Hotel Serapo — Hotel in Gaeta

Good aspects:

Room: our room, a junior suite with sea view, was big, airy and very clean; double bed is two beds put together, not very big but comfortable enough. Towels and bed lining are good; bathroom looks newish. I’ve read some people complaining about AC not working and staff being rude, but our experience was the opposite. It was high summer and the room was always cool and staff was lovely.

Location: we chose Serapo Hotel because it is walking distance to town center and by the beach. The beach is a bit full but we were quite happy overall.

Ok, what is not so great:

Sea view - the sea view includes the hotel car park and the morning noise of the “beach resorts” cleaning their area. Punctual as the church bell, every morning at 7:30 we had the “sand blower” for one hour. If you think that might disturb your sleep don’t choose a sea view room.

Internet - in a group of 7 (4 rooms) only the single room in the back of hotel had good internet all day every day.

Swimming pool - during our stay we often thought we had being sent back a few decades. The swimming pool is small and of a very weird shape, entirely shaded and with some funny rules, it closes from 1 to 3 pm, and than for good at 7 pm. And you are only allowed in with a hat! 🤣 Oh, there is a bigger pool indoors with some weirder times and more stricter rules.

Breakfast - we read a lot of complains about the breakfast. Yes, it is weird to see a hotel breakfast room that looks like an 80s boarding school/prison cafeteria. The feel is definitely not nice, the food is served in an unflattering manner but if you overcome the boarding school/prison look of things and of the staff uniform it is an ok breakfast. You are free to repeat as much as you want!

Beach - the beach is not private to the hotel. The hotel has small private area on the beach where they rent 2 lounge chairs and umbrella for 25/35 euros depending on how close you are to the water. You can always go elsewhere on the beach. Bring your beach towel as the hotel offers none.

Overall - the hotel is stuck in the 60s and it could be a lot better with small changes. But in our group of 7 we all agreed it was a good cost/benefit. We paid around 150 euros per night with breakfast for the junior suite. Oh, we asked at reception if we could delayed the check out of one of our rooms in one hour and it was...

A hotel that was once exceptionally above average has unfortunately become average. Hotel Serapo has the potential to be a 5 star resort that could charge over €400 a night. ||The entire property is in need of a renovation. There are some rooms that they say are “renovated” but honestly they look the same as the other ones. The rooms are missing that cozy hotel feel. The sheets are 100% cotton and are very soft but the mattresses are extremely hard. Additionally, the pillows are very thin and the comforter feels more like a table cloth than a blanket. ||The beach front is beautiful but you do have to pay to book an umbrella. The issue with this is that no one is checking to see who is using the umbrellas and there are many locals who just come and use the Hotel Serapo chairs. Someone who clearly wasn’t a hotel resident was at my umbrella that I paid for and when I asked them to leave I was met with hostility. ||The seashell pool will always be adorable unfortunately it is also in need of a renovation. The tiles are very clearly coming off and losing color. ||Another major issue is the wifi. The wifi seems to only selectively work when at the bar. We were on the third floor and the wifi never reached our room. ||Hotel Serapo’s one redeeming quality will always be the food. The menu has great authentic options that are clearly made with fresh local ingredients. I’ve never had a bad meal here! ||I hope the hotel considers investing in a renovation because they could make way more money and increase...

Sadly, I don't have much good to say about Hotel Serapo anymore. I used to visit as a child every year and it had always had a special place in my heart, but sadly, it does not live up to my memory. And let me be clear, I am well aware things change over the years, and they must and should - but it seems those things that have changed have not changed for the better.

It still looks kind of nice on the outside. But. The majority of people working there give off a vibe as if they wanted to be anywhere else and wished you weren't there pestering them. What was advertised as a renovated room (which I got in lieu of a room with a view of the sea) was maybe renovated in 1999? Not sure, but framing the floor of the shower with rolled up towels to avoid flooding the room (not my ingenuity, but the situation as I found it) seems like an error in construction. Breakfast is far below European standard - which I expected, but was still shocked how it was presented. If it weren't so sad, the daily fight with the pigeons that find their way into the breakfast room would have been a fun distraction. Dinner, which I had included in my half board package, was okay, but do not attempt to try this as a vegetarian or vegan.

All-in-all, disappointing, and I feel given the superb location, the place could do so much better as a hotel. I understand it's a fantastic wedding location but surely it should be possible to raise the standards for the hotel...