SamT2221
Google
Note: After writing the below review, the owner contacted me by email and stated he had instructed his lawyers in Rome to proceed against me to recover lost revenue.||||Amazing boutique hotel, but a very volatile, angry (you can read how he responds to other reviews which are not 5 star) and unpredictable owner. [Images of an email chain with the owner, Rob Potter Sanders can be viewed in Google Reviews.||||We stayed at Masseria Trapana 3 years ago and were blown away by how beautiful it was. Not everything was perfect - you get swarmed by flies/mosquitoes at the pool and the food wasn't great - a weird mix of Italian and Australian (the owner is Australian).||||When we decided we'd get married in Puglia, we contacted Masseria Trapana in October 2024, 20 months in advance of the wedding, and asked to book all of the rooms for two nights for our wedding party to stay (wedding booked at a separate venue) - it was confirmed on email that the owner had agreed to block all of the rooms for us, but that 2026 pricing was TBD. We asked at this stage if the Masseria required anything further from us, i.e. a deposit, or contract, but they did not ask for either. [Images of email chain in Google reviews to view].||||When we touched back in 7 months later (May 2025), and 12 months before our wedding, to ask, again, if they needed anything further from us and to get confirmation on the total number of rooms in the Masseria so that we could start informing our wedding guests, the owner (Rob) reneged on the 2 nights and said it was their hotel policy to do a minimum of 3 nights (their website has no booking policies, nor had they ever shared them with us) - when I politely reminded him of the written confirmation on the 2 nights, he decided he'd cancel our entire booking. [Imagines of email chain in Google reviews to view].||||I attempted to have a phone call with the owner to make sure he hadn't misunderstood or misinterpreted an email, but he didn't respond to my attempt, at which point we decided that not being guests in this hotel for such a special occasion would be best given his unpredictable and volatile nature.||||I'm sure if you're an influencer, travel blogger or travel journalist, Rob will pull out all of the stops, otherwise this is how he can interact with guests.||||Also - watch out for construction work/noise in 2026 too, with a solar farm potentially being built - this was disclosed to us directly by the owner via email, which can be viewed in Google reviews.