Royals Gate - Rodi Garganico

The B&B is actually a small apartment with two bedrooms and a kitchen. Has a great view of the valley below. We arrived really late at night and couldn't find it, but the owner met us at a gas station, guided us to the B&B and had dinner waiting for us - what a great service and friendly people. They speak only Italian but also some French, so communication is a bit complicated - but they make it work..

Nice clean B & B with a friendly helpful staff. A bit of a walk to the churches of Pade Pio...about 15 min. Still, we enjoyed the walks and would return again to Villa Santacroce.

We arrived late at night and the receptionist was kind to give us directions. Some were posted on the highway and were lost at an intersection where we took the right turn instead of left (hotel is located outside the city on the side of Agip, past the little bridge overpassing the highway). We were granted late check-out and had- unusually for Europe - free parking, free internet and free breakfast (although we did not take the last offer due to rest hours after our long trip). The only downturn was the Karaoke allowed in the lobby (Sun and Mon) with a loud microphone. However, sound was relatively muffled in the room. Our view was opposite of the mountain on the courtyard, not much to see but clean and well taken care of. Toiletries could use an update and mattress is quite hard but sheets were very clean. TV had some channel options although signals were intermittent. We saved this GPS location for future use and strongly recommend them over other expenses choices on the E coast of the Adriatic Sea.

The Hotel Eden is on the beautiful San Domino island of the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic, a popular destination for Italian tourists, with very few non-Italians visiting. They don't even try to attract foreigners, a shame because they are such a nice destination for those who like the sea. The disadvantage of the islands is that there is only one beach, but there are many great boating spots. The islands have great scuba diving locations, and are a popular destination for Italian scuba clubs and individuals. Again, they don't really cater to non-italian divers, except for a couple of dive operations. I went with the Blu Tremiti dive shop, and they were great. The hotel Eden has a dive shop associated with it, but there is nothing on the web site to tell you about that. I didn't even know that until I showed up, looked out my room window on the back side of the hotel and saw the dive shop and equipment. The hotel staff were great, very friendly. The room was fine, actually very large for the price in hotels in Italy. The breakfast was good. The shuttle to/from the hotel had great service, and a very friendly driver, even towards an american. The only problem was that my room was dirty when I arrived, in the evening, after a long day's drive and ferry trip. I had to wait a half hour to use the bathroom. If not for that I would have given the hotel 5 stars all around. But that was enough to rate only 4. Otherwise, a great hotel for any reason to visit the Tremiti Islands.

The location was the best. Just a block or so from where the buses from the train station drop you off and within walking distance of the old and new Padre Pio church. The hotel has a restaurant on site which serves at designated hours (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Food was spotty but service was excellent. Very reasonably priced if not included in the rate. Great, welcoming service at the front desk too. The air conditioner was somewhat old and no match for the hundred degree plus weather. It should be ok to stay if going in fall or spring.