In Riva al Lago

Rude and inconsiderate staff, poor accommodation

Rude and inconsiderate staff

First off the main problem with this place is a lack of clarity of it's limitations. Though it has pretensions beyond itself with corridor lights turning on automatically and aggravating key codes to get in— this is a run down building with in the main basic shared B&B accommodation and staff who can behave very primitively. Apart from the owner/ manager some of the staff could use an introduction to tact and considerate behaviour.
The key to this place's success is it's location. Though down a grim back alley it is right next to the bus and train station.
There is apparently an odd abundance of rules I wasn't told about in advance or shown in writing apart from the booking requiring full credit card details for the double room booking. One odd rule I wasn't warned about is that check out is at 10 0 CLOCK in the morning.
On the morning we were due to check out we had first a woman knocking on our door at 9:30am (we presumed it was about cleaning and put the do not disturb sign on the handle outside). At 10am we had a male member of staff banging on the door and shouting in Italian. When I opened the door I found him abrupt, imperious and aggressive -his demand was that we had to check out there and then. It was astonishingly rude. When I told him I was never told about a 10am check out time he said he was in a hurry and needed to settle things because he had to leave- perhaps it was the end of his shift.
It was especially disturbing because I was with my girlfriend and here we were being made to feel that we had to leave immediately. We packed hastily with a female member of staff hovering near our door. It was bizarre experience that had abruptly spoiled our holiday in Como.
The hotel is more of a hostel with shared bathrooms and bunk beds in most of the narrow rooms.
The breakfast is a selection of mainly poor quality budget breads, cake, museli and low fruit high sugar juice drinks. You are strictly limited to one of each item. Which is a rule I'm sure seldom transgressed.
The place is clean and has a little character. The pizza restaurant attached is actually quite good and is very popular with non guests— bustling each evening while we were there.
The place is quite noisy so we never slept that well. The main caveat though is this tactless and aggressive employee CARMELO (if that's his real name) -really one experience of this ignorant, inconsiderate, thick could ruin your experience of this lovely lake district

• Opinion of Price: about average
• Related to: Backpacking, Budget Travel
• Written June 27, 2011

In Riva al Lago

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