Palazzo Caracciolo Naples — Hotel in Naples

Where do I start? We got many warnings about Rome, but not one warning about Naples. Our trip was two weeks, four cities. We felt Naples was the dirtiest, least friendly and most unsafe feeling city we visited. This hotel, most of the front desk staff was rude with very few exceptions. They spoke little English and seemed to only be nice to other Italians. The building itself is very pretty, but it’s old and unkept. It’s a very sketchy area, walking from the train station we were completely flabbergasted. If I was alone I would have felt very unsafe walking from the train to this hotel. At check in, they told us not to go near the train station in the evening. They did give us some great restaurant recommendations, things to do. Our room was cute, it’s just a place to sleep and we aren’t picky. After the initial shock wore off we started noticing a bit more. The walls had black marks, the wall above the door was cracking, the safe didn’t work, the mini fridge was cool at best, and the A/C didn’t work. We tried to relax, got into bed that night and were making the best of it. About an hour later, my husband decided he couldn’t sleep without A/C and went to the front desk. Apparently, the A/C doesn’t start until May 1st. We encountered this at a hotel in Florence but they gladly switched it over early knowing the heat was coming. They offered to upgrade our room to see if that helped. Our new room was huge, we passed out and figured we would deal with the front desk in the morning. They had a conference that evening, and until 2am we heard them taking down the equipment and resetting the courtyard. In the morning we realized the SUBWAY RUNS DIRECTLY UNDER the building & starts first thing in the morning. It is worse then staying under an airport, but at least most of those hotels provide earplugs. We noticed our new room also had a barely cool fridge, no A/C, and a toilet that didn’t flush. This room was however more polished, nice white walls and a comfortable bed/pillows. We discussed this all with the front desk, they offered us 20% off our stay (employee discount), fixed the toilet, and although they knew the day was going to be hot we were without A/C. They did assure us that there were no more conferences for the weekend, which was good. The breakfast was ok, the breakfast staff was rude unless you speak Italian. If your debating this hotel, I would say look closer to the water. Or better yet, take the water ferry and stay in Sorrento. We LOVED Sorrento. Naples did have great pizza & the underground tour was fascinating. Other then that, we found Naples and this hotel lacking. I honestly think they dislike tourists, which is interesting in a area that could benefit greatly from more tourists. As we left two people from the front desk told us that the airport is a flat 20 euro fee. We spent literally every last euro, at the airport the fact demanded 25 euros. He then showed us a paper that said 22.5 euros. We dug through all our bags, I think we have him 21.5 euros and called it good. I have contacted the hotel directly and the ACCOR Hotel company numerous times since our arrival home. We are waiting to see the 20% off credit reflected on our bank statements and/or any acknowledgment what so ever. I gave them 3 days to respond via email, I have been researching the complaints against this company and hotel are lengthy. I’m not sure how we overlooked it, but for your own safety and sanity DO...

We were tricked by the name Sofitel. This is definitely not a Sofitel! And it does not deserve that association.

First things first, the service: whenever we came into the hotel or left the hotel, or went to breakfast, we were never greeted. No one said hello or welcomed us.

The service at breakfast was especially terrible. We were completely ignored by all the of the staff. No one came up to us at all to ask us what coffee we wanted. We had to continually wave to people to ask them for service. I am fine with that happening at a restaurant, but at a 4 star hotel at breakfast when there is hardly any customers and we are told you have to order cappuccinos or espressos - you don't expect to have to hunt down a waiter who is just standing there. Whereas, all the single old men by themselves were being crowded by waiters and being attended on hand and foot. The only thing we can imagine is: if you're a single old man on holiday, this is the best hotel for you - you will be treated like a king.

Breakfast: there was barely anything to make this a buffet. The selection was bare. We have stayed at other hotels in Italy and other Sofitel's and compared to this, the selection was absolutely abysmal. Furthermore, the coffee was also terrible. Which was surprising considering it is in Italy, where they have amazing coffee! Not only this, at two points during the week instead of potatoes - french fries were served at breakfast. FRENCH FRIES. Again, we are in a 4 star hotel, seemingly associated with Sofitel, in Italy, a place with amazing food - and the breakfast selection is french fries.

The spa: you have to pay for it and it's not open on weekends. There's a jacuzzi on the roof but it's really hard to find - there are absolutely no signs to where it is. We had to go down to reception twice to ask them where it was. When we got there, the water of the jacuzzi is green and the place is abandoned.

The rooms: the rooms are tiny, the photos are misleading. The only good thing was the air conditioning. There is no kettle or opportunity to make yourself a coffee or tea. The doors also do not close properly. At one point when in the shower, someone knocked on our door and told us that our door was open - despite visibly looking closed to us.

The noise: during our stay, two events took place late into the night. With singing, loud music and loud noise - we could hear this well past 1am...

We booked a Junior King Suite Duplex and the photos are different from reality. If you look at the photos in Booking the size of the bathroom is half of what’s posted. We booked the room because the photos on booking gave the impression of a spacious room that is one level. The loft style room we got is tight, the bed is not King sized & creaks loudly each time I get on it and AC wasn’t working. The service person came quick when we called and fixed it. AC turned off in the middle of the night. We turned it off and on and it worked again. The stairs creaks so something to consider for light sleepers.

We asked for a new room and since tonight the hotel is full they said we could go down tomorrow. And reception said they will give us a one level room so there is no risk of my son or I falling down the stairs when we use the bathroom at night. I really hope they deliver. I’ll update this post as our trip progresses.

The one thing we appreciate is how warm and nice the staff have been.

UDPATE: the morning reception said there is no more one level room but they have a slightly bigger loft so we will check it out in a bit.

We checked the bigger loft and I would have liked to move there even with the less nice view but the sound proofing of the window was not as good as the first so we decided to stay in the smaller loft.

I appreciate that they offered a bigger room and added a topper to the fold out bed to make me comfortable. I slept much better after.

The AC is working fine, the bed is creaking less and we’ve gotten used to the stairs.

My son woke up with allergies today. I suspect it’s because he loves to go to the window. It’s the tallest windows in any hotel we’ve stayed in and has the tallest curtains which must not be the easiest to clean. It is a palace after all.

We ate in the restaurant on our first night. I don’t recommend the margherita pizza nor the pomodoro. It supposedly had grana padano which is what we use at home but I couldn’t taste it in the dish. I hope they can improve these. The rest were good...