Casina dei Preti — Local services in Conversano

First of all, the outdoors and swimming pool are gorgeous and an ideal location for ultimate relaxation. However, we experienced some negative points during our stay.||||1) Every day at 6.30 a.m. the gardener came to sweep the pathway in front of our room. The sound of the brush on the concrete woke us every single morning this early. Is it really necessary that this happens at this time?||||2) During our 7 day stay, there were 3 events. With children shouting and playing, it was impossible to relax in our room. I'm not blaming the kids, I just don't think events should be held when the hotel is open. ||||3) The shower head doesn't stay at the desired height anymore, the mechanism for keeping it up is broken. Also, the sink plug. ||||4) The dog of the owners that could be barking for an hour non-stop.||||5) We had dinner the first night in the hotel. The lady just puts the food before your nose without saying anything. Something like: what am I eating, buon appetito... Where did these basic gestures of politeness go???||||6) The rule that everyone is assigned a fixed table. This rule felt to me like being in high school. There were such nice tables in sun but we couldn't enjoy having the breakfast there because of this rule. This sure had nothing to do with Covid-19 as friends of mine went to the Mercure in Bari and there they didn't had such rule and the breakfast was in buffet style. ||||7) The worst part: breakfast. This is seriously the worst breakfast I have ever encountered. First of all, the staff at breakfast seems to be having a hard time saying 'buongiorno' apparently. At some days, the bread was so hard (at least two days old) I was wondering if they were serving breakfast for dogs or human beings? Also the pastries were reused several days, with some powdered sugar on top of it to make it 'look' fresh. On Monday 13/09 we received coffee that was lukewarm, and it tasted more like water rather than coffee. I am sure these were some leftovers from the event the day before, as were the pastries and cakes. It was also on that Monday 13/09 that the lady of the breakfast didn't even understand the word 'bread'. It is too much to ask in a hotel for some basic English??? Moreover, it could take up to 5 minutes before someone showed up and another 15 minutes to show up with coloured water that had to...

We hebben met zijn vieren een prachtige vakantie gehad in een appartement in Casina dei Preti. Casina kent een hotelfunctie wat inhoud dat je appartement schoongemaakt wordt en dat de handdoeken en het beddengoed verschoond worden. De kamers en appartementen zien er liefelijk uit, overal staan bloemen en struiken: oleanders, bougainvillea, passiebloem, wijnranken, geraniums, lavendel, paradijsvogelbloem, en ga zo maar door.||Er is een prachtig zwembad met heerlijke ligstoelen. De eigenaar en het personeel zijn heel gastvrij. Je kunt gebruik maken van alle ruimtes. Dus heerlijk kaarten binnen of een boek lezen onder het genot van een kop koffie of een glaasje wijn is mogelijk. Druiven, granaatappels en ander fruit kun je plukken, evenals de verse kruiden in de tuin. Er is een schattig klein kappelletje op de locatie.||Het ontbijt in de vorm van een buffet is voortreffelijk. s' Avonds kun je mee eten voor 25 euro voor een vier gangen diner inclusief een liter wijn en een liter water per twee personen. Heerlijke wijn van de eigen wijngaard. ||Het leukste was de kookcursus gegeven door Catharina (de eigenaresse) en San Franco. Onder het genot van een koud glas rosé en wat hapjes leerden we originele Italiaanse gerechten maken. Nona (oma) kwam zelfs om ons te leren hoe we Orecchiette (pasta in de vorm van oortjes) moesten maken. Nog nooit zulke lekkere zelfgemaakte Focaccia gegeten. En lasagne van aubergine. Heerlijke koekjes gevuld met kersen. Echt een aanrader en na het koken lekker alles op eten!||||Vanaf het Casina loop je zo binnendoor naar Conversano een leuk stadje. Ook Bari is het bezoeken waard. Van hier uit ook Alberobello (Trulla stadje) bezocht. Ook Matera is prachtig (uur rijden). Monopoli en Polignano a Mare (duikwedstrijden vanaf de rotsen) zijn leuke kustplaatstjes in de buurt. Een paar honderd meter vanaf de Casina is een olijfolie fabriekje. Heerlijk olijf olie geproefd en gekocht. Het vliegveld is een half uur rijden.||||Als je vragen hebt of tips wilt voor de omgeving is Marika altijd bereid je te helpen. Ze spreekt engels en kent de omgeving goed.||||Kortom: Casina dei Preti is echt een prachtige locatie om tot rust te komen. Het ultieme vakantiegevoel krijg je hier..||||Noi quattro abbiamo trascorso una splendida vacanza in un appartamento a Casina dei Preti. Casina ha una funzione alberghiera, il che significa che il tuo appartamento viene pulito e che gli asciugamani e le lenzuola vengono cambiati. Le camere e gli appartamenti sono incantevoli, ci sono fiori e arbusti ovunque: oleandri, bouganville, passiflora, viti, gerani, lavanda, fiori di uccello del paradiso e così via.||C'è una bella piscina con comodi lettini. Il proprietario e il personale sono molto accoglienti. Puoi utilizzare tutte le aree. Così è possibile giocare a carte all'interno o leggere un libro sorseggiando una tazza di caffè o un bicchiere di vino. Si possono raccogliere uva, melograni e altri frutti, così come le erbe aromatiche fresche dell'orto.||La colazione a buffet è eccellente. La sera puoi unirti a noi per la cena a 25 euro per una cena di quattro portate comprensiva di un litro di vino e un litro di acqua per due persone. Delizioso vino del proprio vigneto.||Il migliore è stato il corso di cucina tenuto da Catharina (la proprietaria) e San Franco. Gustando un bicchiere freddo di rosé e degli snack, abbiamo imparato a preparare piatti italiani originali. Nona (la nonna) è venuta addirittura ad insegnarci come fare le Orecchiette (pasta a forma di spighe). Mai mangiato una focaccia fatta in casa così deliziosa. E lasagne alle melanzane. Deliziosi biscotti ripieni di ciliegie. Altamente raccomandato e mangia tutto dopo la cottura!||||Dalla Casina si può proseguire a piedi fino a Conversano, una graziosa cittadina. Merita una visita anche Bari. Da qui abbiamo visitato anche Alberobello (città di Trulla). Anche Matera è bellissima (un'ora di macchina). Monopoli e Polignano a Mare (gare di tuffi dagli scogli) sono graziose località costiere vicine. A poche centinaia di metri dalla Casina si trova un oleificio. Delizioso olio d'oliva assaggiato e acquistato. L'aeroporto è a mezz'ora di distanza.||||Se hai domande o desideri consigli per la zona, Marika è sempre disposta ad aiutarti. Parla inglese e conosce bene la zona.||||Insomma: Casina dei Preti è davvero una bellissima location per rilassarsi. Ottieni la sensazione di vacanza...

We recently spent 6 nights in two different accommodations in Casina dei Preti. The property is beautiful, the restaurant is in a great setting, the pool is gorgeous. The rooms were simple and fairly functional (nothing fancy). A properly working TV would have been nice though. The mattresses were not so comfortable unfortunately, but doable. The ground are well maintained and you feel like in a little oasis. For me somehow disappointing was the breakfast ; the selection was quite limited, fruit was often either not really ready to eat at or already old. Stuff was not refilled automatically. One lady at breakfast was significant more efficient at breakfast while the other person on the other days gave us the feeling that he was even bothered when we asked for a coffee. For me a no-go. Dinner was ok, but nothing special. Bottom line, the place was nice, location close to Conversano, Monopoli and Polignano was amazing, I would recommend it despite some negative points. Casina dei Preti still has some good improvement potential, if some love and warmth would be added, especially during breakfast. It was ok for kids, but I feel it was slightly better suited for couples and families...