We chose this as it was a resort on offer and the all inclusive price worked out much cheaper for 4 of us than any other option. We're glad we did. Although the early flight was tough, it was all on time and the transfer time to the hotel of 15 mins was ideal with small children. The hotel is clean and we only made use of the pools, so can't comment on the kids club etc, although we did meet an English family whose child loved it. The food is fine but not very exciting, so not gastronomical tour of italian cuisine (only tomato and cheese topping in the pizza restaurant!) which was disappointing, but we never had any trouble finding something to eat for everyone.

Cons were the check in plans were awful, just 2 people available to check in a bus load of hot, tired people - and then the room wasn't ready - which had happened to many others the week before too. The pools are great but they are dirty and need an overhaul - floor is peeling and brown "tide" marks round the edges. They need to maintain the rooms as much as they do the lovely gardens. It's all a bit tired and needs a lick of paint.

Pros - despite being a bit grubby the pools were really good for children and the large shallow area for the very young was a godsend for us. Gave them some independence but where you could watch them. Gardens are lovely and the bar areas are relaxing.

English are in the minority, but was never a problem, to be honest there was a good mix of all nationalities but Germans are the majority. Reserving sun beds? We always found somewhere without having to set the alarm! The entertainment is not too over the top, we did enjoy the daily aerobics- and you have to get used to being bellowed at as you go into meals - but they're just wishing you a "bon appetit".

Not sure if it would really be a four star hotel.

All in all we had a great time and the children loved it. We had had enough after a week though and were ready to come home. It really is a resort geared towards sunshine, I'm not sure what you would do if the weather wasn't in your favour as there isn't much in the locality.

Definitely recommend for families.

Now called Rocco Nettuno Garden (not to be confused with the nearby Rocco Nettuno Tropea), this is an excellent place for a summer family break. Fantastic pools, a lovely walk through a pine "forest" to a pebbly beach, clean though basic rooms, and good eating options.

The restaurants: these have come in for criticism on other reviews: we don't agree - our experience was that they are catering for lots of people, in short timeframes, and they do a fantastic job. The buffets are excellent quality and the variety (over 1 week) was good.

The staff: all perfectly lovely and friendly and typically Italian. Of course, there is the odd surly person talking on their phone whilst handing out towels - but so what.

The guests: a good mix of German, French, Italian and a few Brits whilst we were there. Of course the kids' club etc is mainly focused on the Germans, but we were happy to have our child with us during our family holiday! (as were almost all others). You have to fit in with the German propensity for early towel reservations by the pool (8am) and queuing for dinner starting (7pm), which was no problem for us, as early risers and early diners.

Would recommend: wonderful boat trip to Aeolian Islands including Stromboli; early morning run through the pine forest; lots of time in the pool and at the beach; take your own pillow as they are a bit feeble; being early for the pool and dinner!

Final comment, Gatwick to Lamezia flights were an unusually pleasant experience - Lamezia is a tiny airport, all very easy; the flight times were great; and we even got out of Gatwick within 20 mins of landing.

This hotel was accurate to our "holiday needs",
location, food, animation program, rooms, service, all was 4 from 5 in our ranking (except the cleanness of the sea)
Hotel is mostly recommended for german speaking people (particulary english speaking), I met one animation guy speaking czech.
Small buldings in beautiful garden (only 2 stocks) surrounding 2 pools, area is situated 300 m from the sea separated by pine forest (the sea is not quite clen according to Greece, Turkey ... Croatia is on the top from my point). This was the only dark point. Evening animation program is little noisy (if you have 2 children in kindergarden age :) but after 0:00 disco/party program was moved to a beach area also 300m away (behind pine forest). Fodd was delicious (I love pasta :)

Now called Rocco Nettuno Garden.I returned from the above holiday at the Rocco Nettuno Garden on 28th May,2011 a very disappointing two weeks.


I would like to say that the gardens of the hotel were immaculate and beautifully kept. The standards of cleanliness were also excellent.

what follows is is a list of what made my holiday such a negative experience:-
a. the sheets and towels were old, grey and had holes; the towels were a better colour than the bedlinen but had more holes. The bedlinen was only changed twice during my stay.
b. the water supply was cut off twice overnight with no notice, explanation or apology and on the first occasion did not restart until 8.30 a.m.
c. the quality of the food was poor, for example, the meat which was often pork for lunch and dinner, or turkey, was highly processed and lacked flavour and texture. The catering was clearly of an industrial style and content.
The fish was overcooked and tough, the hot vegetables were nearly always (courgettes or carrots) in some sort of white sauce, as were the potatoes, the cold buffet was usually courgettes/carrots /aubergines and the stuffed veg had stuffing that could have been meat or fish and as there were no labels, you didn't really know what you were getting. The local red onions were delicious.
The lack of labels applied to all the food in general and the labels at the hot counter were often only in German and the chefs were unable to translate except to say (in German) that there was fish or meat and slop the chosen item onto the plate! There was the odd serving of veal, but it was difficult to distinguish by appearance and taste from the pork or the turkey.
The grill section served chips- often cold- and I saw there was chicken on one occasion. Burgers were dried up. The hot breakfast food was served at this grill and was always cold!
Desserts were fairly unpleasant - sponge cakes with artificial cream in lurid colours, not very appetising. Ice cream was served once a week and in very small portions with only two or three flavours - or it was available to purchase from the bar. The icecream was quite good and so were the delicious fresh strawberries - but not served very often even though they were growing in fields outside the perimeter. The nearest "shop" - quite a long walk - was a fruit and veg market selling the most fabulous local produce but if it was sold to the hotel, not much of it got to the table in a palatable state.
At breakfast, there were delicious bread rolls but in the second week these were replaced by rustic bread with a very thick crust which took all one's strength to slice and chew!.
d. The wine was terrible - the red wine came out of the tap with a foaming head fit for a pint of Guiness, and the white wine was usually fizzy as well, - it was certainly more fizzy than the Prosecco which was supposed to be sparkling. The flavour of the wine was not good and it was served in tumblers, except in the pizzeria where the standards were slightly better for ambience and food. The juice in the dining was made from concentrate and was of inconsistent quality and flavour.
e. On both weekends the hotel hosted large functions and closed off large sections of the restaurant, leading to very long queues and a lack of seating. When one of the weddings coincided with heavy rain, I was eating on the outside terrace section and had to finish my meal standing up as there were no seats in the dry and clearly I could not dine in the rain. After these functions the buffet food perked up a bit with the leftovers from the weddings.
f. When it rained the floor of the dining room was very slippery, On the upstairs terrace there were toilets but before the end of the first week, these were locked, so it was either a trek down the slippery staircase to the other loos or an even longer walk to the room. Also, when it was wet there was nowhere to go except the room, the outside bar, which was packed as the indoor bar was never opened until quite late in the evening and only then if it was raining, so if it was cold you needed a coat(and an umbrella, just in case).
Apart from the bar areas and the beach, the only seating areas were around the pool and you couldn't get away from the piped music(speakers in bushes), it's a shame there were no deckchairs on the lawns.
The talk on Calabria was by a nice man from Moldova who had not been there for much longer than me and he asked us how the hotel could be improved but as it was only the second full day we were still settling in. The talk on Calabrian food was by the same man and an Italian girl who told him how her mum made tiramisu and then he told us. As it was all in English this took longer than necessary and then he told us that "here in Moldova we have a special cake" but it was a closely guarded secret as that was as far as it went except to say that all the Eastern European states have tried to copy it.
If the ash cloud from Iceland had led to a delayed departure, several of us had made enquiries about getting the train home.

A very, very disappointing holiday in a part of Italy that could have been so good and different. I would not recommend it to anyone but probably ok with small children unless they are picky eaters!