I am so torn on this hotel because rarely have I stayed anywhere with better views.
This was the second stop on our honeymoon after Florence and we hired a driver to pick us from the Salerno train station and take us to the hotel for 85 euros. If you are not from Italy and not accustomed to the road along the coast, I highly suggest you do not attempt to rent a car and drive anywhere along the coast. Driving here is truly an art and I would leave it to the experts. The road is very narrow, there are seldom any traffic lights and large buses which as you can imagine, make navigation scary in some places. There are also several scooters and motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic since it can easily become jammed. It's approximately 1.5 hours to get from the Salerno bus station to the hotel.
Once we reached the hotel, we were greeted by a lovely member of the staff who explained which elevators to take, helped us to our room, etc. It's a bit of a maze but you get used to it. She was incredibly sweet. She was mainly there in the morning. The remaining staff members were very hot and cold. They were either extremely polite or very distant and annoyed anytime we came up to ask a question.
The hotel's views are stunning, but the rooms themselves are in need of an upgrade. The grounds are absolutely beautiful as well. Just remember you're paying for the views, not the best of accommodations. Our shower did not have a light and while it was next to the window, you were showering in the dark if it was at night and it also did not drain properly. There were also a few times it went cold after being in for a few minutes.
Breakfast is included in the room price and was served buffet style and was plentiful. It was really delicious with plenty of options. On our last night we ate at the restaurant in the hotel and we were charged a cover charge to eat there. I thought that was odd considering we were staying at the hotel, but I could certainly just be ignorant to the process (even though we never experienced this charge anywhere else we stayed and dined while in Italy). The meal was one of the best we had, however - I highly recommend it.
Regarding transportation, I highly suggest you learn to take the public bus (you can purchase tickets at the hotel, you cannot purchase tickets on the bus). We drove to Positano for dinner one night and it was 60 euros round trip just for a car to drive us over and back (10-15 minutes each way). To take a water taxi to Positano (so we could catch the ferry to Capri) was 50 euros round trip (for a four minute ride). There was a restaurant in Praiano that would come pick up people staying at the hotel which was very nice but you are on your own getting back. We just walked because it wasn't that far and at night the roads are much less crowded. We then had to pay for a driver to take us back to the Salerno train station to go to Rome which was 135 euros.
Again, the views are absolutely stunning but be prepared for the transportation costs associated with staying here. read more