italy

Italy | Jan 9 - Jan 22, 2025

we had an excellent experience working with anita and all the kimkim staff! everyone was helpful, responsive and accommodating. well done!

a few items:

-while the process of developing the itinerary was initially difficult for me -because of the way communication is imbedded in the developing itinerary- anita was willing to accommodate me and work around it with direct contact via phone and email. thank you, anita! the app proved to be a very useful tool during the trip, providing up to date changes, quick contact and quick responses. what a great idea!

our trip went smoothly for the most part.

the guides were quite knowledgeable; some were extremely personable and fun. while all kindly accommodated the visually impaired member of our group, massimo stands out as having gone above and beyond. he was extremely helpful and caring. vito and donato also went out of their way to accommodate his needs; the ape calessino was a lifesaver in both matera and ostuni. all the guides were in contact in advance of our scheduled meeting time and were prompt in meeting us. the driver you hired at the last minute for the driving tour of naples proved to be as knowledgeable as any guide would have been; indeed, he actually was a guide. all well done!

all drivers were professional and helpful; in rome and naples, we were quite glad that they were driving and not us. again, each was in touch with us in advance of our meeting time and accommodated any travel delays cheerfully. this was especially true of vito and donato. the driver for our transfer to the rental car pickup at the naples airport was not informed of the correct pickup time. this delayed our arrival in matera, but vito and donato kindly waited for what was a substantial amount of time and cheerfully toured us anyway. we did regret that the driver assigned to pick us up in rome on arrival from munich did not learn of the delay until after he had already gone to the airport. i hope he was properly compensated.

each of the hotels stood out in different ways, but all of them were beautiful and comfortable and the staff professional and accommodating. however, the following were issues for our visually impaired friend:
-is it true that grab bars are only required in new construction in the eu? it was difficult for our friend without such accommodation. this might be wise to share with others who may be anticipating accommodations we take for granted in the united states.
-at the cenobia in matera, the staff was quite helpful and very nice, especially samir and mario, but the location was dangerously challenging. the hotel was at the bottom of several very long flights of exterior steps (no hand rails, of course). add in the rain and it was a difficult, dangerous situation for our friend. even the room assignment was problematic given the exterior steps by which it is accessed. it was fortunate the hotel was empty because it allowed management to change his room to one that had fewer steps to reach it (all entrances were exterior). as it was, it took several people to help him navigate all these steps, in the dark and the rain. he did not go to breakfast because of the rain and steps. while the hotel was beautiful and the staff wonderful, this was a bad choice for our circumstances, and could have had disastrous consequences for our friend. there is nothing on the website to alert to the steps. a heads up for other travelers is indicated.

-the same situation with steps occurred at masseria montenapoleone, on a smaller scale. again, it was fortunate that because so few people were there, management was able to reassign him to a room that was less of a challenge.

-the donna camilla was stunning. we arrived quite late after our flight from brindisi and did not see any restaurants nearby so we were quite happy it had a restaurant, a good one. however, as you know, because of our early departure, we couldn't eat at the hotel in the morning. in retrospect, we would have preferred a credit on the room since the breakfast the hotel provided was sparse and more snack-like than anything.

-because we arrived late to the donna camilla and went immediately to dinner, it wasn't until afterwards that we discovered the room our friend received had only a tub -no shower- a serious oversight and miscommunication with the hotel.

that our friend was not accommodated in several circumstances, as requested from the outset, is the only negative in what was otherwise a wonderful trip.

anita, it was a pleasure working with you…you were accommodating, quick to reply and thoughtful in your suggestions. Your colleagues we interacted with via the app were quite helpful as well. if you would like to discuss any of my comments, please feel free to contact me.