Grand Parco Del Sole Hotel

After reading all the other reviews the night before we went on holiday I was very worried about what to expect, but when we got there we were immediately relieved to find a well presented 4 star hotel.
The accommodation was classic and traditional, very clean and well maintained, we were greeted with a bottle of wine and a cold meat evening meal (what more can you hope for). We had a room on the second floor with a large balcony, my only complaint with the room is there was no light on the balcony. On arrival we checked the basement corridors for the smell mentioned on the other reviews only to find a cleaning fluid smell.
The restaurant is waiter service for dinner with a gala meal on Wednesdays (be prepared for a long evening) and a cold buffet on a Sunday. We enjoyed all the meals especially the deserts, the only complaint we have is the sausages for breakfast are hotdogs, but there is a very good variety of alternatives including very nice chocolate croissants.
There is not much evening entertainment in the hotel but it’s nice to have a relaxing atmosphere after the bustling centre of Sorrento.
The hotel is within walking distance of Sorrento (if you are brave enough to walk on the busy road) but they have frequent free buses that we would suggest you use to be safer.
We had a fantastic holiday at the Parco del Sole, it was the nicest hotel we have stayed in so far on our travels.

The hotel room (with a balcony) was quite acceptable but with few frills. It would have been nice to have had some entertainment in the hotel, like all others seemed to have; live Italian music drifted from all other hotels in the area.
Food is very acceptable and waiters are friendly but main criticism is that hotel is stuck in a time warp and the dining room is not conducive to spending the evening there.
I like to spend the evening eating and drinking (what else!) but we had to eat up quick and get out every night cos there was nothing to do or no atmosphere there.
Pool quite busy and we went at end of July, but all sunbeds and towels are FREE!
Beware of the terrible pizzas from the pool bar.
Best place in town is THE WINE BAR, just up near the cathedral. Live music, cheese and wine evening, quality service, great wines by the glass - the highlight of the holiday.
Cost of Thompson excursions to Pompeii and Capri is Euro 35 and 65 pp. Cost of getting own way there is 4 and 28!!! The train to Pompeii drops you off right outside the entrance and my price shown to Capri includes easily accessible transport to and from Capri centre and Anacapri.
We did Herculaneum with Thompsons but were herded round and missed most of the good bits. Be warned!
Have a good time!

Family of 5 given rooms in basement. Rooms damp. Beds felt moist damp & fungus on wall. Smell from the bathrooms owing to no ventilation.Access to rooms dark & dingy.
Smell of cats in the area. One of our party had allergies to cats, which was triggered the 2nd night.
Hotel staff sullen and unhelpful. Definitely not 4*.
Holiday reps [Airtours] also unhelpful.
Definitely give this hotel a miss until they address the problems.
Apologies to restaurant staff & waiters they were pleasant and worked hard.

This hotel is should not be a 4* it should be 3*. The Hotel looked tired and in need of refurbishment.
We stayed in a basement room and it was damp and musty, the corridor smelled of cats urine and had mould on the walls.
Our room spoilt our stay in such a beautiful part of Italy. We would come back to Sorrento but not in the parco del sole.

Hotel looks extremely nice (although needs a paint job), gardens lovely, staff friendly but do not accept rooms in the basement.
They smell of cats urine & damp, there is no view (windows are blocked out) so therefore no natural light, and there is a lot of noise from the locals who live behind. This is not a 4* hotel but 3*. We found out when we were there that Thomson will not put their customers in certain rooms i.e. the basement due to the enormous amount of complaints.
We were Airtours and they don't seem to care. In fact we spoke to one other Airtours holiday maker who said she'd complained and the rep said she was surprised, that no other person had complained. This was a lie as we had complained two days earlier!

I would open this review by stating that this hotel is most definitely not a 4* establishment. If you start from this premise and the fact that it is a relatively inexpensive hotel to stay at, you might not be disappointed.
We believe that these are the points that prospective guests might be most interested in:
1. Decor - generally tired. Our bedroom had large cracks in the wall and drilled holes for light fittings that had not been filled or painted. The bar area had a musty aroma.
2. Pool area - very cramped with insufficient furniture for the number of guests. The whole area looked a little tired and in need of some TLC. The pool itself was small and very cold.
3. Location - very convenient for public transport and only 20 minutes on foot into central Sorrento. The complimentary shuttle bus service operated at inconvenient times.
4. Restaurant - firstly, the tables were much too close together. We were forced to share tables with others at breakfast and dinner, even though the restaurant was 75% empty. The restaurant decor is unwelcoming and dated (1970s-era!) There are two sittings for dinner - 1845hrs and 2015hrs. The staff were very smart in appearance and generally friendly.
5. Breakfast - good buffet choice of continental and hot food, but the environment is cramped and not relaxing - more like a bust canteen.
6. Dinner - there was a choice of four starters and four main courses, plus a vegetarian menu on request. The menu was uninspiring. The presentation of the food was unappealing, due to the mass-produced nature. The odd dish was tasty, but we both found that most of our choices were bland. We chose to eat out on two occasions to break up the monotony.
7. Lunch - the poolside snack bar offered a limited menu, consisting of filled rolls, pizza and pasta. Avoid the rolls, as these are made mid-morning, and left uncovered in a chill cabinet. The pizza and pasta dishes were generous in proportion, tasted reasonable and were fairly priced (€5 - €6 per dish.)
8. Alcohol - the prices were reasonable for a hotel. The cheapest bottle of wine was €15 and a generous shot of spirit was €5.
9. Excursions - unless you want to have your hand held, avoid the overpriced tour operator excursions. From this hotel, you can walk to the railway station in about 5 minutes and purchase a return ticket to Pompeii for €3.70 (best to have the correct change.) The station at Pompeii is immediately outside the entrance to the excavations. Entrance costs €11 and one can rent two hand-held audio guides for €10. TIP: if you intend to rent the audio guides, you must leave proof of ID at the booth, or leave a €50 deposit. Other excursions are equally easy to arrange independently.
Safety - we did not feel unsafe walking the streets or using public transport - the usual common sense rules apply.

We booked this as a last minute holiday and were not sure what to expect. We read the reviews, which were mixed, but kept an open mind. As it turned out the 2 week stay was absolutely fantastic. The drive up to the hotel and the surrounding garden area is lovely.
The rooms were large and clean and although we were in a basement with a view of a wall this didn't affect us as we half expected it for booking late. Also, we do not rate our holidays based on the view from the hotel room!
All the staff, but especially those in the restaurant were very friendly and helpful and it was a pleasure to eat there for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, mushrooms for the homesick Brits as well as ham, cheese, rolls, cakes and juices. In our two week stay we had 14 different menus for dinner which gave plenty of choice and there was also a separate vegetarian and children's menu.
The pool area was clean and the pool was refreshingly cold. Any drinks or food bought at the pool (and drinks bought during dinner) are charged directly to your room but you can pay anytime which we recommend you do in order to assess how much money you're spending.
If there was any negative point it would be the walk to Sorrento, which although only 20-25 mins was along a noisy, fume filled main road. However, there is a courtesy bus provided by the hotel which will take you there and back several times during the day. If the times are not convenient there is always the local bus which runs regularly into Sorrento just outside the hotel.
They recommend buying tickets beforehand from a nearby tobacconist but we found no problem buying directly from the driver. Important tip: Although the reps offer you trips to all the local attractions they are very expensive and you have to pay extra to get in anyway. All you appear to be paying for is a bus journey and a 'guide' but most of these places (Pompeii, Herculaneum) provide audio guides.
We found out later that most of them we could do quite easily and much cheaper by using local and cheap buses or trains. Also, the trips to the islands can be arranged independently from Sorrento harbour. We would definitely return to the Parco del Sole.

Hotel Parco del sole was really nice, pool was clean, Jacuzzi was lovely, bar great, staff just so friendly, breakfast ok, cakes usually, with garlic mushrooms, butter beans, frankfurters, scrabbled runny egg and bacon... juice and coffee. We went half board and planned to eat out 2 or 3 nights anyway.
Hotel buffet was great, went for the table d'hote menu two night later and I wouldn't have fed it to my cats! it was awful... if you eat a lot of fast food, and don't appreciate "good" food or have no taste buds then you may enjoy it, but was really inedible, therefore we ate out 5 nights out of 7. Get details of the local bus as soon as you get there to Sorrento, courtesy bus is a waste of time and taxi back from Sorrento to Parco, can be €15. Vesuvius and Pompeii were great, definitely worth getting a guide though.
Nice restaurant in Piazza Tasso called Restauranto Vincento, worth trying it! P.s Naples airport really is a cow shed, if you fly through Airtours, do not let them put you on a VISIQ plane, they are so rude and you don't get food that you have paid for. We booked through Coop Travel and will never use them again.

An excellent base to see Sorrento & travel to see Pompeii, Amalfi, Positano and Capri. I holidayed as a single parent with my two young sons & felt at home instantly at the Parco del Sole. Our room was clean & there was ample space for the three of us.
All the staff at the hotel were friendly & helpful, nice pool & towels to hire at no extra cost. All bills went on a tab but this could be settled at any point - no need to leave till the end of the holiday if you need to keep a check on your spending. Meals however, leave A LOT to be desired!! I am not a fussy eater but had to eat out on a number of occasions.
The hotel food was bland & badly cooked , everybody felt the same who I spoke to. Bed & breakfast would be ideal as the hotel is great but avoid half/full board.

This was supposed to be a 4* hotel, definitely only a 3*. The hotel itself wasn't too bad, mainly clean and tidy, the one area which let it down was the pool. This was freezing cold and the spa area wasn't heated at all so therefore no one used it.
The restaurant experience was terrible.
1. Tables were crammed too close together.
2. The waiters were arrogant, pushed passed you and were not friendly or helpful.
3. The food went from bad to worse and was virtually inedible by the end of the week.