee at 6:45am, but found nothing. We also needed to leave for the airport by 7:45, but the reception desk does not open until 8am. Check out, therefore, delayed our departure. ||Our experience at the gourmet Michelin recognized Al Segnavento was excellent. Food and service is outstanding. I would recommend Fiori & Frutti for dinner, but that is it. The Inn is not managed well, and, for me and my daughters, proved to be a disappointing end to our vacation in Northern Italy. ||If the family who owns F&F wants to welcome guests to their farm, which I imagine is a lucrative endeavor, they need to at least act like they are happy to have the guests staying there. Improvements in the area of hospitality are sorely needed.
