Antica Masseria Rottacapozza

The accommodation provides clean, comfortable rooms with private entrances and a beautiful pool area. The staff offers exceptional service and delicious breakfast. Its serene location allows easy exploration of Southern Italy.

We have never been spoken to as rudely by what I assume to be the manager/owner of this hotel. We checked in sat night having exchanged a marriot son antem week for this through Interval International. No greeting from him, just thrusting papers with costs for cleaning €50 and €70 to use the pool, football pitch more like prison yard and beach. Transpired the pool is not heated and therefore unusable and their beach was closed. They have an indoor pool but the cost for this is another €20 euros per day per person. I asked could we not use this instead as the outside pool was not open. This resulted in more flailing of arms, slamming of papers. We were then showed our room which was one of the most depressing spaces I've seen. Dark, tiny with a view of a hedge. I refused to take that room and the younger receptionist whom was very nice showed us to a better room. They then agreed to give us dinner for free that night and to use the spa for one day. Which we did not accept. Once in the room it then transpires there is no WiFi or phone signal and a 15 year old sky box. The WiFi in the common areas is sketchy at best. We decided on Tuesday to check out as not being able to use the facilities and being unable to use our phone or laptop was becoming untenable. My partner spoke to the manager to check out and has just come back having been sworn out and agreessively spoken to and now €50 lighter for some imaginary cleaning fee. The manager is very aggresive that we refused to pay the reduced €35 euros for facilities we didn't or couldn't use and in Italian appeared to threaten my partner. I have never felt more like a second class citizen and so awkward. I don't know if its because we are English or because we have booked through interval International. But again I am now in tears of what should have been a lovely holiday. We stayed 3 days out of 7 and have the extra cost of finding somewhere else to stay. On the positive, the grounds are lovely, the breakfast staff are very accommodating and friendly along with the younger man on reception. The manager should not be in service or frankly have any interaction with paying guests. Interval International should not be offering this hotel as a comparative exchange. The lack of facilities in off season should not be the same price as in high season. Be aware if you stay here, you will need to pay for everything on top and if you do get to use the pool, make sure you wear a swimming cap!! Said no hotel ever.

We are an older couple: 70 and 77, so we aren’t as adventurous as the younger set. We did a week of timeshare trade to southern Italy with Interval International. We rented a car, and while driving here I realized it’s not in Lecce but an hour past it! I guess I didn’t look too carefully at the location since we’d never been here before (from the U.S.). It’s much more remote than I expected. They gave us a room without too many steps, which was very accommodating. The people working here are wonderful, although very few speak English. We mostly used our hands and a few words. We are still getting the hang of Google translate. The beach resort associated with this resort is really nice! We spent a lot of time there. They have healthier food, with salads and fruit, which we didn’t get at the resort dinners. (We skipped the continental breakfast at the resort and went to the beach for lunch.) The only fruit for sale we could find anywhere nearby was at the beach restaurant! The locals at the markets said you buy fruit only on Saturdays! Since I eat fruit for breakfast, hearing this was a shock. In retrospect, I’d only stay here for 4 days and spend time north of here near Alberobello, etc. it’s an hour to Lecce and Otranto from here so we won’t get to see the Puglia north of here before we leave for Naples tomorrow on the train in Lecce.