Rura , nel cuore del Pollino0

We stayed as a family of four and from the minute we arrived nothing was too much trouble for Rosa. This isn't any ordinary hotel, it is an old Seminary and has all the charm that goes with it, cloisters/chapel/large spacious rooms. Rosa's passion for making guests feel at home is also evident, she bakes delicious fresh cakes and biscuits for breakfast and cooks up freshly prepared evening meals at a moments notice. Worth a stay especially if you are looking to appreciate life the Italian way relaxed and non fussy with wonderful hospitality, good food and a comfy room, you will soon become one of the family!

Nothing was wrong!

Amazing environment: The whole village is like stepping to an old movie and when you come to the Rura the first feeling is the strong feeling of tranquility and peace. It is the place where you can really relax and breath. The old monk garden invites you to just sit down and enjoy the moment. And when you have restored your energy, it invites you to find it’s secrets and it will give you surprises. I took over 100 photos in few days at Rura, because it gave so much things to discover. The rooms still give you the feeling of the old monastery. Hot water in the shower and it won’t stop coming. Good bed to sleep. Elevator works smoothly and makes it easy, if you have problems moving. You can park the car free in the front of the hotel and it was the first place in Italy, that I didn’t have any worry about the car’s safety. The old chapel in the same building is beautiful and a worth of exploring. The food is just delicious. At the breakfast handmade Italian pastries made in the hotel’s own kitchen. And the other meals… I couldn’t walk after my first dinner, because I was so full. The food is made with the local ingredients and the big Italian heart. Every bite is just delicious. And the people of the hotel - they give you the true experience of Italian hospitality with the open heart. In the end - I didn’t want to leave at all and felt like being at home.

There is a big risk of getting fat, if you stay long. And the problem is getting to an argument with yourself, because you know that you have to leave, but don’t want to and you find yourself finding excuses for yourself why you still should stay there longer.

Historical property in a charming village. Great hosts and excellent meals. Rooms are basic, but comfortable and clean.

It can be a little cold, I understand that in late May you probably don’t need the heating on. However it was unusually cold for my visit so they turned the heating on in my room.

Beautiful location. Interesting historic building that was once a monastery. Delicious traditional dinner served in the restaurant.Slee

Very central place with Parking Area. nice small town with great mountain views at the Plaza in the near.

None

The breakfast was amazing.

I liked everything.

Beautiful little town. Unique accommodation, felt quite special

Bad experience. You have to call their mobile phone every time you wish to talk to someone at reception. The check in was quick but no information other than where the room is was provided. Upon asking a “receptionist” about breakfast times, the wifi password and the air conditioning unit in our room we got “8 am”, *unintelligible sequence of numbers they did not bother to write down* and “there isn’t” respectively. The receptionist was particularly annoyed at the questions as well. Now the most annoying part was booking a room that had a bathtub as an amenity and a streaming service provided (so a TV) but getting one with neither. It’s a shame because the other two owners seem very, very nice. Wish they would have explained how everything works, though. Breakfast was lackluster but tasty. Very unfortunate that nothing was explained, we probably missed out on something due to that.

Nothing much! The ladies tried their best! We decided no way could we spend 3 nights in such a cold unhospitable place. When we looked out of our cold “cell” after 1 night, we saw that it was pouring with rain, so we knocked going on to Rotonda on the head, as it is even further up a mountain, and we wouldn’t be able to see the views in the awful weather. We decided to head South for the coast and see how far we got. Breakfast was another interesting experience. She had asked what we wanted, but we didn’t know what she had! She said, tea, coffee, sweets. I asked about fruit which threw her! At 8am, as arranged we arrived for breakfast. At about 8.20 she got off the phone and brought us coffee. Then a plate of melon and large pieces of pineapple. Then she brought some cakes. She asked something when we had finished some of the fruit and cake and John said yes, to which I asked if he had understood. “No” , replied John! At which point she brought more pineapple! It was like a comedy act. After all this, she offered us ham and eggs. If only we had known! We then tried to explain we were checking out early, because of the weather, and heading for the coast. After a while she understood and phoned her son. He asked us for 115 euros, 2 nights plus wine. No bill, breakdown. Then she wanted cash! We managed to scrape together enough euros, negotiating 110 euros and escaped our cold cell and fled. John reckons they are operating under the radar, as we weren’t asked to check in with our passports and no city tax was mentioned.

The little town looked a bit dour, with nothing much open in its narrow streets. Eventually found our lodgings for the next 3 nights. An old converted monastery, Rura. It was meant to be an Inn with a bar, restaurant and rooms and had superb reviews. It was deserted when we arrived at about 3.15 pm. Check in was listed as from 2.30pm. Wandered in but no sign of life. It was very cold in the building. We phoned the accommodation phone number and spoke to the owner, who said his mother was in the kitchen. Eventually, a lady appeared and welcomed us in Italian. Her English was almost non existent. She gave us coffee and cake, telling us camere not ready. We were the only guests in the huge building. Eventually she showed us upstairs to our room, a tiny cell, with a tiny shower room. It was freezing. We asked about heating and were told it was switched off in April! When we went back down after unpacking for the next few nights, another lady appeared with even less English! We asked about our evening meal that I had booked online from back home, with details that it was a celebration meal for our Ruby Wedding Anniversary. She seemed surprised about the dinner booking asking what time. Eventually, we managed to get her to agree to 7.30pm. She said pasta, tomato and meat. OK! We went to walk down into town and explore. It started to pour with rain again, so we sat in the car to shelter as were so cold in our room and the building. When rain stopped, walked down into town. Very little open. Just 2 scruffy local bars. Returned to the monastery and shouted yet again at kitchen door. Asked for a bottle of wine. Again surprise! There was a bar but no one to serve. John pointed to a bottle, and she managed to open it with just a bit of cork. We sat at a table by the bar and drunk the wine and considered what to do. We took the wine to the dining room and were brought pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs. The pasta was the thick type, in a thick sauce.

A beautiful and historic spot in an out of the way town in Calabria, which is well worth visiting

They overcharged us by €30. When we checked out, there were no staff at the desk. We ended up making contact with one of the kitchen staff, who spoke no English (I speak very limited Italian). She said the credit card machine was broken and insisted we pay in cash. We had to go to a cash machine and return to pay. Then she said that it was €80 instead of the €49 advertised. I believe this was a misunderstanding of the exchange rate (€49 is about AUD$80). We had an appointment to get to, so we paid the extra. She didn’t provide a receipt, which is very unusual in my experience for Italy. We contacted management and explained the situation after we left. They said they would reimburse me but they haven’t, and are now not responding to my messages. Booking.c om has refused to help despite the management admitting their mistake in our correspondence. Really left a bad taste in my mouth.