Residenza Isabella Tra Assisi e Spello SNC — Hotel in Spello

We really wanted to love this place. We actually thought it would be our favorite rental during our month long tour through parts of Europe. That wasn't the case... ||There were some great, positive features though. The pool and the landscaping are truly lovely. The host's son and daughter in law are very helpful and really tried very hard to resolve some of the issues that arose. The son and daughter in law were delightful, good people. Another plus was the house was not too far from some stores. There is an awesome grill if you want to cook out, and there are nice dining tables to enjoy outside on the patio.||Also, let me say that I am a huge fan of vacation home rentals. We rent on average 10+ different vacation rental homes each year due to business and recreational travels. We also own a couple of vacation rentals that we manage ourselves. So, we are very familiar with the ups and downs of vacation rentals and we understand that not all experiences are as enjoyable as others. And we try to be very patient when a stay isn't as satisfactory as we had hoped. This place though, had more issues than we were able to overcome. I thought for days about whether or not I should leave a negative review, because I depend on reviews in my business too, and I know how harmful one can be. But at the same time, we chose this place based largely on all the great reviews, and I really wish as a traveler, someone else would have mentioned some of these problems so that we could made a more informed choice and maybe avoided some problematic situations.||First, a small issue, but one to mention, is the host speaks no English. I am not saying I think that everyone should speak English, but because unfortunately, I speak no Italian, I booked our stays based on descriptions stating there was an English speaker on site. When we arrived, the host tried communicating by google translate, which although helpful, is not the same as speaking the same language. The hosts later did enlist the help of their daughter in law, who does speak English.||Next, The description states wifi is available in all the apartments. When we arrived we were told the wifi would only work if we stood close to the windows. When we could not get any signal in our apartment, we were told we would need to sit on a bench that sits in the middle of the yard in front of the main office. This is problematic because I run my business online and could not sit in the middle of the yard for the entire stay. The host threw her hands in the air and walked away from us when we voiced our complaints. However, the son and daughter in law (who were awesome) went to town and bought a portable hot spot for us to use in our unit.||Next, the apartment is advertised with AC. While there are AC units in the units, some do not work at all and the others do not cool very well. It was very hot during our stay and we couldn't cool the rooms down.||Also, we were looking forward to a calm, tranquil visit like so many other reviewers stated they enjoyed. But when we arrived there was loud soccer game of about 10 teens in the yard just outside our windows, that ended with the big group of adolescent boys playing in the pool for several hours. It seems that all the boys were friends and family of the host. They did all leave the property that night after the pool party.||The biggest problem though was this. 3 of the 4 people in our party went to town the morning after we checked in, leaving one person in the apartment in bed. Shortly after we left, the host came into the apartment (assuming we were all gone) and wandered around. The guest that was left at the apartment thought the footsteps he heard wandering around the apartment was another family member, until the host walked into the bedroom where the guest was laying in bed, scarcely clothed. The host saw him, looked surprised, waved and left the apartment. When I arrived back at the apartment, I immediately tried unsuccessfully to contact the host to address the issue. Then I called the booking website to report the matter and tell them we would be leaving. They called the host on our behalf and then informed us that the host had been reached and had agreed to refund us the remaining nights in cash. Within an hour, the host came and asked why we were leaving. Again, the lack of a similar language to speak in was an issue, and they called the daughter in law that speaks English to translate for us again. When we explained we were very uncomfortable with their unannounced entry and that they cannot come into an apartment while its rented, without asking. He said he came in because he thought we left the AC on and he came in to turn it off. I explained that one of us was still in the apartment, sleeping barely clothed, and that even if no one was in the apartment, they rented the apartment to us with AC, and therefore that was not a reason to enter. He became very irate. The conversation ended with the host yelling that this was "HIS HOUSE!" and he "COULD DO WHAT HE WANTED"(In Italian, of course) while shaking his fists at us. ||To be completely fair, we did get a refund of the unused nights, but we got it when the host threw the cash at us while yelling, "Bonjourno!" in a very sarcastic tone.||Now I do realize there are a ton of excellent, beautiful reviews for this place, so I am assuming the hosts were having a really off week during our visit, but as I mentioned before, reviews are designed to help travlers decide where is the best place for them to stay, based on their personal needs and circumstances. Therefore, I felt a responsibiity to write...

We stayed for two weeks in two different apartments. The first apartment was the big one on the ground floor, since we were a large party of eight people. One of the bedrooms was situated upstairs. The kitchen was large and spacious and so were all the bedrooms. All bedrooms had their own bathroom with a shower. There was a great livingroom where there also was a big dining table. We had everything we needed and all of the apartments were full of beautiful paintings and furniture, that really suited the house. They were all of a rustic country style. From the apartment it was easy to go out an have meals outside on the terrass, which was separated from the pool by a little house in which there was a toilet for the swimmers and a washing machine.||||Our stay was fantastic and that was not all due to the beautiful weather we experienced. The only thing that was a small problem for us was that we arrived by train to Spello, and so we had this problem of getting to and fro the city centre and the supermarket. But there had recently opended a new supermarket only about a kilometre and a half from the residence, so it was not a big problem. When we needed to go to the train station we took a taxi, but there is only one taxi driver in Spello and the second week of our stay, he went on holiday...||||But, having thought of all the advantages with a living in the countryside with a great pool to use at leisure, we are all very much content with our stay. Both the large party at our first week of the stay and the smaller party of my family, who stayed a week longer in another apartment. This was also one of the bigger ones and I have to say that both apartments give a sensation of homeliness, with their interiour details and furniture.||||If you seek a nice and comfortable country house, this is the place to be. Your are recieved by the owners and they do everything they can to help you enjoy your stay. They lent us bikes, so we easily could get to the supermarket, and any time we had any other inquires they tried to help us out.||||I am so glad we went there and I hope to get back there...

We toured Italy for four weeks last month. We hired a car in Arezzo from Avis, next to bus and train stations, easy drive to Spello. ||Residenza Isabella is a beautiful, excellently maintained villa just outside of Spello. It is surrounded by countryside and has views of hilltop towns of Asissi to the north and Spello to the south It was a great base from which to do day trips to any place in Umbria and many places in Tuscany. We did not want to stay in hotels with no parking in hilltop towns. We visited too many towns via too many scenic drives to list. Just google Rome2Rio and you can work out driving times from Spello to anywhere you want to go. After spending two weeks on trains and in tiny hotel rooms it was really nice to have a one bedroom unit, Wi Fi that always worked, spotless modern bathroom, excellent kitchen with all necessities and short drive to Spello supermarket. This is a great place to stay with a family. Don't be put off by the train line, they are high speed, don't run at night and the place is very quiet and relaxing. The owners are helpful and friendly in every way. It was the best "value for money " and the best accommodation we had on...