I agree with you that that Old CFI was not a very nice chap. And also the italians flying there didnt know any english. When I was flying there they took ages on the radio trying to string together a sentence.
On those aspects I didnt like the school. But I had a great instructor and a great time there. So It really does depend on who you have instructing you and whether you are competent or not.
I know several instructor that are now working for regional airlines and one for cathay pacific. So it is not all bad there.