“Very enjoyable, but not suitable for everyone.”

Upside - Location was stunning, Staff could not have been more attentive, friendly, or helpful. Restaurante a pleasure to use, food delicious and a good choice. Breakfast, whilst not recognisably 'international' was good in the Italian style - the terrace location was a great way to start the day. The free minibus into Almalfi town was useful on a number of occasions. Room servicing was second to none (new towels twice a day). Downside - This hotel would not be suitable for the infirm as, despite the lifts down to the beach you still need to be pretty good with steepish steps to access them and all other external areas. Also I would be afraid for the safety children as there are one or two areas where dangerous drops are not sufficiently guarded. There are limited worthwhile destinations within reasonable walking distance of the hotel and in any event walking on the roads in that area is a far from relaxing experience. Other info - There is a public bus stop outside the hotel with frequent buses to nearby local towns. Visits to Positano are best by boat from Amalfi as there is very little parking in Positano. Summary - Great place to stay if have a car, are reasonably fit and leave the kids at home.

“Very nice hotel!”

The hotel's location is spectacular with lovely views. It is a 10 minute coach ride into the town of Amalfi, and there are few restaurants located closer than the town. The food at the hotel was adequate, though nothing special. The room was light, bright, clean and comfortable. We were glad that there was an elevator to beach, and the pool areas!

“Impressive hotel in a great location”

The hotel is located 5 minutes (by car) outside of Amalfi. You need a car to get around, even though there is a hotel bus operating to Amalfi. The hotel has a fantastic private beach and swimming pool from which you can enjoy stunning views of the beautiful coast. The hotel building is very interesting with many hidden corners (and stairs!) and is very well maintained. Staff was lovely and very helpful. We enjoyed the breakfast on the terrace of the hotel but preffered to have dinner outside in small restaurants.

“Not 5 star!”

Do not believe this hotel matched it's 5* star status. Whilst the location was stunning and it had all the necessary 5* star facilities, it failed on service. Clearly it makes a lot of money from weddings (3 whilst we were there) and did not really have to bother about satisfying the resident guests. Examples of poor service: sitting in the bar for a considerable length of time awaiting service. Eventually had to prompt the waiter. Do not believe they even considered appoaching persons to see if they would like a drink. Beach area has a prime location, however, again staff are not proactive. No attempts to approach quests see if they would like anything from the bar or provide an enticing lunch. As it was we went elsewhere. Equally, there was a charge for a visiting friend to sit with on the beach for 3 hours - 20 euros. He was unable to park his car at the hotel due to a wedding and we felt the charge was overpriced and unnecessary as it could have been easily recouped in bar and lunch costs, if we have felt welcome. No ironing facilities in room - reason, security!! Had to pay 4 euros to get a dress ironned, which is a first for me in a 5* star hotel. I am afraid I felt the service was poor and did not reflect it's 5* star status. However, Amalfi, Postiano and Ravello are some on the prettiest towns I have ever visited and it is well worth the visit, however I would not reccommend the Il saraceno - beware the added extras!!!

“NOT IMPRESSED - NO WAY 5 STAR”

We stayed here for three days and compared to the two other 5 star hotels we stayed in this was by far the worse. Very old in decoration and rooms were decorated in a very basic style. Air Con is very old and very very noisy. Breakfast was of a very poor standard and had to pay extra for scrambled eggs and bacon. All that was offered was cereal and some fruit. Very poor selection. Staff did not explain about extra costs. Restaurant staff very unhelpful and poor understanding of english had to ask five times for a cup of hot water and lemon. Location is very nice and has great views but the hotel specialise in weddings and this does create alot of noise until very late. When we complained we got told they have weddings nearly every night in the summer time and could do nothing about noise. Worse night was until 3am band playing. At best this is 4 star but after staying in other hotels i would class this more like 3 star.

“Hated the hotel”

The hotel staff do not know what the meaning of service is! They ignore you, do not give correct information, and not helpful at all. We ended up asking local public to help us. They did not care that we were paying customers.