The Hotel Kalidria, part of the Hilton chain, does not offer the facilities or services one would expect from an hotel which claims a 5 star rating.

Staff were always very polite and pleasant, but some were sorely lacking in professional training. More often than not, they only spoke Italian. Supervisory staff were rarely in attendance. On my first evening, the barman could not initially provide me with a gin and tonic due to an apparent lack of the latter! (NB A 5 star (Hilton) hotel which cannot satisfy a reasonable request of a guest is indicative that something is radically wrong).

Cleanliness also left a lot to be desired, and was not commensurate with a 5 star rating. Our room, though spacious, had large grease stains in two places in the carpetting which the cleaning staff were unable to remove. Dead insects were visible in the overhead lighting panels in both lifts, wasps and flies gathered on the unwashed table tops on the bar terrace and ashtrays were not emptied.

Food was good at lunch and dinner, although the disco/rap music played incessantly during meals did little to improve one's enjoyment! Breakfast was a hit and miss affair - once the buffet plates were emptied they were not replenished.

The hotel is located a few kilometres from the sea, guests being transported to the beach by a shuttle service, which seemed to function according to the whims and fancies of the drivers, rather than the convenience of the guests. The beach itself is very large and relaxing, although the overall view is marred by the oil refinery at Taranto on the other side of the bay.

The hotel houses a thalasso therapy centre, and I rather suspect that this provides a sufficient financial return for the Hilton Chain for them to be too bothered about other guests. A convention was also in progress during our time there. Contrary to claims that children under 16 are not admitted to the hotel, there were several there during our stay. During our three day stay, the Travel Desk was never operational.

The above observations were relayed to a member of the Reception staff on my departure. I requested a reply from the Hotel Director - one month later I am still awaiting an acknowledgement!

I do not consider that the Kalidria in any way offers the amenities and services one would expect from a hotel of the Hilton chain, nor does it justify a 5 star rating. I would certainly NOT stay there again!

Me and my husband spent seven nights this summer at Hilton Kalidria using our Hilton honour points . We were looking for a relaxing holiday in a slow pace and that was we got. We had a rental car which we strongly recommend if you intend to stay at Kalidria as it is located in an area where there are only 3-4 other hotel complex and if you want to reach shops or restaurants you need your own transportation.
The hotel has a bold exterior design. It looks as if you are entering a cave. Once at the reception area it is very tastefully decorated with a large sitting area, reception and further down a bar. The staff is very friendly but during our stay, only once did I see a person in the reception that not had the sign “trainee”. The feeling I had when we were there is that this hotel is working on to fit the Hilton profile. The staff’s knowledge of English is very limited but once again I want to stress that they provided very good service and tried hard to cater for your every need. (Like coming with pesticide when we had too many ants in our room. )
The room we got was very spacious with two large beds, plenty of space to store your luggage, a dining table and a writing desk. I liked especially the lamps that had dimmer functions. The marble bathroom was also very comfortable and bathrobes were provided as well as towels in abundance. House keeping came twice a day and where very service minded and discrete.
The balconies were constructed to give you privacy. They contained one chair and one sunbed. You have a swimming pool designed for adults and spa guests at the hotel but travelling with kids you might want to walk to the sister hotels where the swimming area is more designed for families.
The breakfast is excellent Hilton style. A shuttle whisked you down to the long private beach with great facilities and good service. The water is very clear and it s clean and proper everywhere.
The tour-desk is also located in the reception area and here an improvement would be to have information about nearby sights in English and not only one file with 10 suggestions in Italian of what to do. We drove around in the area but but my personal opinion is that there are other costal regions in Italy that are far more beautiful
.
But overall We truly enjoyed our stay at Kalidria, felt pampered
and had a relaxing stay.

As the previous writer I'm a hilton honors member and decided to take my teenage nephew and neice to nova yardinia for a summer break. Having had one night at the very basic calane hotel and decided to move this hotel was fantastic. 99% of those staying here are italian or hilton honors guests but the staff are great and really go out of their way to give you a fantastic holiday.

If you have kids this is a great place to go as you can use the facilities of three other hotels for all sports, great kids club up to the age of 18, and a lovely beach with watersports. All of these are included in the price (except watersports which are not expensive) and gives you time to use the amazing spa at the hotel for a little relaxation.

All in all, a little gem hidden in southern italy, my nephew and neice want me to take them back next year... what more do i need to say great for adults, great for kids

Only downside for those light sleepers is that the italians like their evening entertainment which goes on until midnight, but the rest of the hotel more than makes up for this little inconvenience...

We heard about this hotel as we are Hilton Honours members. Me, my husband and 2 sons arrived at the hotel and were surprised on how beautiful it was. We were booked in to 2 suites which were lovely, clean with breathtaking views of a pine forest, which the hotel is situated in. The staff could not have been nicer. They always greeted us with a smile and were always at hand to help. I can not wait to go again!