Gusmay Resort - Hotel Cala del turco — Hotel in Peschici

The venue has great potential with plenty of space, comfortable rooms, etc.. but the way it is managed and the services provided let it down. It's generally well maintained but somehow gives you that feeling that so much more could be done with such a location and resources.||||The parking:||Ample parking is available to guests but spaces are not clearly marked so guests end up parking where they think is suitable which in some cases is not. It's easy to end up with a note on your windscreen telling you to move your car without any clear reason whilst cars parked worst than yours seem to be OK. No major dramas but a clear delimitation of the parking spaces would eliminate the issue.||||The check-in:||The resort has both a 4* and 5* sections. All check-in are down at the 5* reception close to the car park and, if you're staying at the 4* resort a golf cart will take you and your luggage to your room after the check in.||The check-in process is smooth and painless but the staff could be a bit more friendly and welcoming. There is the option of getting a card which can be used to charge expenses such as food and drinks to it and pay for them at check out. A €20 deposit is required to get the card which I think is a bit too much but you get it back when you check out so no big deal.||||The room (4*):||Comfortable with a nice patio/balcony area. WIFI completely unusable. Cleaning and maintenance need improving. The toliet seat in our room was detached from the toilet when we arrived and nobody bothered to fix it in the week we were there.||||The beach:||Lovely private beach, easy to reach, not crowded, clean, well maintained and, with it's fairly shallow waters, perfect for families with children. Definitely one of the best and most enjoyable assets of the resort.||||The spa:||Perfect place to relax. Super clean and welcoming, it offers a variety of quality massages and treatments very reasonably priced. The staff don;t speak a word of English and all instructions are rpovided in Italian only. I had to translate for 2 ladies who only spoke English as the lady at the SPA made no effort to communicate with them even though it was clear they were not understanding a word she was saying.||||The breakfast:||Good with plenty of choice always replenished but there is nothing provided on the tables other than the tablecloth. You need to get you own cutlery, paper napkins, plastic cups, etc.. which is a bit of a let down given the type of resort.||||The beach restaurant (lunch):||Lunch served at the restaurant by the beach is a mixed experience. Tables are on a first come first served basis and can't be booked but we never had issued finding one available. Some waiters are smart, efficient and a pleasure to interact with but some others are definitely more suitable for a small town trattoria than a 4/5 stars resort.||The quality and quantity of the food served is OK. As expected it's not cheap but it's not too overpriced either considering the location.||The one thing that really ruined the experience for us was being charged (without any warning) to have some pasta we brought cooked for our little child who suffers from several food allergies.||When we explained our problem to the waiter he was happy to take our pasta (suitable for my child's allergies) to the kitchen and have it cooked for us. When we got the bill we found a €5 charge for cooking the pasta which we found reasonable so we're happy to pay each day we had lunch there. After a couple of days we were given the option of adding some broth, tomato sauce or vegetable purée to the pasta which we thought it would be a good idea but when we got the bill we realised the cost of the child's pasta had gone up to €10. Apparently they have been instructed by management to charge these prices. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion on this and for some this is acceptable and reasonable however I find it a ripoff and disrespectful of their customers and in my opinion they should be ashamed for it. Four spoons of my 15 months old child's pastina (which we brought) with a spoon of vegetable puree cost me €10 which is a joke if compared with the spaghetti with cacio cheese, black pepper and prawns I had and my wife's escalopes which cost €14 each. We have travelled extensively with our child over that past year and have never been charged a penny for the same service even when we would have been happy to pay a reasonable price.||||The bars:||We only saw/used two so my comments are only referred to those. The bar by the pool appears to be closed most of the time and the one by the beach is only staffed with one barman and one waiter who try their best to cope but, particularly in the evening, are often overwhelmed by demand resulting in very long waiting times to be served at the table. Customers often go to bar trying to cut down the wait carrying their drinks to the table. Most evenings there are events at the bar such as pianobar, tango dancing, etc.. which attract several guests but doesn't seem to affect the completely inadequate...

Usually I don’t leave reviews but in this case I knew I had to.

We stayed here Aug 14-16th with our service dog. Upon check in I let the front desk know we had the paper work and the documents to support this. They reviews them and said ok no problem.

The stay was good, the people at the resort were friendly and kind.

Upon check out the lady was super short and angry seeming. I told her I was here to check out and she said to me ok you had a small dog. I said no I have a large dog but he’s a service animal and I provided the documentation for this. She proceeded to say I needed to pay €40.00 (€20.00 per night) which normally wouldn’t matter but it stated on their website and Expedia that a service animal is free which is normal and respectable. I explained to her he is a service animal and she argued with me I was incorrect and needed to pay regardless of me telling her he is of no charge as stated on the website (ignorance). I decided to pay and said I’d check the website after as the hotel didn’t have great service. As I left the hotel I checked and sent a picture to the hotel of the confirmation of the free service animal and my receipt of being charged. 3 emails later, 2 calls and no response from the hotel.

I am not writing a review for the €40.00 euro, I am writing this review in hopes this doesn’t happen to someone else. The hotel and management need to read their own website and be aware of the “rules” of the hotel.

Disappointing as it was a good stay until...

Se gli inizi di luglio sono considerati alta stagione, con la mia famiglia abbiamo fatto una vacanza fuori stagione in un resort che, più che 4 e 5 stelle (a seconda del tipo di sistemazione in esso presenti), è stato di uno scarso 3 stelle. Noi abbiamo soggiornato alla Baia dei Turchi, quindi nella sezione del resort a 4 stelle. Check-in previsto dalle 15:30, siamo arrivati in struttura alle 16:00 e la prima camera assegnata non era ancora pronta. Dopo un’oretta ci hanno assegnato una camera. All’ingresso in quest’ultima dava l’impressione che la camera non fosse stata preparata per il nostro arrivo (odore di chiuso, terzo letto non fatto, presenza di ragnatele ai lati della porta d’ingresso, polvere accumulata da tempo WC sporco e assenza di spazzolone). Non essendo inoltre funzionante l’aria condizionata, ci hanno assegnato un’altra camera. La cassaforte presente in quest'ultima era chiusa, ed è rimasta così per tutto il soggiorno, nonostante le ripetute chiamate alla reception. Le pulizie non sono mai state eseguite in maniera accurata e soddisfacente. Inoltre, nonostante la nostra richiesta ed in contrasto alle basilari prescrizioni derivanti dall’odiato covid, non era presente sapone per le mani e gli addetti alle pulizie ci hanno purtroppo comunicato la sua mancata fornitura. Presso la piscina grande erano assenti i servizi igienici!...non dico altro…! Il servizio di animazione per i bambini, nonostante fosse menzionata, con varie attività ad essa connesse, nella sezione “attività” dei “servizi della struttura” dell’app di Booking e mi fosse stata confermata telefonicamente dalla struttura dopo la prenotazione, era inesistente e sarebbe partita da giorno 15 luglio, con grave disappunto di mio figlio e di conseguenza anche nostro. Il ristorante principale era ancora chiuso e la colazione e la cena della mezza pensione venivano serviti presso il ristorante in spiaggia (prossimamente destinato al solo menù alla carta). In ogni caso la varietà e la qualità del cibo offerto sono sicuramento al di sotto delle previsioni di un 4 stelle, come pure di un 5, i cui clienti mangiavano nello stesso ristorante. Tranne una sera in cui c’erano addirittura le ostriche e ed un’altra destinata ai prodotti pugliesi (di provenienza esterna), dei due primi e due secondi solitamente proposti, mi è capitato di mangiare pasta incollata e troppo al dente, pasta scotta con poca sapidità e secondi troppo sapidi. Tra l’altro, un giorno in cui siamo rimasti a pranzo al ristorante (non alla carta, ma alla cifra di 25€ per l’accesso al buffet) ci siamo resi conto che molti cibi preparati a pranzo, erano riscaldati e riproposti a cena. Inoltre solitamente nei resort dove c’è la presenza di bambini è previsto nel buffet una pietanza a loro destinata, qui non solo non era previsto nella cena inclusa nel pacchetto, ma neanche quando abbiamo pagato 15€ (menù bambini) a pranzo, dovendoci accontentare di quanto proposto a buffet. L’agorà degli spettacoli era in allestimento, come pure l’istallazione dei gazebi in spiaggia, degli ombrelloni in piscina e la cura del giardinaggio. In poche parole l’intera struttura risultava ancora in allestimento…! Inconcepibile nel mese di luglio!!.IL TUTTO È STATO GIUSTIFICATO DALL’APERTURA DELLA STRUTTURA DA UNA SETTIMANA PER CAMBIO DI GESTIONE, MA IO RITENGO CHE, SE NON SIA POSSIBILE DARE AL CLIENTE IL SERVIZIO COMMISURATO ALLE ASPETTATIVE DEL LIVELLO DELLA STRUTTURA ED AL PERIODO DI ALTA STAGIONE, SAREBBE MEGLIO NON APRIRE E NON METTERE IN VENDITA I PACCHETTI DI SOGGIORNO CHE SICURAMENTE SCONTENTERANNO IL CLIENTE, GENERANDO RECENSIONI NEGATIVE!!! Tra l’altro abbiamo riscontrato i medesimi malumori anche delle altre persone presenti in struttura e di chi suo malgrado era ritornato per il secondo anno (avendo l'amico a quattro zampe) ma che è rimasto notevolmente deluso. Non ho obbiezioni da fare sul servizio spiaggia, il servizio navetta interno alla struttura, la cortesia del personale e il servizio Spa (mia moglie è rimasta soddisfatta del trattamento...