A Traveler's Dilemma - What would you do?
 

HERE'S THE DILEMMA: We leave from NY to Italy in five days. Eighteen days ago I made a reservation by phone for our first two nights at an agriturismo in the Sabine Hills. The person who answered spoke English a little but was able to repeat the dates and also gave me a phone number to call when we arrived in Italy. When I finished the call I sent an email to the place and asked for an email confirmation. I did not receive a response.

I had to be away for a week, came back and still no confirmation. This week I sent two more emails, called dozens of times and there was only a recorded message in Italian which I could not understand - except for the number I was given originally. I called that number and no one answered.

Yesterday I went to a local Italian Deli, dialed the number in Italy and the owner was nice enough to listen to the message. It was asking for the caller’s telephone number and said they would return the call. He left a message with my phone number and explained the situation in Italian.

I checked Tripadvisor and someone had left a post for a visit on the 11th. I called this morning - same message. I tried to send a fax but it wasn't answered.

I received responses from two other places in Sabina that have rooms. We leave in five days.

WHAT TO DO?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Leave and just assume everything is kosher. Life's more fun with a bit of risk. ;)

Italy is sliding into the off-season so if by some chance they don't have a place for you, you should be able to easily find another accommodation.

And just in case, take three compasses with you.

Well did you give them a credit card number? I would probably call the number, maybe with the deli guy and say I was not coming UNLESS I was already into them for money - that would be a harder call. Also how are you getting to the palce? renting a car? If you show up and it's a bust, will it be difficult to go to another place?

Hi bl,

Assume that everything is OK

AND

make a backup reservation.

((I))
"Trust, but verify". Ronald Reagan

"doveryai, no proveryai" - Josef Stalin

Whoops, Lenin, not Stalin.

I would also assume all is well. I think you are just assuming the idea that you need an email confirmation of a reservation you've made is just probably bizarre to them and they don't do such things, and can't even understand the request. A lot of smaller places don't do stuff the way you'd expect from big city hotels.

A little more info. I still have not gotten a response. I did not give out credit card info. They have a nice and full website with a link to send email.

We will have a car, but would likely not get there until late in the afternoon. The place is by itself in the hills so we can't just walk through a town or drive in the locality to find another place - as Sparkchaser implies, we would have to take a risk.

Christina: I do want to trust them, and I would not feel good about making a new reservation unless I cancelled this one. But what also concerns me is that the number to call when I arrive Italy is also getting no answer.

A little more info. I still have not gotten a response. I did not give out credit card info. They have a nice and full website with a link to send email.

We will have a car, but would likely not get there until late in the afternoon. The place is by itself in the hills so we can't just walk through a town or drive in the locality to find another place - as Sparkchaser implies, we would have to take a risk.

Christina: I do want to trust them, and I would not feel good about making a new reservation unless I cancelled this one. But what also concerns me is that the number to call when I arrive Italy is also getting no answer.

DILEMMA SOLVED:

I kept trying to reach someone at the two numbers. At one point I saw one of my neighbors and found out that she also speaks Italian. She also listened to the message and was able to give a much clearer account of what it said. The message was from the restaurant in the agriturismo. There was another cell phone number in the message that I had heard but could not understand the last number. Calling and listening twice she was able to make it out.

We called that number and again left a message requesting a confirmation. Ten minutes later my home phone rang (I had only indicated this number in an email) and Rafaeli from the agriturismo itself was on the line and explained that the message was received by the owner who told him to call me and say the reservation is set. Apparently the owner had received the emails but for some reason had not had someone answer it. While it isn't needed now, they will send an email tomorrow.

Phone cards are great. I called over 15 times to listen to the message - from NY to Italy at a cost of two cents each. The last call was to a cell phone and with the long message we left cost about fifty cents.

Hi: I realize you are worried, but 5 days is a long way away. Maybe there has been sickness or death in the family and they are not answering the tele.

Check out booking.com or some other sites for a hotel nearby. Check online the DAY BEFORE you leave to see if they have rooms and if they do, write down their phone numbers - do not book the rooms.

When you land in Italy - call the agritoursimo. If no ansswer THEN call the numbers and see if the alternative hotels still have room. My guess is that they will.

Best regards,
Steve

@bocacpa: he resolved the issue. Look above your post.

@blej: glad to hear you got it sorted out. Have fun!

So glad it worked out. I've had some "issues" with Italian agriturismi and small hotels. It's sometimes taken weeks to get confirmations after repeated inquiries.

This reminds me of our visit, last year, to an agriturismo in Basilicata. They had not taken any deposit from us, and after we were ready to check out on the last day, we could not find anyone on the property who could take our payment!

So I left a note with my contact info (they did not take credit cards). A few weeks after we left, we got an e-mail with the final tally, which I then had to send by Western Union.

I agree with Christina's comments.

Cannot wait to hear of your adventures!

The solution must have come as I was composing my own reply. I know it was not there when I started to reply. Glad it worked out for the OP.

Steve

blej: I will be making some calls to France in the coming days and I see your reference to a phone card being great. What one did you buy and where?

foolforfrance - I bought the "card" from http://www.telecomservices.net/phonecard.html

I bought it a few years ago. It was a $10 one and has no expiration. I still have $1.00 left. They have a whole different set of new cards.

Thank you to everyone who responded. It is nice to see that fodorites are trusting. It helped.