Il Duca

This place COULD be amazing but the details have let it down. Stayed for 3 nights and the first thing i noticed was the number of messages I received asking for specifics around my arrival time 2-3 days ahead. I said I am unsure, probably evening as I was driving and stopping along the way. This could be lost in translation, but the requests were quite firm and frequent as I could not provide an exact time. The day of arrival I received a phone call from the hotel very insistent that I give an arrival time, I advised in the evening or thereabouts, and asked if there was a problem around checkin, I was told no. I arrived about an hour ahead and was led to a very sketchy car park behind the b&b. My rental was quite large and this was a very tight fit. However free parking in Tropea? Can’t complain much. The b&b representative, Sonia, provided absolute minimum by way of hospitality, no offer to assist with any bags or any part of the check in, seems she may have been annoyed with my earlier arrival. The room itself was good, sensational views. Here is where the details matter. Firstly, I am not sure what service the TV is connected to, but it felt like there were a few hundred Russian tv channels and not much else. The bathroom, while well appointed, needs a deep clean. There was a long hair at the entry to the shower on arrival and was there when we left. The tap connections as well as the tiles had some serious mould. I am a reasonably normal sized adult male and struggled to just turn around under the shower head, often hitting the sides of the shower door and taps. Toilet paper also appears to be at a premium, either not replaced or just given one role for two people for two days. Luckily, there is a mini market across the road that sells toilet paper, The breakfasts were not great. Basic selection of cheese and meats on a plate in the fridge, did not look changed the whole stay, but cannot say for a fact. The pastry’s were definitely pre packaged and left out, did not taste fresh at all. The eggs were undercooked and never hard boiled. Sonia made coffee each morning which was perfectly fine. We had to ask for things like salt and pepper, which we found to be unfortunately out of date. The juice jugs spilt when pouring and had to be replaced. One morning Sonia reminded us that there was a grill available if we wanted to toast some breads, when opening the grill infront of her it was clearly dirty and used. There was no care taken to clean it, simply left to us. The small bin on our table had mould in it, as it was a bin I paid it little attention until the next day when yesterdays left overs were still inside complete with the mould. The home made cakes however were fantastic. On our last day at breakfast Sonia arrived and short of engaging with us, it was “don’t forget to pay the city tax before you leave”. Yeah great. Leaving the tight sketchy car park we collected the sidewalk and damaged our rental. Shame. If they could focus on hospitali

Had an amazing week in Tropea hosted by Claudia and the team at Il Duca. Such a good spot to walk around town and experience all the wonderful restaurants, shops and beaches in this hidden gem of Calabria. The home-made breakfast provided was the best way to start each day, and we were made to feel right at home (even after a very late check-in due to a delayed train). Highly highly recommend this place!!