We found this hotel on Bookings.com the pictures looked great but were very outdated. The place was extremely hard to find as we drove around Sorrento for 2 hours looking for it with miss guided directions from everyone. When we arrived the room seemed lovely but in 1 hour we found it to be infested with baby ants in our bed and all over. They gave us another room and it had no ants but you had to be an ant in order to get in and out . It was tinyer than a Cruise ship cabin room. The pool was way up the hill, you had to sit in the back of a truck to get taken there, they had no towels so we chose not to swim. I would have thought they could have told us that before we went there. Breakfast consisted of coffee , thin sliced white bread jand and plastic wrapped cheese. We were not at all impressed.

The hotel is perched on a cliff overlooking the Basy of Naples, with views towards Vesuvius and Naples. We booked a sea view room for 2 nights. It was spacious and comfortable (although the decor looked a bit old fashioned) and the balcony with superb sea views was splendid! Service in the hotel was good on the whole and the staff were pretty friendly. The grounds of the hotel are large, beautifully tended and very attractive and restful. They run along the cliff and so there are lovely views all along (actually a garden view room would be quite good). As the hotel is accessed along via a long path, it is very quiet. Surprisingly for a Sorrento hotel, the food in the restaurant is very good indeed - better than many of the restaurants in town actually. The main disadvantage is that it is rather far from town (about 30 minutes walk) and the courtesy coach is limited.

The 4 of us have just returned from a half term break here (mum, dad, 2 kids). We were booked into the Vicalvano Apartments, but on arrival we were offered an apartment in the castle instead. We happily accepted but it turned out to be a poisoned chalice as the weather turned bad and strong winds whistled through the huge, draughty, unheated living room. It had 2 bedrooms, one of which had the same draught problems, the kids room didn't however, and I slept in their room one night to escape the howling wind, rattling windows and creaking shutters. On the plus side the views were amazing, the wind having blown away the constant haze the bay of Naples appears to be shrouded in. The pool was large, very clean, had crystal clear water and was nestled in a secluded area on the hillside, and once the sunshine returned we couldn't fault it. The castle apartment is not for toddlers, however, because of some odd sliding doors about 2 ft high at floor level to let in light into the bedrooms from the rooms below, it is complicated to explain, but trust me if a toddler fell through to the room below they'd be seriously hurt. The Vicalvano Apartments were a little way up the hillside, we only saw them from the outside but they looked perfectly ok.

The property is not walking distance to anywhere of note, you would need a car. There is plenty of free parking. It was a good base as we were able to visit: Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Naples, Solfatara crater, Pompei and generally explore the Amalfi coast.

The castle grounds were nicely kept. There is a great walk along a pathway up the hill that takes you above the level of the castle where you can see the sea on both sides of the penisula and watch spectacular sunsets. To get there walk up to the vicalvano apartments and take the track to the right.

We had a great time.

Our room had incredible views. The staff was very friendly. We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast. It was an average european breakfast. The shuttle would take us to the drop off and it is an easy walk to town. This hotel was a great value for the price considering the view of the Bay of Naples and Mt Vesuvius. The grounds of this hotel are landscaped so beautifully.