More about Grand Hotel Nastro Azzurro & Occhio Marino Resort Sorrento
avoid at all costs!
by TripAdvisor Member connery
This hotel was so poor that we are suing Thompsons for misrepresentation. Anyone care to join us in a class action?
Food and service are the chief complaints.
Breakfast - meagre, and only the cheapest items are used. Coffee undrinkable, limited choice of poor quality food. What's 4* about a selection of one ham, one cheese, and 2 salamis - all cheap, and always the same every day? Ditto the 3 or 4 cereals. Fruit salad? It was chopped-up watermelon 7 days out of 7, and nothing else.
Evening - no silver service, contrary to the brochure. The waiters would have been incapable of it. Food quality was a little better in the evening, although still of a poor standard (tinned carrots!). Service was laughable. Not once did an order arrive correctly or in time. Desserts were disgusting, they were obviously bought in and came in individual plastic containers, tasting like rejects from a supermarket's budget range. When I sent my 'zuppa Inglesi' (trifle) back to the kitchen I had to suffer the indignity of the waiter returning with it and digging into it with a spoon and fork in front of me. He prised open some brown goo and located a brown ball of sponge in the middle, and proudly announced 'See - English trifle' and walked off triumphantly. Even the tiramisu was inedible. We ate out in Sorrento for 4 evenings, and had lovely food.
The rest - our room was in the higher of the two hotels, which is ornate, shabby, unstaffed and eerie. Peeling plaster, and in our room we could see daylight around the outside of the window frames. Pompei seemed to be better constructed!
Staff at all time were indifferent and sometimes surly and unhelpful. Reception was bad, but at the poolside was worse. The pool was under the strict control of the grim Luigi (as we named him). Food was not available when it should be, and it was nothing like the menu choice, and the kitchen and waiters packed in for the day when they felt like it.
Evening bar staff - continually got the drinks orders wrong. Etc. Etc.
When we arrived we found that the Thompson rep. had left the previous week's Comment Sheets lying around. We were amazed at how many poor comments there were. Within 2 days we were not so surprised!
I know there were many complaints in the week that we stayed there (end of July 04), and many people filled in highly critical Comment Sheets. Clearly Thompsons and the hotel are not really interested, because no-one's had any feedback.
As I said, it's now in the hands of our solicitor. I don't work hard and save hard for years just to be ripped off in such a fashion.
worth the trip
by A TripAdvisor Member
we really enjoyed our stay in this hotel. Relaxing,good athmosphere, excellent service and very friendly staff.
situated in a very quite position ,with stunning views, we would love to go back there for our next holiday.
highly recommended if you love the beauty of nature and a peaceful holiday
Wonderful
by A TripAdvisor Member
I and my wife spent last Christmas at the Nastro Azzurro and we find the hotel pretty nice and clean.
I dont agree with most of the reviews on this hotel. The staff is very helpful and friendly, the breakfast is more than you espect and the dinner is the same affair. We just booked our summer's holidays and we are going back to the Nastro.
Fantastic Holiday
by A TripAdvisor Member
Just came back from a 3 days break in Italy and I stayed at this hotel. The hotel is an a beautiful setting,the food is great and the staff is very professional and friendly. I was on a last minute deal, but the reception staff upgrade me and my girlfriend in beautiful superior room with a view on the 2 bays (Sorrento and Amalfi coast). It was amazing.If you go there try to get room 338 you ll never forget the experience.Sorrento itself is a nice town, just a little bit busy. Without any doubts, if one day I ll go back to that region i will choose again the Nastro Azzurro.
A Pleasant Stay
by A TripAdvisor Member
The hotel is in a beautiful location is grand, clean, the staff are generally helpful, accommodating and polite and I would recommend this hotel.
I was pleased at how the reception staff accommodated us especially in faxing details to the embassy and passing messages to us after my girlfriend's handbag had been snatched in Naples.
The reception staff were also helpful when we arrived to find what looked like blood on our bedspread. After reporting this we were promptly moved to another room which had a lovely view from the balcony but a shower and not a bath. Next morning we requested to change back to the previous room as we wanted a bath but then realised it had no balcony. Cheekily we asked to change again. The reception staff let us move back to the room with the balcony with no qualms so in the end we got the room we wanted.
The shuttle service into Sorrento was good and prompt on the whole. A special mention to the driver Mario who was very friendly and kind. There was one instance though when the shuttle was an hour late to collect us, the excuse of 'too much traffic' and the attitude of the man at reception when a group of us complained was unapologetic and arrogant.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay and would be happy to return.
Hotel Nastro Azurro What a great find !
by TripAdvisor Member chaquitaBoston_Mass
I just returned from my vacation in lovely Sorrento, Italy. I stayed at the Hotel Nastro Azurro high up in the hills with beautiful views of the mountains and ocean. When Iwalked into the hotel lobby I was amazed at how beautiful everything was from the dinning room to the grounds, that were well landscaped. The shuttle down to the down town area is fabulous, you have a relaxing ride with breathtaking views all the way. This hotel is a GREAT VALUE!
Avoid this hotel unless you like to feel trapped!
by TripAdvisor Member shawnagreg
We just returned from this hotel, and while it is scenic, it had several problems.
First the positives:
- Breathtaking views from the roof
- Service in the lobby restaurant was wonderful (however we were literally the only two people in the place at 8pm on a Thursday, which was fairly strange)
- We found a great deal on Orbitz for 70 USD per night, including breakfast and tax. Now we know why...
The negatives:
- This place is located 25 minutes up the mountain from Sorrento. If you're on your honeymoon and don't want to leave the resort, this is the place for you. If you want to go to Pompei or the town of Sorrento, the shuttle service is horribly sporadic, sometimes only every 4 hours and doesn't even start until 9 in the morning - terrible if your goal is to take an early train back to Naples or Rome, or beat the crowds at Pompei. On Fridays, the shuttle schedule is reduced further. We were told we could be picked up in Sorrento at either 12:30 or 5pm. Lunch or dinner in town was out of the question unless you wanted to take a cab - 35 euros according to the front desk manager at the hotel, because in Italy you start paying for the cab when they get the call, not when they arrive to pick you up.
- Front desk man was quite rude in all our dealings with him. He completely ignored most questions, and answers were short and snippy as if we were a big inconvenience to him at all times.
- This place was a ghost town on April 29. We met another American family there, and we all laughed about how creepy and empty the place was. Despite its emptiness, we were not given a nice room - or maybe the room we got was the nicest they had, which is really scary. At least 4 light bulbs were burned out, and the room & bathroom were very dark. Beds were awful, decor very outdated.
- If you have a phone card from home, forget about using it here! All their phones are pulse dial, and there is no lobby payphone. We literally began to feel trapped by the lack of shuttle service, and cut off from the rest of the world, including our families back home because we were unable to call to let them know we had arrived in Sorrento.
As a result, we only spent one night at this hotel. We left early and forfeited our prepaid room, because it was that important to us to get the heck out of this strange, empty place. We opted for the Hotel Nice in the heart of downtown Sorrento at 70 Euros per night. Very modest but clean accommodations, extremely nice front desk staff, great location on the main drag one block from train station.
great time at the Nastro
by TripAdvisor Member yom1969
I and my patner really loved our stay at the Nastro. Everything was great, food, staff, location,shuttle service,pool etc.... We dont agree with the previous review about "to feel trap up to hill", in this hotel the location is the most important thing.Away but still very well connected to Sorrento and all the other surroundings. The first shuttle is at 7.30am and the last is 00.30 in morning.If you go there please pay a visit to the Bar Manager "Mr. Carmine" very friendly and also very professional: thanks Carmine to make our time at the Nastro very happy.I wish also to spent few words about the General Manager Gianluca Giglio, he is very charming and mostly friendly.If you want spent a nice night out in Sorrento, dont miss the "Trattoria Miccio" just by the Shuttle Service drop off point, nice atmosphere and excellent neapolitan food.
An Italian in New York.......
Very enjoyable fortnight in a wonderful location!
by TripAdvisor Member JamieSmith
the location of this hotel is one of the main benefits of staying at the Nastro. Sorrento is a wonderful town, bustling and full of life... but it can be noisy if you want to relax after a busy day sightseeing or shopping in its myriad of streets and piazzas... so the remote location of the Nastro makes a welcome break. We found the shuttle bus very reliable and each room has a timetable to help you with your plans. of course there were times when the shuttle journey seemed a bit of a slog but it was always worth the effort when you arrived back at the hotel. Our room was wonderful. we were located in the annexe, a refurbished block named the Occhio Marino - try and get upgraded when you arrive to these rooms as they are spacious and well set out. the room was huge, with a big bathroom, plenty of wardrobe space and no less than 3 balconies - it is also well worth paying for a sea view! you are effectively on the other side of the sorrento penninsular so you get a fabulous view of the 'Li Gali' a pair of small islands just off the coast and on the way to Positano. The food was good too and the restaurant staff tried their best to serve the many people who came down each night for the 4 course menu. There were several choices for the first and second courses and a buffet table groaning with tasty anti pasti to start the meal. there were mistakes and delays with the service on a few occasions but this did, in the main, provide a small amount of comic relief. The bar staff were friendly too.
I have read some of the negative reviews written here and have to accept that there is some tiny element of truth in what has been reported, but i also have to say that these incidents have probably been greatly exaggerated because, whilst we did experience some brusqueness from certain memebers of staff (this is true throughout italy, irrespective of where you stay) there was also one occasion when the shuttle bus did not arrive (but we had misread the timetable) and there were some moments of frustration in the dining room, on the whole we had a very pleasant, comfortable and happy stay at this hotel.
Can't wait to go back
by A TripAdvisor Member
Before going, we were a little concerned about some negative comments on this website. However, I feel the need to write my own comments having spent a fantastic week at this hotel. Our room was spotless and cleaned daily. The shuttle bus was never late and left right on time. The staff at the hotel were friendly and very professional. The food, and I love food (!) was of the highest standard. The menu has 5-6 different starters and main courses and yes, there is different pasta and risotto on the menu each night but there are plenty of other choices as well. Pasta with a lobster sauce sounds better than pie and chips. If you prefer fish and chips then go to Blackpool, the hotel is in Italy after all. The breakfast was a buffet, you could have bacon, eggs, sausages, salami and cheese etc., but you must try the almond loaf/cake - beautiful. The pool was clean, and Carmine the bar manager was a really nice guy who couldn't do enough for us. We really enjoyed our stay, and would love to come back here. Sorrento is a beautiful place with great people.
Photos
Limoncello
Amalfi Coast
blue blue views
Marina Grande by night
Forum Posts
Search for a classy latenight bar
by Stoirin
Hi there. I'm getting married in Sorrento in July and I'm looking for a nice bar/pub to go to after the hotel reception. Unfortunately, our hotel stops serving drinks quite early. So we're looking for somewhere near Piazzo Tasso, that stays open until 2am or so. We hope to walk there.. there'll be a lot of us!
We're on a budget, so we can't afford to book anywhere extra. Thanks.
Re: Search for a classy latenight bar
by maria_sorrento
Ciao my name is Maria, and I'm from Sorrento. First of all congratulations for the wedding! I got married last September and has been a wonderful day!
for the bar there are so many, I don't suggest the ones on the square, are really nice, but expencive too, you can pay beetween 9 to 16 € for a drink. In the little historical center you will find smaller place with more reasonable prices! You say you are a lot, but how many? I have an idea I know a bar who sometimes does little party, with reasonable prices, also they only charge the drinks. could be good for you, they have special huge glasses for drinks and they are very nice people. if you need anyother information about this or oter things this is my mail adress: onewayevents@libero.it, I'm not so often on this forum!
Sorry if there are mistakes, but I'm italian!!!
Ciao Maria
