Nastro Azzurro & Occhio Marino

13 readers found this review helpful

Stayed at the Grand Nastro Azzuro for two weeks with my husband,son at 15 and 14 year old nephew. Our holiday was very good and this part of Italy is pretty stunning however we found it two be over the top expensive for example 4 cokes in Caprie was 20 euro. But Caprie was stunning.
This is why i would reccomend the all inclusive option at the hotel which most hotels in Sorrento do not offer.The public areas in the hotel are very nice and very well kept. The restaurante is really nice to and generally the food was ok. The wine is nice but the choice on the all inclusive is not great. The all inclusive stops at 10pm and after this time you must pay for all drinks which can be pretty pricey.
We were located in the Ochio Marino block which houses the superior rooms. The rooms i dont feel were up to superior standard as they really were pretty dated and in real need of some tlc.We were on the ground floor so our view was ltd but if you are lucky to stay higher up then i think the views would be fab.
Most of the staff at the hotel were great especially Gusepie at the pool bar and the boys who worked in the Americano bar. The entertainment at night was not good and very repetative so would reccomend some nights in Sorrento to break the boredom. The shuttle bus service is great as long as you remember to book the day before. The busses are all air coned and are immaculate and always on time.
Our boys loved playing on the tennis court and they were never charged for this as they had brought all their own equipment. If you are taking children with you then just be aware that there are not any real facilities for them.
We thought the hotel overall was pretty good value for the money and this part of Italy is beautiful. Must sees are Capri,Amalfi,Positano and the climb up mount Visuvius is great along with pompei. The hotels private beach at the sea club is a good day out too.
Things to watch out for is dangerous roads and drivers. Very pricey places to eat and drink. The foreigners club is good value for money with fantastic vies accross the bay.

1 reader found this review helpful

Just had a fabulous week at the Nastro Azzurro. The hotel was ideal for a quiet, relaxing hoiday away from the hustle bustle. The hotel was great the food spectacular. The hotel was situated a few kms outside of Sorrento but the views were wonderful and a free regular shuttle bus into Sorrento was available.

3 readers found this review helpful

A really fab place with loads of good points. Our room in the annexe was crackingly good. The pool was lovely as was the food in the pool bar - bit pricey though. If you go there, keep an eye on the bill you are running up - we saw a few arguments. The food was fantastic though, as was the service . Remember to tip the minibus guy. We loved it.

We returned home from the hotel Nastro Azzuro yesterday and have been extremely pleased with our holiday. Yes this hotel is up in the hills away from Sorrento, but our holiday brochure stated this clearly. It was well placed to view the surrounding beautiful scenery.
Overall we thought the food was very good, with excellent service from the hard working staff. The hotel is well run and kept. There was a shuttle bus that ran frequently throughout the day to Sorrento.
Only niggle we had is that this needed booking, and it would be much more convenient if it ran regardless.
I will be honest and wished I had booked a longer stay, as the time passed very quickly.

5 readers found this review helpful

My wife and I chose to ignore the negative comments of previous guests, in the likelihood that things had improved - and we were very glad we did. We spent a fortnight here and had a wonderful time.
The location of this hotel is absolutely stunning, commanding views of Vesuvius and of the gulfs to north and south. It's set at almost the highest point on the ridge above Sorrento under a crest of woodland, amid lovely terraced gardens laid out probably in the 19th century when there was a villa on this site.
The shuttle bus journeys to and from Sorrento are a bonus: they take about 25 minutes and are complimentary, though a tip to the driver of €1.00 per couple per trip seemed appropriate.
The accommodation is very varied, not least because the hotel is in two parts.
The main building faces east and the ground rises up behind it. Rooms at the front have fine views across the valley with glimpses of the Gulf of Salerno to the right. Most of them have balconies - those over the dining room are really spacious - and in the afternoon and evening they're in pleasant shade. The rooms at the rear look over woodland, and, at the extreme northern end, over a couple of utility buildings which aren't especially attractive.
The 1st floor rooms are at ground level at the back and have terraces which are in full sun after lunch. Roller shutters help to keep the rooms cool, but also dark. The terraces are equipped with tables and chairs but no sun umbrellas nor exterior lights, if you want to sit out after dark.
The annexe was once a separate hotel, and is of a different design. Every room has a balcony and terrace, accessed by folding screen doors, rather than shutters, and provided with an exterior light. It's close to the swimming pool and the southerly rooms have wonderful views down the slopes to the sea.
The staff in every department were charming: smiling, friendly and helpful. Most of them spoke English confidently - as well as French and German.
The food was excellent - and as vegetarians we aren't always easily pleased! Breakfast was served in the open terrace restaurant on the lower ground floor. You could choose from cereals, fruit, yoghourt, cold meat and cheese, scrambled egg, bacon and sausages, bread, rolls and spreads, and a wide range of croissants and pastries. Tea or coffee was offered, and the coffee wasn't limited to the standard pot - you could have a cappuccino, and espresso or a latte, for example - as well as hot chocolate. But you had to ask for it specially.
Dinner in the elegant art deco dining room was always larger than we should have eaten. The dishes were imaginative, nicely presented and always piping hot. The range of vegetables was impressive, and we suspected that many of them are grown in the hotel's grounds - within our fortnight we had pretty well every green vegetable apart from broccoli: spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, leek, lots of rocket and other lettuces, asparagus, green beans and broad beans, even chard.
The four courses consisted of antipasti or salad buffets, two main courses including local meat and fish, and buffet tables of fruit and gorgeous desserts. Separate menus for vegetarians and for children were also available. The wine list was predictably expensive, generally five times the price of the same bottle in the supermarket.
Nastro Azzuro is not, perhaps, the ideal place for young children: the only place where they can play is in and around the pool. Some guests found this irritating, especially since they'd been led to believe that the hotel was 'adults only'. Perhaps it should be.
The swimming pool is intended for recreation rather than for serious swimming: it has just a narrow strip at the deep end where you can dive, but that's all. Complimentary towels are available from the pool bar, so it you don't need to take any. The bar sells drinks, beverages and ice-cream all day, in addition to lunch, and you can sign for all purchases to be put on your bill.
We followed advice not to take any guided trips, since they're outrageously expensive. It's easy to get around under your own steam at a fraction of the cost. Trains to Pompeii and Herculaneum, for example, are every half hour. You can buy a combined rail and admission ticket from the station tobacconist before you leave and save queuing at the sites.
Don't forget to validate your ticket in the machine on the platform before you board the train for every journey, or you risk a stiff fine. Boats to Capri, Ischia and the Amalfi coast leave from the Marina Piccolo - an easy walk down the gorge from the Piazza Tasso, but a more comfortable bus ride back.
At Pompeii and Herculaneum acoustiguides can be hired - €6.50 for one, €10 for two. You'll find you can manage quite easily with just one, turning the volume up and putting your heads together. The presentation is well produced, but it sometimes gives you more information than you really need, and slows you down. On our second visit to Pompeii we managed perfectly well with the little free booklet provided.
Altogether we very much enjoyed staying at the Nastro Azzuro and hope to return there again in 2008. We would recommend it highly to others, like us, who are active but past the first flush of youth and prefer somewhere quiet, comfortable, and well-ordered in congenial company.

1 reader found this review helpful

Having already booked the holiday then read some of the comments I was a bit concerned whether we had made the right choice. We had.
The location of this hotel is fantastic with lovely views. I must say that you would be a bit isolated if it wasn’t for the shuttle bus which runs every half hour or so from the hotel into Sorrento.
It may mean you have to be a bit more organised and book the shuttle the night before or during the day for that evening but once you realise that no problem!
Our hotel room was unbelievable we even had a four poster bed! We were in the Annex building if you can call it that as it also was first class. The main hotel was beautiful, the reception all glass and marble.
The food was also excellent and we managed to sit on the terrace most mornings and evenings for our meal next to the lemon trees!
There was a wedding reception on the Saturday which I thought was lovely. They had a welcome reception on the terrace by the pool and the main reception in the main restaurant, which was completely separate from our dining area, so at no time did you feel unable to sit on the terrace or rushed for your meals, which was the impression I had picked up in some reviews.
The staff were very friendly and I must say we had a very nice group of people staying there the same time as us. Everyone very helpful with trip advice i.e. catching a ferry to Capri (which is very easy to do off your own back and is a must see).
Overall I fell in love with Sorrento and this hotel and will definitely be going back.

We have just returned from Sorrento - the scenery is fantastic, although Sorrento itself was heaving. Well worth a visit but maybe at a different time of year and if you want a good 4* hotel, I would not choose the Nastro Azurro. It is in a very quiet position with views over both sides of the peninsular but, other than that, I would not consider this to be anything like a 4*.
When considering this hotel, the photographs look quite nice, but there are other considerations should you want an enjoyable relaxing holiday. This hotel, in some of the brochures, suggests that it is not recommended for families with young children. However, beware, at this time of the year there are quite a few children there and there are no real facilities for them other than the pool, which means that it can get very rowdy and should you wish to do so, you are unable to swim in the pool.
In some rooms, the drains in the annex smell. Some of the rooms in the old building were better, although the balconies were not cleaned. This was not very health conscious, as there were bird droppings all over the balcony floor. The hairdryer was broken, the TV did not work and curtains were dirty.
Guests are moved from the main restaurant to the breakfast room and terrace, whenever there is a function. This happened on three occasions whilst we were there. Weddings, birthday parties, christenings. All the facilities in the hotel are used for these functions, including the terrace bar and the pool areas. These areas are out-of-bounds to the hotels other guests at these times.
The food whilst we were there was generally poor, and became much worse on function days; chilled to frozen turkey and pork (which was still pink in the middle), pork which you could not cut with a knife, and food being kept warm in turines with a single candle. Most of the food was therefore cold. Chicken thighs were an example of a main course and generally guests found themselves filling up on starters and sweets. Don’t ask the wine waiter which wine he would recommend, as he will recommend the dearest wine on the list every time and his knowledge of wine leaves a lot to be desired. We asked him for a Chardonnay and he brought us a house wine, which he said was a Chardonnay!
Before booking your trips check out the local buses, trains and boats. It is just as easy and far cheaper. On most of the places of interest, e.g. Pompeii, you literally walk straight out of the train station into Pompeii itself. This applies to most of the main places of interest. Should you decide to go on the Amalfi Drive, make sure you sit on the right hand side of the bus, otherwise you will see very little, as the bus only goes in the one direction and takes a different route back. You can also pick up a guide at some of the places of interest.
The restaurant food in Sorrento however is to be recommended. If you like Pizza or Canneloni, in particular, try da Gigino in the drains. It has to be the best Pizza I think I have ever had and I am not generally a Pizza lover.

Pity 0 isn't available. After reading others reviews my husband and I felt that this hotel was the one for us. It would have been nice to be able to comment on the hotel, but we learned on our arrival at Naples airport that the hotel had DOUBLE BOOKED MORE THAN 20 PEOPLE.
This must be the worst customer service possible. We also learned from a couple who managed to keep their room at the hotel that an Italian wedding party had booked that week too. We guess that the hotel favoured the late booking Italian guests before the clients already booked through the holiday company.
We understand from the same couple that the service and food deteriorated on the arrival of the wedding party. We were accommodated at a sister hotel in the Giglio group, The Atlantic Palace also in Sorrento, which is definitely not 4*(read reviews on that). So BEWARE - this hotel does not care about YOU.

I had read many many negative reviews about this hotel before we went. I chose to ignore most of them but would have changed hotels if the cost hadn't have been so steep.
It is set in beautiful surroundings and if you are happy just looking at scenery and sitting quietly with other people sitting quietly then it’s wonderful. The staff were all great, helpful cheerful talkative and Carmine the head waiter in charge of the terrace bar was a scream.
There were a few things which irritated us, it was always difficult to change money as reception hardly ever had cash around and only certain members of staff were allowed to do it. Visitors should also be aware that you cannot pay as you go with drinks etc, you order what you want and sign for it in the bars and restaurants, which is ok in theory but a family of 4 soon run up a huge bill with drinks etc, again, you only seemed to be able to pay your bill when the staff wanted you to, not when you wanted to. A bit picky I know but it is sometimes the little things that niggle most!
We gave up after about 4 days and settled it all on the last day, nearly fainted; it’s quite an expensive hotel. Our rooms were lovely, clean, very large balconies, the bathroom let it down badly, the shower was appalling, very small and very shallow standing area which overflowed every time and flooded the bathroom. Very very annoying.
It really must be understood that this hotel is miles from anywhere, way up in the mountains, on the day we arrived we would never have found it had we not spotted the hotel shuttle bus down in Sorrento waiting to take guests back up, we just followed it!
If the British tour companies are going to keep it in their brochures I feel they must address these issues or make things very clear. Also, it is a popular venue for weddings, if there is a large one all the hotel guests will be shunted around to make way for the wedding festivities. Fair enough I suppose but still irritating when all the terrace furniture has been taken away and there is nowhere to sit after dinner.
All in all it was a nice place to stay for the more independent traveller, get a car and go have a look around, yes the roads are scary and the driving is stressful but it’s worth it.
We would have gone stir crazy up there if we had had to rely on the shuttle bus to get down to Sorrento. We had some wicked storms as well which were fantastic to watch from such an altitude!
Would we go back?? NO. - Highlights of our trip, Vesuvius,wow! Pompeii and Rome.

Great holiday. We saw very little to justify the negative comment on some of the reviews.
Our room had all we required, the food was sufficient, the staff were courteous and the facilities were excellent.
Yes it was some distance from Sorrento, or indeed any local life, but the shuttle bus was there to help.
The one negative was that there was no shower curtain which meant that it was difficult to use the facility without causing a flood.
One other thing. The views from the tennis court were amazing!