Hotel Barbieri

This place is run by a very hospitable family and I truly enjoyed my stay there. Very clean and just a few steps from the beach! Would highly recommend this place to others.

It does look a bit of a blockhouse, but is pleasant enough inside. We were lucky enough to have one of the rooms overlooking Altomonte and you get a great view of the village. The light at sunrise and sunset can be excellent. You can even see the sea! The Barbieri family all contributed to make it a good experience. The bar area on the ground floor is not really conducive for a relaxing drink on a cooler evening, but if it is warm there is plenty of room outside. The food was good, as it was at the Barbieri owned restaurant in the village (La Cantina Barbieri). Nice looking pool - too cold for me in October! 10 minute walk to the town centre. Although we were with a tour group, I think this hotel would make a good base if you had your own transport.

The hotel is difficult to find, is not close to the highway for convenience nor close to the beach for relaxing. From our room we could catch a glimpse of the sea a few blocks away. The hotel looks like an apartment building that had a few extra rooms they wanted to make money on. The bathmat was old and dirty. The breakfast was a croissant and a cookie plus juice and coffee - and they did not have a plate or cutlery. All this for the off-season rate of 70Euro.

We really liked the Hotel Barbieri. We found it through an Italian booking agency which gave us no directions at all. I asked for Vibo Valentia, thinking the town on the mountain and she kept telling me it was 30 meters from the water. I was very confused but booked it anyway. After driving around and around up on the hill, I finally called and told the hotel we were lost. My tiny bit of Italian and her tiny bit of English later, we confirmed it was Vibo Marina - on the beach. So we drove down the mountain and around the town on the water. Still lost, I called again and got a very nice English speaking man who came and got us and led us to the hotel. As it turned out the hotel was great, new and very clean and modern, with a comfortable bed and a good bathroom. The beach is accessible via a short walkway and was visible (to the side) from the balcony of our room. We were off season and the place was mostly empty but our hostess was gracious with an Italian breakfast and coffee. We enjoyed trying to talk with her and between our phrasebook and her Italian/English dictionary did just fine. Hotel Barbieri was a great quiet place to stay, away from the tourist area and next to the beach. In March, that is. It might be a lively place in the summer. Either way it's off the beaten track, which we liked a lot. If you plan to go, try to map it out first. It's not hard to get to if you know where you are going.