Parco Aurora Terme — Hotel in Ischia

We arrived a day later than we had booked as my friend had to attend a funeral on our original arrival date so I emailed the hotel to let them know. Despite acknowledging the change of date by return email there was no sorry for your loss message either in the email or on our arrival which would have been a nice touch and somewhat expected of a 4* hotel. ||Our first impression of the hotel was that it was quaint, didn't look or feel 4, but we thought maybe they were going for ‘shabby chic’. The reception staff were expecting us and gave us the information we needed and we were directed to the lift to take us to the 3rd floor. The lift is an experience. Absolutely tiny and some what temperamental - did a dip when taking off and when arriving. In general this is ok but I got caught out one day when carrying a tray of drinks and it was difficult to keep my balance and the drinks intact. ||The room itself was basic but clean and had everything we needed. That said on arrival we discovered that the beds were made up into a double - not the separate twin beds we requested. Also the fridge was not working. We spoke to reception about this and they said they would fix it. When we went back to our room a few hours later nothing had been done so we spoke to reception again only to be told it could not be sorted until the next day. This was the first sign that we were not in fact in a 4 hotel. ||The beds were serviceable but after a week they began to hurt our backs. The room only had 3 pillows between 2 beds?! We had to ask 3 times for an extra pillow. The bathroom was large and equipped with lots of basic sachets which doubled as body wash/ shampoo. Plenty towels provided too. Large shower cubicle (no bath) and a powerful shower. ||The air conditioning did work and you felt the difference when returning from outside however once you had been in the room for a while it did feel warm. Thank God I took a fan with me. That said there was a heat wave going on when we were there with temperatures of up to 98F° every day so perhaps when the weather is not as hot it does the job better? The cleaning staff were brilliant. Room was always spotless and restocked when serviced.||The best bit by far about our room was the balcony furnished with 2 loungers, a deck chair and a table and 2 chairs and amazing sea view (see pictures). It was breathtaking and well worth the extra we paid for it. The table provided however was a plastic one with plastic chairs which felt a bit cheap…..again not 4. ||We chose this hotel partly based on the reviews which mentioned older guests and the hotel advertising itself as a place to relax and work on your wellbeing. They talk up the thermal waters and the spa in the hotel blurb. We were disappointed therefore to find quite a number of children making a lot of noise and jumping in and out the pool with floats and pool noodles etc. Not what you expect when it is advertised a warm thermal pool to relax your body and mind….. To be fair it is not an adults only hotel however neither is it advertised as family friendly, indeed I would suggest quite the opposite. Throughout the first afternoon we were there the children present shouted, squealed, played tig around the sun beds and 3 girls in particular about 8 yrs of age played Uno and their screeching got increasingly louder the more excited they got…..not a word from the supervising adults! The same girls did this on several days we were there which was grating on our nerves to say the least. There is an additional pool up the back in a separate area with cooler water which tends to be a bit quieter but it also had children jumping around in it at times, splashing sunbathers, throwing a ball around hitting the sun beds….no adult supervision whatsoever which to be honest really bothered me as children should never be unsupervised near water. I would STRONGLY advise the hotel to make one of the pools adult only which would create a space for adults wishing to relax. When the pools were quiet and calm they were absolutely beautiful and a joy to swim and relax in. There tends to be a golden hour everyday between 1-2pm when a lot of guests go for lunch and during this time it is quite idyllic to relax by the pool. ||We got so annoyed by the screeching from the children on our first afternoon that we decided to go check out the spa…..got there to find a group of children between the ages of 7-14 all jumping in and out of the facilities making loads of noise (one child even had arm bands on) you guessed it no supervising adults and no hotel staff to monitor. Yet another drowning risk. Yet another reason this is not a 4 hotel. ||On the last day of our holiday I decided to give the spa another chance and luckily when I went there were no children present and what a joy it was! A beautiful space with excellent facilities to relax and pamper yourself. ||One of the things which really disappointed us about this hotel was the number of people who were sunbed hogging. The best sunloungers were the 14-odd in the row overlooking the sea. Every single day there were people’s belongings left on them then the loungers were left lying empty all day and people would turn up about 4pm to claim their space (see pictures). There was no one from the hotel policing this. Personally I find this to be incredibly selfish and arrogant behaviour and whilst this is common in many package holiday European hotels I would expect more from a ‘4* spa' hotel.||In terms of location the hotel is a good 10/12min walk from the nearest bus stop up a slope which in the heatwave we experienced was incredibly uncomfortable. The taxis have an immediate €15 flat fare before you even go anywhere so it's very expensive to get around if not using the bus. Indeed our 7 min taxi ride from the hotel to the port when we were leaving cost €20.||The hotel advertises itself as having a private beach so we decided to go one day for a change. From the hotel to the beach was around an 18 minute walk some of it uphill which was not easy in the severe heat and high humidity. I would suggest it would take less time than this in less oppressive heat. It is absolutely not worth the effort going to this beach in high season. The hotel clearly shares the beach with its sister hotels on the island in the Dico group. Whilst there we were crowded in like sardines and there were no beds available at 11.15am so we were placed in two deck chairs almost on top of people next to us on one side and a metal fence on the other. The young man on duty promised us he'd find us beds as people would soon leave for lunch however we quickly noticed a few more people who arrived after us who were directed to beds before us. We got his attention and pointed this out and he then moved us but informed us that it was one sun lounger and one deck chair per room…..absolutely useless if you both want to relax and sunbathe. We lasted about half an hour and then left. ||The hotel bar does not open until after dinner has been served so before 8.00pm you need to go to the pool bar. The pool bar does not take cards which was a real pain and again not what you'd expect from a 4* so you either have to use cash or sign it to your room. As is the case with all hotel bars it was fairly pricey - €3 for a large bottle of water, €4 for a soft drink. The staff at the bar were always very polite and accommodating. Just a small thing but worth noting: one day we saw that the pool bar was closed for lunch (12-12.30pm) so during that time we were unable to purchase anything. Not sure if this was the norm or if they were short staffed that day. ||We were half board but found the breakfast to be a bit boring and repetitive so we only went a couple of times. It was also only served between 8-9.45am; arrive any later than this and you'll find much of the food already cleared away. There is no hot food available except make your own toast from what I can only describe as very cheap white bread. They did have nicer bread in large loaves (white and brown) you could cut by yourself and I toasted this. They have 2 different types of cold meat, sliced cheddar, tomatoes and a really lovely large ricotta. They also had cold boiled eggs still in the shell, small bread rolls and a choice of tea/coffee. The juice machine tasted like it was made from powdered mix. They had a number of cereals, jams, spreads, some fruit, yogurt and small croissants, sometimes also a couple of cakes. ||Dinner is between 7.30-8.30pm which is VERY early for Italy. We found this incredibly strange indeed. We regularly travel to Italy and most Italians are only heading out for dinner about 8.30pm. Like the breakfast if you arrive after 8.30pm you're likely not to get served and find that the buffet has already been started clearing away. Each night started with a buffet ‘Ischian style' which was made up of platters of cold veg, basic salads, small breaded appetisers like potato croquettes sometimes with mozzarella inside sometimes with tomato paste. Occasionally there was a type of cold focaccia with tomato sauce on. Again, like breakfast, although tasty it was repetitive. Following on from the buffet there were 3 courses with 3 choices in each main course usually a fish, a meat and a cold plate which was a caprese or mozzarella and prosciutto. The prima piatti was the best of the courses. There was normally a soup, a risotto with some sort of scampi, shell fish or fish and a veg pasta. I normally had the veg pasta which on various nights was spaghetti pomedoro and we also got one night veg lasagna, another ricotta and basil pasta, a ham and cheese lasagna, and also one night an asparagus quiche. Main courses were not as good. Most nights they came with sort of potato side which was invariably under or over cooked and cold. Some of the offerings we had were perch, beef English style, chicken leg (drowned in oil), grilled salmon, rabbit on the bone, pigs head, veal…..bread baskets were available for you to go and collect. One night I didn't like any of the main courses on offer so I asked for 2 starter dishes and they were happy to accommodate this. For pudding there was always ice cream, then it changed on rotation. A few times there was creme caramel, we also had chocolate cake, strawberry cheesecake, sfogliatelli and lemon cake to name a few. These were on the whole nice. In general terms the food in the restaurant for both breakfast and dinner felt  mass produced with cheap ingredients and not of the standard of a 4* hotel - more akin to the food we have experienced whilst taking school trips to  2/3 hotels. The waiting staff at breakfast and dinner however were excellent and were very attentive to guests, efficient, and ready with a smile. ||There was no evening entertainment at the hotel and it was too hot and too far to walk to anywhere so we usually ended up back in our rooms by 9.30pm! To be fair though the heat knackered us out so we slept early most nights. Generally very high temperatures everyday even at night and being incredibly humid made it impossible to go out looking for local bars and explore the area like we would normally do. ||This hotel has so much potential. There are bits of it we really enjoyed and found excellent however it lets itself down on some really basic areas. Italy has the best food in the world so the last thing you expect is for the food to be repetitive and lacking taste. Most importantly for us though is that you cannot advertise yourself as a space for relaxing and wellbeing then allow children to run amock in the public areas ruining the experience of other guests. The Hotel Parco Aurora Terme needs to decide which clientele it is catering to and then implement rules and supervision to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone. First of all if children are welcome at the hotel then have signposted and enforced adult only areas (one of the pools and most certainly the spa facilities). This seems a very simple and sensible solution which will maintain the character of the hotel as a haven for relaxing and wellbeing whilst still accommodating children and families. ||I will return to Ischia. The island is beautiful. But I will not return in August as the heat and humidity were very oppressive. As I've said I travel to Italy frequently so am used to the weather but this was too much for me - a heatwave - who knew? - you live and learn! Will I return to Parco Aurora Terme? I'd love to say yes as it has so many good things going for it but it really depends on whether they make the sort of improvements I have outlined in this review to make it a hotel which can be enjoyed by all of...

Hotel Parco Aurora is a very pleasant but dated hotel in Ischia which is rated as 4 stars. We spent a week there last month; Great location in Ischia on the sea side easily reached from the port. Our hotel room was clean and comfortable, the pool facilities were very nice and the staff were friendly. The hotel also offers a free day visit at their affiliated spa hotel with several pools in Casteglione Terme which is very worthwhile doing.||However, the hotel falls down badly in certain areas – the breakfast served is probably the worst we’ve had in Italy at a 4 star hotel. Cheap and low quality breakfast items are served daily without change– ||Bread – the same one Italian style bread and 1 cheap white bread for toast every day||Cheese – only 1 unappetising ‘yellow’ cheese and 1 white cheese that never varied||Juice – no Fresh juice, but cheap sweet orange and grapefruit juice ||Fresh fruit – only oranges and apples. Summer fruits such as peaches, apricots, grapes, etc were totally non-existent||Canned fruit – same mixture of cheap canned fruit everyday||Yogurt – served up in 1 big bowl that everybody took from, no individual containers||Croissants – looked like they were left over from previous days||Tomatoes – were not sliced, but placed whole in a bowl everyday – why?||No olives, cucumbers or other fresh vegetables||Cake – left overs from the previous night’s dinner servings||A couple of dry breads in industrial paper wrappers||Scrambled eggs were removed 15 minutes every day before the end of breakfast? – why?||Etc. etc……a very poor showing||The hotel also falls down on the bathroom cosmetics – the only cosmetic apparent is cheap shampoo in cheap small envelopes. Soap quality is also very poor. Again, why?||It’s a pity that the hotel has to cheapen itself with the poor quality breakfast and cheap cosmetics. Regretfully, what could be a good 4 star hotel is unfortunately a 2.5...

We had a wonderful 3 night stay at the Parco Aurora. Couldn't ask for more - charming large hotel that felt small and cosy, located right on the coast overlooking the turquoise waters, pleasant 10-15 minute walk through the main shopping/restaurant streets from the port, 2 minutes from a public beach, and 10 minutes from the Aragon Castle. ||||A big bonus were the excellent thermal facilities - two main outdoor thermal swimming pools (one heated, one natural), and then a thermal wellness centre in the basement with various pools and wet and dry saunas. Perfect for April when the ocean is too cold for a swim.||||The rooms themselves aren't 5-star, but nor should they be for the great price we paid. There's always Capri if that's what you are looking for. They were spacious and functional with decent bathrooms, and even though ours was the cheapest it had a nice terrace overlooking the nextdoor hotel's pool and out to sea. ||||If you prefer a grander thermal experience, the hotel has an arrangement with one of the island's largest thermal parks (the name escapes me). You will get free entry and just pay the EUR5 ticket for the coach transfers.||||We only ate dinner at the hotel and can certainly recommend it - you get a huge antipasto buffet for entree (we would've been happy with that for our entire meal), plus a choice of 3 course set menus and a decent wine selection. Fantastic attentive service from the entire waitstaff too.||||The staff across the entire hotel were exceptionally good. The reception couldn't do enough to help and English was never a problem. They organised scooters to be dropped off at the hotel for us for the same price as the shops around the port too. Even the local old cleaning lady who couldn't speak a word of English somehow made us feel so welcome.||||All in all, this was a truly amazing find and will definitely be back next time...