More Traveller Reviews of Nastro Azzurro & Occhio Marino
An Enjoyable Holiday
from sunluvva
My partner and I stayed at this hotel for a week in October. I had booked it before discovering the reviews on tripadvisor, so I was quite concerned that I’d made a huge mistake! However, I can honestly say that we did not have a problem with this hotel and it was an enjoyable stay. For a start the weather was warm and sunny (which is the main reason we Brits go abroad!), and the views from the hotel are amazing. The room we were given was large, furnished well and very clean, although the terraced area was small and shady. As for the food, the choices at breakfast were good, as was the variety of our four course meal offered at dinner. We were also impressed by all the waiters who were very efficient. The outdoor pool they have is huge (but the water was cold) and there were plenty of sun-beds, however, even though you couldn’t see the road from the pool area, you could hear constant beeps from the cars that were driving round the bends, which was slightly annoying. The free shuttle bus service from the hotel to Sorrento was prompt and takes only 20 minutes into town (but 30 minutes by coach in place of the minibus). There are lots of places to visit while you’re in Sorrento, but we didn’t get to go everywhere. I would recommend the ferry across to Capri and a boat trip around the island, and use the cable car to get to the top of the main town. If you’re travelling to Pompeii, wear trainers! as there is a lot of walking involved. The train to Pompeii was fine and we didn’t experience any trouble. The only negative comment about the hotel is that the receptionists were not overly helpful. We booked the tennis court one day and they gave us rackets but only one ball was available and they didn’t want to look for any more! Also, when we asked for directions to the nearest village we were told to walk on the road (no pavements) and this was quite dangerous dodging all the fast cars. There is a safer path away from the road from the back of the hotel, but we had to discover this ourselves. Overall, our week’s holiday was good value for money. Don’t be put off by the very bad reviews.
Not recommended
from Tixilix
Two main criticisms of this hotel the food is really poor there are some really good inexpensive restaurants in sorrento so we ate out most nights despite paying for half board. My partner had food poisoning the day we returned home (we ate in the hotel the night before!) He was sick continously and had to recieve medical treatment at the airport. Also the hotel is too far from sorrento although there is a courtesy bus this only runs at set times. Room was bog standard not really four star bizarre terrace to the side of the hotel no table. Sure there are much better alternatives in Sorrento to this hotel.
A very enjoyable holiday
from A TripAdvisor Member
At the beginning of August my husband, daughter (12) and I stayed at the Nastro Azzurro and I can only say that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We found the hotel to have been accurately described by the Travel Agent. The staff in the hotel restaurant, bar and reception were courteous and friendly, the food for dinner was excellent, there were four courses with plenty of choice and the portions were ample - enough to make a meal of only two courses if you wanted. The pool was clean and had a plentiful supply of sunbeds - no beach towels at dawn needed! The bar side pool provided a reasonable selection of light lunches, should you need it after being provides with a generous breakfast buffet. We found the peaceful location of the hotel ideal as we did not have the traffic noise of Sorrento and if you wished to take the courtesy bus to Sorrento it ran frequently and on time, it was extremely easy to use. We had a room (maybe the paintwork could do with freshening up) with a terrace (perhaps the furniture provided on the terrace could be renewed) and although we had an extra bed in the room for our daughter it was still a comfortable room. It was all in all a very enjoyable and relaxing holiday at a comfortable hotel in a pleasant location
Grazie! a wonderful holiday
from A TripAdvisor Member
First I want apologise about my english but I am Italian..... I spent with some friends 2 weeks in this hotel last august 2004 and honestly I must say that everything was perfect.The rooms were spacious and clean, the staff was excellent and the location between Sorrento and the Amalfi coast was amazing, in few words it was one of the best hotel we have stayed i will strongly suggest this hotel to all my friends Ciao from Milan Italy
Nastro Azzuro thank you........we love you all!
from A TripAdvisor Member
Hello there! My Husband and I just came back from our honeymoon. We spent such a lovely time in Italy that we will never forget it for the rest of our lives; food, sun,music, the people: what a country.We were in Tuscany, Rome, Sicily and stayed for one glorious week at the Nastro Azzuro between Sorrento and Positano. I strongly disagree with most of the reviews about this hotel. I want to start from the beginning because the people that work there really deserve an award, from the GM to the last porter. We made a reservation through our credit card company website and my husband contacted the hotel to organise something special for the day of our arrival: a nice bottle of champagne and a romantic dinner in our room. Well I have to say everything was perfect:when we arrived in the hotel it was quite late, around 9.00 pm. We just had time to step into our superior room when the Restaurant Manager and 2 of his staff knocked on our door with a huge bouquet of flowers ( complimentary)and the dinner that my husband had ordered for us: I will never forget that night,it was so romantic. All the rest of week was of the same standard : we had a lovely time by the pool set in beautiful grounds where the bar tender, Adolf, who is a very nice man, served us a delicious liquor called limoncello; you should try it. We were on B&B, so we ate in the hotel for only 4 nights and believe me every night was amazing. I really want to thank the restaurant manager Michele and his staff for their hard work and I also must mention the wine waiter Gerard for all the good tips he gave us about Italian wine.A special mention also goes to all the reception staff that were so helpful and suggested such great excursions in the area: Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi Coast........... The only thing that I have to agree with the other reviews is that the quality of breakfast coffee is not of a high standard, but apart from that everything was perfect. The shuttle service to Sorrento was very useful and one of the drivers Mario is a very nice man. If one day we will ever go back to Italy, without any doubt we would choose the Nastro Azzuro for our stay.
Stunning Location
from A TripAdvisor Member
The Hotel Nastro Azzurro is located in a fantastic position, 6km from Sorrento & 7km from Positano and the beautiful coastal road to Amalfi. If you want to get away from it all, have some peace and quiet, but still have life just a short distance away, this hotel is perfect. The views from the superior rooms are lovely & quite dramatic. Furnishings are good and bathrooms spacious. The pool is large & situated within some rural park areas. The food is great and the wine list is fabulous & extensive, from many regions of Italy. Myself & my wife had a great holiday at this hotel and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good standard of accommodation outisde the bustle of Sorrento.
Don't expect 4 star treatment !!
from Mission_world
Having read previous reviews of this hotel, I went on the belief that 'it can't be that bad'! Unfortunately, our experience was not good. Breakfast was OK provided you got there at a reasonable time, but the food in the evening was very uninspiring. Although we paid for half-board, we decided to eat elsewhere 3 times during the week. The room was very dull, but clean. The bed linen was not changed once during our 7 night stay! The bathroom was too small. It was impossible to have a proper shower as the cubicle was tiny and the plastic shower curtain was constantly stuck to you. Also the floor was always flooded as a result of this. Room service was not usually available. One evening I had to take the trolley to the room myself and was asked to return it as soon as possible as they were short of teapots!! The views were excellent and the pool was fine. I don't know who gave them 4 stars, but they obviously didn't stay there!!
A decent hotel with friendly staff - 6 -> 20 Aug 04
from A TripAdvisor Member
Holiday date: 6 Aug 04 – 20 Aug 04 So Jim Kirk (Star Trek) is right about the existence of parallel universes - did I really just stay in the same hotel as described in some of the very negative reviews here or perhaps it was one in a subtly differing parallel universe? OK, its taps aren’t gold plated, they didn’t serve Royal Beluga caviar with breakfast and room service didn’t dress me in the morning, but it certainly is up with most similarly priced hotels in Europe. During our holiday we travelled to Rome and stayed overnight in another 4 star hotel that was certainly a slight step down in overall quality. The ‘out of town’ setting has its pros and cons. If you like the smell of diesel fumes and the scream of 1000 scooters/minute hurtling past your balcony view, then go for one of the town centre hotels, but if a little R and R and a more rural setting is what you want then the Nastro is a decent choice. From the Nastro you could actually hear a cockerel or two crow if you are up early enough, a lonely cow moo and a donkey ee-aww from a nearby village reflecting the more relaxed rural setting. The hotel shuttle bus service was an excellent connection to Sorrento, was available all day long and only charged 1Euro after 8pm. Our room (in the ‘superior’ section) was adequately appointed with a TV, minibar, safe etc. and had good aircon. Yes, the bathroom lighting was rather dim as another reviewer commented, but that was fine, particularly the morning after several bottles of fine Italian wine! The hotel food varied a little from fine to good with menus that changed on a daily basis and portions that were adequate for most appetites. Our only slight disappointment on the food front was the cost of the hotel wine. We thought the minimum cost of about 16E was too high for a hotel of this type in Italy. Quality restaurants in Sorrento were charging less than half this amount for excellent house wines and of course the equivalent was available in local shops for 2 – 3 Euros! The swimming pool was pretty decent and usually very quiet - well at least there were never many people swimming in it. I suspect that many of the clientele thought swimming was a little too athletic and thus stayed beached on the sun loungers only occasionally choosing to take a dip to cool off. We found the majority of hotel staff very friendly. The waiters always greeted us with a big smile and a Bonjourno or two – I suspect this was directed more at my wife however!! I think we did identify one of the head waiters mentioned in other reviews. He does on first sight appear a little stern and sometimes stressed when the restaurant was very busy, but he was always efficient and polite. The remainder of the staff we spoke to were always helpful, polite and quick to respond to our needs. So in conclusion, it’s a decent hotel with a nice location, where you have views of both coastlines on the Sorrentine peninsula. So if you decide to ‘stay away’ as one reviewer suggested – that’s fine by me - it will be easier for me to get a reservation when I want!
Excellent value for money
from A TripAdvisor Member
We booked our holiday to Sorrento last minute (through Lastminute.com) and took a chance with the holiday. We were very pleased with our holiday and were very surprised by the number of negative comments we have read. We thought that the hotel was of a good standard with excellent food served everynight by pleasant and friendly staff. The views from the hotel are excellent, especially from the pool area. The only compromise we found with the hotel is the location away from Sorrento town centre (20 minute bus journey each way). However, we found the bus service to be very promt and we did not have to wait for any of the buses. The bus, however, is not free and does require a 1 Euro tip each way.
Four Star rating is a joke!
from A TripAdvisor Member
Located up on the hill above Sorrento, with pleasing views and peaceful setting. On arrival the Reception area looked promising, however, our impression went downhill all the way from there. Having been waved off in the vague direction of our room by a sullen receptionist we eventually found our room in a shabby, dingy corner of the main building. This was upgraded to a 'superior' room after we traipsed back to Reception with all our luggage to complain that it was not what we had booked. We then hauled our bags after a huffy member of staff who took a further 45 minutes to find a key to open the door. At no time were we offered help with our luggage or any refreshment while we were kept waiting. The upgraded room was OK although poorly lit and the bed was hard. The pool area was OK with nice views. Poolside bar staff were generally unfriendly. We ate only once from the poolside bar - food was awful and over-priced. At dinner, food was OK but over-priced and poorly served. Subsequently we always ate out. Waiter service in general was mediocre. At first sight, the breakfast buffet looked inviting, however this was also a sham as the food was very poor quality. The bread rolls, pastries were hard and tasteless, the cheese and meats were obviously the cheapest possible. You had to get there early as they ran out of the fresh bread quota by 9.15. Even the 'fruit juice' was artificial. We opted for fruit salad and bottled water. Room service was a joke. We had to persuade the girl who answered the phone that supposedly, room service was until midnight whether or not it was raining! When she eventually showed up she slammed down our drinks and started to argue with us before slamming out of the room. We complained to Reception who apologised but other than that took no action to make amends but we advised we would not be paying for that item. We made no further call on room service during our stay. Overall, we felt the hotel is of poor quality and standards of service which do not get anywhere near a 4 star rating and we will not be staying there again.
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12 readers found this review helpful
We have just come back from an all inclusive stay at this hotel. In 40 years of travel I have never found a hotel that not only lived up to the broucher but supassed it. The food was very good and plentyfull, the drinks flowed from 10am to 12pm and named brands, the rooms... more