My sister and I spend every year a week of our summer holidays with our parents (60+) and this time we booked at the Residence Caprice 2 rooms with seaview. And so was stated in the confirmation mail we received, along with a short description of the hotel reading that *all* rooms have seaview.
Upon arrival in Amalfi´s main square we called the hotel and were told to wait for a guy who would take the car to a nearby garage (additional 18€/day) and then to walk to the hotel "across the gate and 50 metres on the left".
In that square we waited 20 minutes in the scorching heat of an August noon and eventually set off with all our luggage towards a non-well-defined place. It took other 20 minutes and big luck to reach the hotel, as it is located in an old building with no external sign unless you step inside the main gate and, surprise surprise, read that the Caprice is at the last floor.
Old building means no elevator, and unlike other lucky fellow travelers, we were not offered the pulley service for our suitcases, which again we had to carry up the 3 flights of stairs.
Panting and sweating, we were shown the famous room 5 that was assigned to our parents, and the adjacent room "so that you are close to them" (not a big deal since we are all adults and do not need to sleep next door to one another).
Now, the room 5 was large and had this terrace with the incredible view we actually booked and expected, but the other room, let alone the seaview, had no view at all, ´cause it did not actually have even a window!
This is against the regulations in force: that room did not respect the parameters of aeration and illumination, hence it could not be used for hospitality.
We complained with the owner and were told that the residence was booked out and we could try to move to another room maybe the next days.
The next days the situation did not change and the only thing the owner offered was to discuss with a couple occupying a room with balcony and to offer them a bottle of wine in order to convince them to move to our “cave”. We felt sick for the poor couple and rejected the offer. Come to think of it, they would have never ever accepted the exchange…
Apart from the illumination and aeration, our room had a tiny bathroom, with no room to sit on the toilet unless askew, a bulb hanging broken from the mirror, unmatched towels, and wardrobes which were falling apart and could not be used due to the stale smell inside.
In the room 5 the situation was better but also there the bathroom needed repairing and renovation, not to mention the danger represented by the steps leading to the shower, once they get damp and slippery .
Due to connecting reasons, I had to stay an additional night and the owner very politely moved me to a single room, tiny but with a window and a tiny terrace. No wonder that also here the bathroom was very tiny, let´s say the shower was over the toilet and both on the same level of the floor with the obvious flood after showering. Besides, the flush was leaking, therefore I needed to turn on/off the water valve behind the toilet before using it.
The only highlight of the residence was the view from the terrace of room 5, the same view that can be enjoyed from the breakfast terrace: breathtaking! Unlike the breakfast that was basic.
The service was good and we got tips on where to go swimming and eating.
The location is convenient, close to the harbor and to the centre.
What to say, it looks like there is only one room worth to be in but it undergoes “overbooking”. In low season it could be that you get it from day 1, in high season possibly you need first to spend some days in another room, or if you are unlucky you can at least try and get a discount on the price.
Overall the place has a high potential but would need refurbishment.
Personally I do not like to be cheated, and if I book a seaview room, do not want to end up in a no-window room, even though I get a discount. Furthermore I would have appreciated a bit of honesty and the mention on the webpage or in the confirmation mail that there are 3 flights of stairs with steps higher than normal, so that elderly people are warned to look somewhere else, especially in the summertime.
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