Grand Hotel La Pace — Hotel in Sant'Agnello

This hotel was selected for us by Tui as part of a package tour and was supposed to be "of 4* quality or above". I would not describe this hotel as 4* and I have since discovered they consider themselves to be 5* which would be utterly ridiculous. It's on a par with a basic Travel Lodge. I'd say Premier Inn is better than this hotel. The Hilton we stayed in at the uk airport was head and shoulders above this hotel.

Positives: The room was cleaned well, good air con, bed comfortable, mini fridge, good shower, reception staff generally helpful, extra pillows in the wardrobe, very drinkable water from the tap; we drank it all week without ill effects.

Negatives that reduce the star rating: No tea and coffee facilities in room. Ask for these immediately and they'll give them to you without argument. For 5*, they should be there without asking. Tiled flooring in the bedrooms but no slippers (or gowns) provided. Take your own slippers or flip flops to avoid slipping accidents. Tiles also create a lot of noise from neighbouring rooms when other guests and housekeeping drag the wooden legged chairs around the rooms. Only one working electrical socket to charge devices. It was a job to charge both phones, power banks and my partner's vape from one socket especially considering the set up is one where you need your keycard inserted into a slot to switch on the electricity in your room. We were only given one key so forget trying to charge things whilst you are out of the room having food or in the bar. I'm pretty sure the electricity to the mini fridge was going off whenever you left the room too as nothing got very cold in there. I recommend not putting perishable food in it! The TV was old and only freeview apparent to us. BBC World Service was the only channel available in English. I appreciate we were in Itlay and we didn't watch much TV but the point is, this is a 5* hotel. Where are the pay per view movies, the music channels or the ability to connect your phone to the TV to stream something? We'd have bought a movie or two in English over the course of our stay if it had been on offer. The shop in the lobby sells a few essentials like toothpaste and sanitary products but I only saw it open twice for short periods in the whole week. Nowhere in the hotel can you buy a bottle of water, a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar before you head out on your guided tour of the day. The hotel are missing a trick here. They could make a lot of money from the tourists selling a few drinks and snacks to take with you. The opening hours of the pool roof bar were wonky. It was still fully booked and hot hot hot in September yet they were closing the roof bar and making you go down to the inside bar by 8pm anyway despite the advertised closing time of midnight. And the truly biggest issue they have is the restaurant. Anyone who says the food is good... I don't know what they are normally eating. My partner and I agreed it was the worst food we'd ever experienced. We stopped eating there by day 3 even though we'd already paid for it. I took to eating a big lunch and skipping the dinner I'd paid for... It was that bad. I knew we'd have a set dinner as part of the Tui tour, but it never occurred to me that the set buffet would be all they served. I thought there'd be other guests who'd booked the hotel normally and there would be a menu, but no. They only cater to tour groups, there is no menu, you have to eat the buffet. The food at my office canteen in the UK is 10 times better. The food is not 5, it's not even 1. It's inedible. Breakfast is not much better. By day 2 I realised I could only really manage toast or cereal. Anything they've "cooked" is diabolical. Even the pastries are the type you buy from the cash and carry - tasteless cardboard. Nothing is prepared by a chef. I feel that the waiting staff are nice people but there's something not right about the way things are managed. They all seem so sad and very tense when certain, more senior staff members are around. The atmosphere was...

We stayed for seven nights, all inclusive with Jet2 from the UK. Overall it's a perfect place if you want a quiet break and like self service buffet food. Our room on the 5th floor had the 'garden view', which is a really spectacular view of the hills. Lower floors would not get this view however. From the front of the hotel you can see Vesuvius in the distance and the buildings going down to the coast. There is a free bus that regularly goes into Sorrento. We walked it regularly, it's about a mile. I recommend you look at a local map and avoid the busy main road (cross it and go parallel nearer the sea), for a safer, quieter journey. The hotel is very clean and well looked after. As others have commented, it's not a five star hotel, but it has high quality marbles and gold finishes that make it look like opulence from the late 1960s. But this is Italy where there are many cultural differences, so me nothing at all to complain about. Our room had a tiled floor with a large king bed which was on the firmer side. There was plenty of room for cases and three chairs. The air conditioning seemed to be locked at 16C, but we were able to cool the room by opening the large doors. The pool has decent sun loungers around it and a bar area. It was quiet with no music playing. Not a great view but not overlooked. Drink choices are limited to one type of red and white wine, one prosecco, peroni beer and cocktail choices. There is an upcharge for premium brands. It is unlimited all day. Breakfast was the same every day with cereals and juices, bacon and egg, toast. Continental breakfast of cheese and ham, cakes and buns were also available. We made a packed lunch and the staff provided us a carryout bag. The evening choices changed every day, a different soup every day. For mains one fish and two meat choices along with three pastas or rice. There was a large selection of cold vegetables and salad. Dessert choices were three cakes or profiteroles. After 7 days, I was starting to tire of the format, but overall I enjoyed the meal each night. It's a great spot to go hiking from. Very hilly, but excellent views and quieter towns are accessible. There is a Sant Agnello train station that gets you to Pompeii. Buses from Sorrento go along the Amalfi Coast to Positano and Amalfi. We really enjoyed our 7 day break at La Pace and would recommend it for a quiet sightseeing, pool and...

This hotel was chosen by our tour operator TUI. When you first enter the hotel it certainly has a 5 star wow factor and the check in and porter service certainly support this. Now for the however! The rooms are very dated, with no kettle to make tea and coffee. The mini bar was empty apart for a bottle of mineral water and we had to leave a daily note for more water each day. The towels are really age worn and thin and as a five hotel we expected bathroom robes and slippers. The bathroom and bedroom were rather tired and ready for an upgrade. The wardrobe door had come off the runners and impossible to open. On the plus side the bedroom was a good size with a separate seating area and great views of the hills and a ruined barn with bats flying around at night. The first evening meal was a bizarre experience and didn't bode well for the rest of the week. We were directed by the Maitra D' to sit with another couple for our evening meal. However, the couple didn't want anyone to sit with them, and rightly so, we too didn't want to share a table, either. After a heated exchange with the Maitra D' and a threat to report this to TUI and a walk out, he agreed to sit us at another table. The bizarre thing was that there were over twenty free tables available but we were not allowed to sit at them.!!! I can only assume the Maitra D' had been instructed by TUI to try and sit us all together as a group. The restaurant was a very strange experience. It had a great selection of hot and cold buffet food areas, which were situated in a separate room about 50 - 60 feet from our table. This meant at breakfast you had to make two or three trips to get your cereal, toast and or cooked breakfast, probably walking two or three hundred feet. Not good when carrying hot soup at the evening meal. After a week of the same old food we were ready to leave. I've had better at a Premier Inn in the UK. As for the waiters, all they did was clear the tables; as soon as you had cleared your plate it was whisk away. They constantly hovered over the tables ready to pounce. Some of the staff look absolutely miserable and were unsmiling. I can only assume they had been instructed not to interact with diners, but please, being waited on by Gru and the Addams family is not my idea of a friendly service. I doubt very much we will be staying there again in the future and certainly won't be...