Continental — Hotel in Santa Margherita Ligure

Response to the Hotel Continental’s Reply:

Hotel Continental,

Your response is a disappointing example of deflection and avoidance. Instead of taking responsibility for the appalling conditions my family and I endured during our stay in June 2024, you’ve chosen to mischaracterize my claims, discredit me as a guest, and even threaten legal action.

Let me address your points directly: Bedbug Issue: While you claim no evidence of bedbugs was found after my report, this does not negate the physical proof I provided, including photos, videos, and documentation of my children’s bites. Other guests at your hotel corroborated similar experiences during our stay, which your team has also chosen to ignore. Your so-called “thorough inspection” does not invalidate what we endured. My Initial Positive Review: I initially described your service as “amazing” during my stay, prior to discovering the bedbug issue. Once we identified the problem and experienced your staff’s dismissive, unprofessional handling of it, my opinion changed drastically. Providing initial praise does not absolve you of responsibility for the issues that followed. Unpaid Balance Allegation: Your accusation that I refused to settle the bill at check-out is both false and defamatory. I have been actively disputing the charges with American Express due to the poor conditions and lack of resolution on your part. Disputing a charge for legitimate reasons is a lawful consumer right, not fraud. Your Approach to Customer Service: Rather than resolving this matter amicably by crediting me for a stay that was clearly unacceptable, you’ve chosen to tarnish my name publicly. This behavior further demonstrates why your claims of “valuing guest feedback” and “maintaining high standards” are hollow and misleading.

Let me be clear: this is not about a credit card dispute or false accusations. It is about accountability. The documentation I’ve provided is evidence enough that the experience at your hotel was far below acceptable standards, and I will continue to pursue justice until this matter is resolved.

To potential future guests: think carefully before booking at Hotel Continental. While the location may be beautiful, this hotel’s lack of integrity, accountability, and professionalism in handling guest concerns should make you reconsider.

Sincerely, Joseph Bograd

I would strongly caution anyone considering a stay at the Continental Hotel in Santa Margarita. During our stay in June, my family and I experienced an appalling situation where my children were severely bitten by bedbugs. This was verified at the time, and we promptly brought it to the hotel’s attention.

Instead of addressing the matter professionally, the hotel staff has repeatedly denied the issue, claiming there were no bedbugs. This is a blatant lie, as we documented the bites and even spoke to other guests with similar experiences. Their refusal to take accountability and the dismissive manner in which they’ve handled our claim is unacceptable and shows a complete disregard for their guests’ health and well-being.

If you value cleanliness, honesty, and your family’s safety, avoid this hotel at all costs. There are plenty of other places that value their guests and uphold basic standards of hygiene and hospitality. The Continental Hotel is not...

My husband and I have been traveling around Italy for the past three months, as we do every year, staying exclusively in suites at every hotel we visit. While the suite here is new, clean, and with a beautiful view, for a rate of over €1,000 per night there are several aspects that I find completely unacceptable for a hotel of this level:

Lack of water replenishment We only received complimentary water on the first day, and it was never replenished. At this price point, bottled water should be restocked daily. In our previous hotel in Milan—which was significantly less expensive—we had water everywhere: in the gym, at the pool, in the lobby, and refilled in our room every morning and evening.

No coffee machine in the suite We were surprised not to find a coffee machine with pods. Only American coffee via a kettle was provided, which feels far below standard for a suite at this price.

Courtesy transport to Portofino Considering the hotel is a 10–15 minute drive from Portofino, a courtesy car or shuttle service should be offered to guests—especially suite guests.

Policies vs. perceived value While I dont understand but respect certain Italian norms—such as additional costs for spas and pools—not including water or a coffee machine in the suite feels unacceptable for a property in this category. In addition, charging extra for eggs after paying over €1,000 a night is, if you ask me, nothing short of robbery.

I truly believe that hotel owners in Italy should travel to other countries to see how luxury hotels are run—in particular, Dubai. If you want to charge the same rates as truly world-class hotels, you must also deliver the same level of service and amenities. What upsets me most is that while guests are charged luxury rates, I am quite certain the staff are paid well below what they deserve and are not given the recognition their hard work merits.

During lunch today, my husband and I were dining at the restaurant, and I believe I saw the owner nearby with her family. I was tempted to share my thoughts directly but did not want to disturb her. I sincerely hope she will take this feedback constructively.

On a positive note, the hospitality staff alone were truly outstanding. The kitchen, the restaurant team, the breakfast staff, and the bistro crew at the beach were the only parts of this hotel that delivered exceptional, professional, and genuinely warm service. Their efforts were the highlight of our stay.

I sincerely hope the owner recognizes how important this team is and ensures they are looked after. They are the heart of the hotel.

To be honest, while we often return to places we love, I am not certain we would return here under current conditions. If we did—and it is a very big “if”—it would be 100% because of the incredible hospitality staff, not because of the amenities or management policies.

This hotel has the potential to be truly world-class, and I hope this feedback helps guide improvements that future guests will benefit...

We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Continental. We're an American couple in our 30s and we stayed here for three nights in July. The hotel had a very nice breakfast on their terrace restaurant that had a great view of the sea. We also really enjoyed the swimming area. It was beautiful and very private. Please note that you will be charged every day for beach chairs but it was worth it to swim there. The swimming area also had a beautiful restaurant and bar where you can order drinks to take to your chair or enjoy drinks, coffee, or lunch with a beautiful view of the sea. We also went to the spa. It was very relaxing. The sauna and steam room are coed and overlook the sea as well. There is also a very nice infinity pool. The fitness center was good, but not great for American standards. But it was clean and had a decent amount of fitness equipment, and there was water available.|The location of the hotel is convenient for walking into the town center of Santa Margherita as well as the train station (you'll need to walk up the hill with cobblestone streets so keep this in mind. I wish we had brought smaller suitcases, but at least they had wheels.)|The grounds were also beautifully landscaped. The air conditioning in our room worked very well, which was a blessing because the heat was intense during our visit. We didn't try the restaurant for dinner so I can't speak to that.|If we returned to this area, I would definitely stay in this hotel again. Clean, comfortable, and beautiful. I only gave four stars for some very picky reasons. There was no coffee or kettle in the room. And I felt like the beach chairs shouldn’t have cost an extra 50 euros.|It was also really convenient that the hotel stored our luggage for us when we arrived. We walked around town for an hour or two and then our room was ready. And on the day that we checked out, they also stored our luggage and we were able to swim and use the pool and have lunch at the outdoor restaurant until our next...