We stayed in hotels in Rome, Sorrento, Capri and Naples, Hotel Giardino was by far the best. We did not want to leave. They didn't have the best rooms but the views and service was excellent, making our stay very pleasant and relaxing. The view from our room was gorgeous, with the Castello Aragonese dominating the scenery. Yes there are many stairs but the eldery Italian lady, who is probably the owner of this hotel lifted our suitcase herself and carried it up to our room. The food was simple but satisfying and served by courteous and attentive staff. Upon leaving, the proprietor gave us a bottle of local wine as a parting gift, the entire staff was just wonderful. The beach is small but the water felt good and we had fun there.

Bottom line: Small hotel, personal and courteous staff, intimate beach, beautiful views, good food, very relaxed atmosphere.
Cons: Small shower stall (only skinny people can fit!) Unimpressive room.

This was by far my worst experience in Italy. We arrived at the hotel to be immediately dissapointed. Even the lobby was messy and the woman who greeeted us was exptremely unfriendly. She brought us to a triple room and fumbled to open the door. Throughout our trip we had extreme difficulties with the lock on the door and sometimes it would take 15 minutes to open it. When you were inside the room you couldn't lock the door. The beach was most dissapointing because all it was was a shabby set of stairs which stopped at the ocean. There was no where to sit. After seeing the beautiful hotel across the street we decided to try and cancel our reservation and switch hotels. This we were told was not possible as they have a 72 hour cancellation fee and it is apparent why. The room was disgusting. The shower had mold in it and sprayed water in every direection but down. The sheets were dirty and covered in pills. When we decided to leave that night things got really bad. Their credit card machines were broken and they refused to accept our American Express which we had faxed to them days before. They eventually had one of their friends call and pose as American Express telling us we didn't have enough available credit. Obviously this was not the case as we had spoken to American Express minutes before. We got into quite a heated argument with the owners who did not speak english at all. They ended up locking us in the hotel because their machine wouldn't work and they wouldn't let us leave without confirmed payment. To make a long story short we had to call the Carabinieri who were very helpful. The Woman was especially bad as she hit my sister and actually bruised her. No Joke. This is truly the hotel from hell.

This Hotel has, in my opinion, the best view in all Ischia.
But I am afraid the same cannot be said about the rooms and the service. (No wonder they did not have a photo of the rooms in their web site. Shame on me for not noticing this!) Our "Superior" room was very small with barely enough space to walk around the cheap furniture (we are skinny too). Two skinny persons cannot simultaneously occupy the dark and old bathroom (no window). When I asked how they classified our room as "Superior" I was told that it had a view and air-conditioning!!!
The wonderful view from the breakfast area is immediately spoilt by flies doing their rounds of quality control on the cold cuts. Does it take much to cover these?? The waiters wearing creased and overused uniforms never smile and badly need a crash course in catering service. The 175 steps we counted from reception up to our room were not such a big deal for us, but one should be warned about them especially if a person cannot for some reason or other manage them.

To sum it all up, at 160 Euros per night B+B (August), we do not think that this hotel is value for money, especially when considering that the four nights before, for 140 Euros per night B+B, we were in a lovely, newly decorated little Hotel in Capri with breathtaking views and people who go out of their way to be of assistance. (Hotel Senaria). It takes more than a great view to make a pleasant stay.

I really enjoyed my stay here. I traveled alone to Ischia and because of this the owners gave me a beautiful room at the top of the hotel located on the side of the mountain. The views were spectacular and so was the peace and quite.

The castle so close you could touch it.

I thought the food was a bit sparce so I ended up going to the local mercato to stock up on some food.

A nice walk to Ischia, Porto. I got a bit of excersise from all the walking to and from my room. Also, a great location to the garden and to the bus station and shops.

My only complaint would be the owners son hitting on me constantly who just happened to occupy the room next to mine.