“Beautiful hotel... The pictures don't do it justice!”

We rencently stayed at the Pino Hotel in the small town of Falerna Marina in Gizzeria (Calabria), where we would be boarding a plane at the new airport in Lamezia Terme the next day. When we first got to Lamezia Terme Central Station we took a cab (the cab driver charged us 30 Euros to take us to … more

We rencently stayed at the Pino Hotel in the small town of Falerna Marina in Gizzeria (Calabria), where we would be boarding a plane at the new airport in Lamezia Terme the next day. When we first got to Lamezia Terme Central Station we took a cab (the cab driver charged us 30 Euros to take us to Falerna Marina, but we later found out the normal rate should've been 15 or 20 at most!) Falerna Marina is about 15 minutes from the Central Train Station and about 20 minutes from Lamezia Terme International Airport. We were very impressed with the hotel when we arrived. It's fairly new. We got a room on the second floor and it was impeccable: new furniture, new bedding, the bathroom was sparkling clean. The bed was very comfortable as well. We also had a small fridge with several drinks and snacks at affordable prices. Although somewhat obstructed, you can see the ocean from the balcony. Just half a block from the hotel is a long boardwalk along the coast, with many restaurants and gelaterias around (and even a small amusement park). The scenery and the views of the ocean are absolutely breathtaking. You can also walk to the small town, where you can find more restaurants, bakeries, gelaterias and more. The only downside was that almost no one speaks English (some of them speak a few words). We could somehow communicate (we both speak Spanish) but most of the people we spoke to were so nice and gracious that I'm sure gestures would've been enough to understand one another. It was fairly quiet in June and we were told in July and August the town is bursting at the seams with so many visitors. Breakfast is included and I had the best cappuccino I had in all of Italy that week. I can't remember the name of the gentleman who made it for me, but I think he's always there in the morning. There were also croissants, yogurts, juice, bread, cookies and cheese for breakfast. The same gentleman was gracious enough also to get us a driver to the airport the next morning (free of charge but we gave him a good tip for their trouble). We were not only pleasantly surprised at how beautiful and spotless this quaint little hotel was, but also at the quality of the service of the staff, who barely spoke any English but made us feel so welcome and well looked after. Like I said in the title, the pictures I've seen of the hotel do not do it any justice; it's much, much nicer than it looks. We would definitely go back to this beautiful part of Italy again.

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