Hotel Residence Sciabache

We spent 10 days in Sciabache in mid August and I want to start with the overall impression which was rather positive. The resort is located accross the beautiful beach of Zambrone which makes it perfect for swimming. By being placed somewhere between Tropea (10 min drive) and Pizzo (30 min drive) it makes a good base for exploring the area. The resort has a very efficient and flexible shuttle service to both Tropea (5 euros return pp) and Pizzo (30 euros return for 2-4 people) which we used extensively throughout our stay, in peak season you simple need to book the previous day in order to get the time you want. In such a way there is no need for the car, except if you want to go from beach to beach, which we didn't, having in mind that we travelled with a 2,5 year old and we preferred the more convenient hotel beach. The whole resort is safe and suitable for children of all ages, the green areas are spotlessly maintained, there is a mini zoo and a pony riding, playground for the little ones, three swimming pools, plenty of space for foodball and other ball related activities, tennis court, foodball court etc. There is a nice shaded path that leads to the beach so no exposure to sun at peak hours whatsoever. The whole team of people was very polite and attentive, from reception (Francesca), restaurant, pool bar, cleaning, animation, driver (Ciccio). Now the cons. The studios look really old and need urgent refurbishment, they are of a decent size and kept clean though and have a nice patio to laize in dead hours (noon sleep for example). The towels looked worn out and are normally not changed often but could be changed upon request, I suggest to take your own at least for the kids. For the food I have mixed feelings, normally we had breakfast and lunch. Breakfast was quite ok for italian standards, big selection of croissants, ham, cheese, eggs, cakes, pancakes baked on the spot, marmelades etc. we havent tried the instant coffee but opted for cappuccino every morning which was made at the bar and was excellent. The lunch was so and so, the choice of main course was rather limited to one meat and one fish, most days it was of a good quality but some days it was not. Once we ordered a kids menu hoping that it would be better but it was 10 times worse that the ordinary food offered for lunch, both pasta and meat were hard and inedible. There was fruit for lunch every day but only one type per day and no sweets whatsoever.The presentation of the food was very bad all the time and this is really something to work on. Anyhow, we thought that the food was not as bed as discribed in most of the comments below especially if you remember that this is a 3 and not a 4 or 5 star hotel, which makes hell of a difference! Our impression was that people (including some guests that we had the opportunity to talk to during our stay) simply exagerate or they have irrealistic expectations. We have travelled extensively and stayed in much more luxurious hotels around the world and still consider this resort a very decent one and would hapilly go back if in Calabria. It should be noted that there is no shop nearby so you need to walk uphill for about 20 minutes if you have no car. There are couple of restaurants in proximity and we especially recommend La Giara with excellent wooden oven pizza. The internet is a joke so better forget about it, but from what we heard it is the case in the whole calabrian coast.