VOI Alimini Resort

We stayed for 2 weeks here in July 2023. This is a place that has a lot of positives and our kids loved it, but the management needs to understand that there is a clear disconnect between price and quality here that will not produce repeat customers, and they are in serious need of investing in the dated facilities. Let’s start with the negatives as these are what led to a 3 star review: 1. Check-in: we were asked to pay the full price when we arrived, and had to produce an email and credit card statement proving we had in fact paid thousands of euros as a down payment months earlier. Reading other reviews, I am happy I did not give in and wait for a refund. 2. Rooms: extremely low quality for the price, clearly not renovated for several decades. On the ground floor, we asked to change rooms on the first day because there was an overpowering stench of mold in our room (which initially received the response “I don’t smell anything, what are you talking about?”.) We were lucky, as the couple next door complained about the same thing and were denied. Secondly, there are no but screens on the windows, which is what I would even expect in a cheap roadside motel. Since we were there during a heat wave, it was either (noisy and dilapidated) AC all night, or getting bitten by mosquitoes. We were not the only ones to mention this. The showers worked poorly and overall the rooms weren't as much better as camping bungalows, which is unacceptable in this price range 3. The performers are the day camp counselors and work their butts off from sunrise to the wee hours of the morning and we found them to be great, just don’t expect to be blown away by the shows. 4. Services: it seemed to us that the cleaners are understaffed, as they never once replenish your room fridge (so we went to a supermarket and stocked the room with water as the temperature rose to around 40c), and they only changed our bedsheets after more than one week when we specifically asked for this (yuck)! 5. Schedule: the pool closes at 7pm and the restaurant at 9:30pm. A bit early compared to other Italian villages we’ve been to. 6. Restaurant and allergens: the allergenes listed are often wrongly stated, which is absolutely unacceptable. This is a result of miscommunication between the kitchen and the providers, but it doesn't change the fact that someone could die as a result Positives; 1. The food: we don’t understand the complaining here, the food was great, and the staff works like crazy all day to process a massive crowd effectively. Good free beer and wine as well! 2. Miniclub: as mentioned above, the camp counselors are working round the clock and seem to have unbelievably positive attitudes. The mini club has a ton of age appropriate activities and our kids ended up loving it. They also pay special attention to keeping teens happy in a healthy way, and I was impressed with how well they managed them, none of the usual shenanigans one would normally

We spent one week in this good and solid resort located in the Salento region. Rooms are small but in excellent condition, we absolutely loved food at restaurant buffet, one of the best I have tried in Italy.