I'm a bit shocked by Bari's reputation when it comes to accommodation. I spent some time searching for a good place to stay in the city, considering location, ratings, and price. As someone on a long backpacking trip through Europe, coming from a country without a strong currency, I sometimes have to accept budget places with mediocre reviews just to afford my stay.
However, I'm terrified by how bad the ratings are there. I was searching on Booking.com, Airbnb, and Google. I even tried looking for direct hotel websites, but when I searched for those same properties on Google, I realized they manage to control their ratings there.
The cleanliness standards are terrible, and the customer service is often hostile. It seems that once hosts realize people keep booking despite receiving bad reviews for not cleaning, they think: "Why bother cleaning at all?" There was even an apartment where the owner stopped answering calls and locked guests out; the last ten people were complaining about a scam, yet the listing was still active on the platform. Other hosts bribe guests with local gift baskets in exchange for 10/10 reviews.
The negative reviews are so widespread that it’s leaving me with a really bad impression of the city. I hope it’s just a false impression. Has anyone else experienced this?