I would like to rate this hotel 4.5 but I can't. This is a good, clean, comfortable hotel without being flashy.

Location & Staff
The location is great. The hotel perched on a hill away from the hustle and bustle. But it does mean that you have a steep (but not long) walk up from Sant'Agnello. It is a short drive or long walk into Sorrento. Fortunately we had a car and there was no problem parking for free on the road outside. There is a courtesy bus which generally runs about 4 times. Taxis are expensive.

All the staff hotel staff are really helpful, from the receptionists to the waiting staff to the chamber maids - all very efficient.

Bedrooms
When we were first shown to our room I was a little disappointed as, yes, it did have a sea view but it all so had a view of the main road and the petrol station. But I very quickly came to love the view, because it felt real and interesting - I have had a sea view before but this one was of the town and the mountains going down to the sea. For a more uninterrupted sea view you could request a room a the front of the hotel but I wouldn't bother. There are plenty of mirrors and power points which meant that I could dry my hair without having to stretch the cord on my hairdryer. The bathroom was fine, there was a small bath with a shower over it. The pressure on the shower was decent and for the first time in living memory we were able to shower without flooding the bathroom. I would agree (with other reviewers) that the walls of the rooms are a little thin but that is not that different from any other hotel, you have to accept that nothing is ever perfect. The chamber maids were very good, they cleaned the rooms in the morning and spruced them up again (turned down the bed, whizzed around the bathroom) in the evening.

Hotel Generally
The continental breakfast was good, all the usual things - selection of cereals, fruit, cheese, cold meats, breads, cakes, yoghurts, etc. Novel but effective machine for boiling eggs. Breakfast taken on the terrace was such a lovely start to each day.

The swimming pool is smaller than it looks in the pictures but it was nice - we didn't spend a lot of time there but always took our own bottled water and the hotel didn't seem to mind although there was a sign saying that you shouldn't do this. We hired hotel towels for 2 Euros for the length of our stay, I think that this was reasonable. Another great thing is that we didn't have to pay for sunbeds, I think that it is a scandal, but some hotels do charge. Poolside snacks were also reasonable, for instance a pizza cost 5 Euros.

We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis. We ate at the hotel once in the evening as they had a Neopolitan Evening for 30 Euros per person including water, wine and entertainment. I wouldn't say that this was a rave but it made a change from going out. I thought the food was good as it was all fish (with the exception of the dessert obviously) but my husband said that he didn't have enough to eat and the fish wasn't popular with my two teenage daughters. I think overall that the hotel wasn't that suitable for teenagers although my daughters enjoyed the holiday very much. They disagree that the hotel wasn't sutiable for teenagers.

Driving
The roads around Sorrento were windy but well maintained. The problem occurs when you meet a coach on a narrow road, I didn't even consider driving but my husband is used to driving around London so was happy to drive. I would say that the drivers are good but impatient and watch out for all the mopeds!

General info and things to do
This isn't a cheap holiday, sometimes it feels like it costs to even breathe. We went to Positano and for four of us to have sunbeds and an umbrella on the beach we were quoted, 50 euros!! This was reduced to 45 Euros but in the end we bought an umbrella from the tabac shop for 13.50 Euros and lay on our towels. Positano is beautiful though but just be aware that it costs plenty, 5 Euros for a coke or a Granite in a beachfront cafe. Parking in the Sorrento area is usually 3 to 4 Euros an hour, space is at a premium so generally you leave your keys with the parking attendant.

I recommend all the usual tourist things. We hired a small dingy with an outboard motor and went to Capri. It cost approximately 200 Euros for this plus 70 Euros for a mediocre lunch on Capri and mooring costs of about 10 Euros, but it was a special day.

Eating out
If you want to economise stay away from all seafood and stick to pizza and pasta, Until we did this we were spending more than 100 Euros per night. One of the cheapest restaurants is actually in a side street of the main tourist shopping area in Sorrento. The restaurant is called something like La Lanterna, very nice atmosphere. We had a really memorable meal at La Tagliata (high in the hills over Positano, nightmare drive to get there) but it cost 35 Euros each which was more than we wanted to pay. I would recommend it though provided you treat it as a special ocassion and stave yourself all day in preparation. I also recommend Vino Vero in the hills above Sorrento, this is open every day in high season but I know that is it closed on Wednesdays in September. On one ocassion we managed to eat for approximately 50 Euros here having stuck to the pizza/pasta 'rule' (but the pasta portions were small - In Italy pasta is often intended to form part of the meal rather than the main course). Another time it was nearer 100 Euros. In all the time that we ate out never once to any waiter wave a huge black pepper grinder over my food. On the whole the food was really good but, with the exception of La Tagliata, no different to that you get in London.