On the plus side, this is a lovely house and very well-equipped, located within easy walking distance of the small town. Unfortunately there was a damp musty smell in the kitchen cupboards and the worktop was covered with ants, making food preparation difficult.
The grounds are lovely, and set within mature orange groves with lovely views. The pool is large, but this is where we had a significant issue. The description clearly states: “The pool as well as the terraces and the porch around the house are only available for you”. Prior to booking, we asked for confirmation of this as another holiday website described the property as having a campsite in the grounds.
In reply, we were told there was a small campsite in the grounds for no more than ten vehicles, but that there were no bookings for the week of our stay. However, one day before arrival, we contacted Serena to ask about check in time, and whether there were any campers booked. We were told there were no campers but the pool was now open to the public.
We arrived at the property to unbearably loud music and an extremely busy pool packed with families and children. The amplified radio channel was constantly being changed due to radio interference. Music is not a problem for us - we had packed our own stereo system to take on holiday with us. It would actually have been nice if there had been background or easy listening music, but this was mainly "head-banging" stuff.
We asked for it to be turned down immediately on arrival, and on other occasions after that. It was turned down at first, but within hours it was back to the same volume. We felt we had to shut ourselves in the house a great deal of the time to escape and only used the swimming pool once or twice during our stay. There were no cushions on the loungers which made sitting by the pool very uncomfortable anyway. We only managed to relax when the pool closed at 7 or 8pm.
Our main issues are that the property was not as advertised. We selected the property on the strength of the host’s description and the understanding that the pool would be “only available to us”. Our week at La Parrinara was blighted by the constant noise and unavailability of the pool and sunbeds as these were taken up by the local mothers and children. We were disappointed that having raised the issue of the loud music, its volume remained loud and annoying. On this basis, we would not recommend the property.
Sadly, although our hopes of a quiet relaxing holiday with an accommodating host were shattered for us, there was something amazing about the holiday, something we found incredibly moving. Each day at noon, the church rang out with the beautiful sound of Ave Maria being played across the valleys. If only we could have listened to it properly.