Panorama Hotel

Having just returned from an excellent holiday at this hotel I'd like to put other recent reviews into perspective. We had an excellent room which was serviced daily, yes the bath towels were thin but they were the traditional towels of the Amalfi region and were perfectly satisfactory. Noise from the road outside the hotel is a problem but we knew of this in advance and the simple use of earplugs solved this problem and the magnificent views from the balcony more than compensated for this minor inconvenience. We found the reception staff all to be friendly and helpful and although Mino, the maitre 'd, is an imposing figure he was extremely efficient and helpful and not at all 'scary' as one reviewer has stated. We would certainly stay at this hotel again.

We recently visited the Amalfi Coast for our 1st anniversary and stayed at the Hotel Panorama from Sept. 2, 2006 through Sept. 7, 2006. The reason this is a VERY tough hotel to rate is that some things were phenomenal and others were very disappointing. Here is our breakdown: PHENOMENAL THINGS (5 out of 5): - the view from our balcony (especially after moving from room 108 the first night to room 414 for the other 4 nights) - the stretch of beautiful beach directly across the street from the hotel is extremely rare for the Amalfi Coast. - the roof-top bar/restaurant/pool area - the "lungo mare" beachfront walkway and marina are very nicely gardened and maintained and GREAT for evening strolls with the locals. VERY DISAPPOINTING THINGS (1 or less out of 5): - Room decor (except for the balcony which has two nice, reclining deck chairs) - Room maintenance - Room cleanliness - The bathrooms (both rooms 108 & 414), in general, were not even close to typical 3-star, European standards with respect to fixtures, maintenance & cleanliness Tips: - Try to get an upper level room near the middle of the hall (e.g. Room 414) for a full panoramic view. Lower-level rooms (especially toward one end of the hall (e.g. Room 108) have views that are obstructed by adjacent buildings and tree-lined street - Bring (or buy) a beach towel and use the public beach directly across the street from the hotel rather than fork out 20 Euros per day plus 8 Euros per chair per day for hotel beach access. - Do yourself a favor and use the water taxi's to get from Maiori to Minori or Amalfi or Positano. Although you have less flexibility in terms of time, the trips are shorter, more scenic, smoother, less stressful and less expensive (4 Euros per per person, one-way, to Amalfi). The public transit (SITA) bus is another option and only Euros 1.40 each way...provided you don't suffer from motion sickness. - Seek out "Signor Alfonso" (in the taxi parking lot on the beach across from the church), an elderly taxi driver who still has the open-air FIAT 600 (multiple) that he used to chauffeur Jackie Kennedy, John-John and Caroline in back in 1962...Ask him to show you the photos. We got him to take the car out for a very pleasant and leisurely drive/tour up to Ravello and back. What a blast!!!

Photographs showed a beautiful hotel opposite the beach, something that we were looking forward too. What we got was a run down hotel with terrible rooms and service. We could hear conversations from the adjoining room through holes in the bathroom wall, the beds were rock hard, and there seemed to be very little cleaning done in the room once you had checked in. Our tiled floor was covered in grit and dirt. The plumbing in the bathroom was a nightmare with hot water running from the bath and cold water from the shower. You could not get any water regulated . The toilet only flushed occasionally. Towels supplied were thin linen sheets, more suited to a table cloth. As our stay was during the August peak we were stuck with a below average room and staff that didn't really care. Unless you managed to catch a waiter by the arm you had little chance of getting service in the dining room. If you are looking to stay on the Amalfi coast I am sure you could do a lot better than this hotel. The only good thing about this hotel was the roof top pool.

Stayed here many times over the years and sadly this will be my last. Reception staff were rude and very unhelpful. They have lost their good staff to local competition. Rooms, well what can I say, grubby, bed covers had holes in them. The matress was like lying on a block of stone. Food used to be fantastic, not anymore. Costs have been cut, no choice available for dinner or breakfast. Well thats strictly speaking not true. If you are Italian and stamp you feet the head waiter Mino will jump through hoops to provide tasty treats. Money was taken from one of our rooms, after reporting this matter to the manager he was very very rude to everyone in our party. This hotel in my opinion is only a 3 star and thats being generous. Location of the hotel is fantastic, this hotel could be wonderful with the right people in charge, please bring them back and I am sure the tourists will return.

Recetpion staff extremely rude. Did not acknowledge you in any language when you left or politely requested keys. We checked out without as much as good morning,thank you,nothing even a smile, from an extremely rude bearded gentleman(not) We were too early for breakfast and we were not even offered a drink of water. Rooms were extremely disappointing, did not look like the brochure at all. Beds were as hard as boards. Food not great at all. Poor selection at breakfast-not one piece of fresh friut or juice in sight. Dinner ran like a production line. No one asks if you enjoyed/not enjoy. No conversation at all, even when they took back plates that haven't been touched. Head waiter scary. Beautiful location, extremely rude staff. We have travelled extensively throughout Italy and thankfully have never came accross such ill mannered people, or a four star hotel as poor as this. Do not spend your hard earned money there.

We really liked the location of this hotel as it was ON the Beach! Well, across the street. The hotel has a private beach but apparently not all room rates include beach access so ask. At the beach you get an umbrella, a chair, and a lounger per room. There is not a lot of space as they really pack it in. Though most Italians left the beach by noon. The hotel spaces at the beach are not closest to the water if that matters to you. The hotel was clean and the room was huge. We had an ocean view room with a balcony. Very nice and not at all expensive. The people at the desk were not all that nice. Actually, this spot seems to be a vacation point for Italians and they didn't seem to open to Americans. The hotel had a nice terrace on the roof with a bar and the pool. The pool is much smaller than it looks in the pictures. There is a restaurant in the hotel but we never ate there. Breakfast was fine. The ride to the hotel from the train station in Salerno was long given the winding roads but very nice. My only complaint is that the ocean view rooms face the main street which on a weekend night is very noisy. i would have likes to have slept with the door open and get the ocean breeze but it was too loud outside. If you like being in the middle of summer vacation action, this is the spot for you. Lots of activities for kids and great Gelato! I would highly recommend this hotel.

We stayed at The Panorama in June last year with our 3 young children and we have never enjoyed a holiday more. If I wanted to quibble I would mention that the rooms are a little outdated but for us the holiday was made by the excellent staff. The hotel does not advertise itself as family friendly ( there was only 1 other family there ) but they went out of their way from reception to cleaning staff to bar staff and special mention to the waiters, to make us feel welcome, they really couldn't have done more. It was so refreshing after so many years of surly and reluctant service in other places. The view from the bar at night with the moon reflected by the sea and the fireworks behind the hills was magical. While Maiori itself is not as beautiful as some of the other towns along the coast, we still loved it - it felt very, very Italian. The whole length of the Amalfi coast is absolutely breathtaking and we were all very upset when we had to leave. Wonderful place and wonderful people, hope to go back next year.

Excellent hotel - that lived up to our expectations - Reception staff , Waiters , etc were all friendly and efficient - Meals were excellent - with a good choice of regional or more UK type dishes. where can you choose either - roast beef or Octopus . ? - Rooms [doubles on front with balcony ] have beautiful sea view-and are spotlessly clean - Would definitely return here on any future visits

I was on a tour of Italy and this was the hotel that was selected by the tour operator. I had a double room on the third floor, which comes with a balcony and beautiful ocean view. The room was very spacious (even by US hotel room standards). The bathroom was on the small side but suited the purpose. My only complaint would be about the bed. My very large bed was created by putting two single beds together. The two beds did separate slightly one night while sleeping but it was only a minor inconvenience. This may have been due to the fact that I was moved to this room after my initial room assignment. I found the breakfast & dinner to be quite nice. The best part is the roof top bar. It's a stunning view day or night. I am planning on returing to this part of Italy soon and am looking forward to staying at the Panorama again.

With a central position on the promenade, as well as its own section of beach, there's much to recommend the Panorama Hotel. The food is of high quality (though served in adequate rather than generous portions), the public areas clean and tidy, and the view from the rooftop bar covers the whole of the bay. It's also great for watching night-time fireworks celebrating saints' days (a near-nightly even in late July). But travelling on your own you're likely to end up with one of around half-a-dozen single rooms which give a new meaning to the word 'small'. Single rooms come in two styles: long and narrow, and short and square. I got the former, somewhat cramping for a two-week stay unless you're a long and narrow traveller. At the narrowest point in the room, imaging standing up and lifting up both your arms from your side: your elbows are now touching the walls. At the widest point in the room, now stretch out one arm to your side: you're touching the walls once again. Add a tiny table almost entirely covered by a mini-TV, a single bed and a side table, and you're just about there as far as furnishings are concerned. Except for the minibar, with 5 star prices and a 3 Euro penalty if the staff catch you storing your own mineral water... The point is, that you can't use the room to relax in: with no balcony, you either sit on the bed or lie on the bed, unlike the larger doubles (I think I've made my point). But the separate bathroom is reasonably large, even if (a) you can't use the toilet without hitting your knees and (b) the shower curtain doesn't quite reach the shower tray, so water gets everywhere (but at least there's lots of water, hot or cold). And the usual lack of sufficient shelving... Air conditioning in the room is slightly noisy but works. The view from the room is of the rear of the building: only doubles get the beachfront view, together with the late-night noise of scooters and cars, but also the view of the passagiata, which starts around 9pm and continues for a watchable three hours or so... Real attraction: the rooftop bar and plunge pool (if you can't be bothered to cross the road to the beach), though again with prices to match the quality of the view. Breakfast is of the standard continental variety (although the fruit juice is somewhat artificial to the taste), while the lunch and dinner menus (if you're on half- or full-board), are of high quality, offering at least two regional dishes. And the staff are helpful (they tried moving me, but the hotel was fully booked), and willing to cope with traveller's Italian. Would I stay there again? Yes, but only in a double room, and on 'pensione' arrangements rather than half- or full-board.