Bougainvillea Relais Sorrento — Hotel in Sorrento

We had a pleasant stay after having issues in NAples and booking this last minute to get away from the unsafe area of Naples. However, 36 hours after leaving this hotel and in Rome we were contacted stating one of the 4 memory foam pillows were missing from the room. As we were at dinner we stepped outside to call the hotel to find out what in the world was going on. The first call was not answered. Moments later our call was returned but we were hung up on. So I called again and was immediately accused of steeling one of the four pillows. This woman was not allowing me to talk and kept talking over me. I tried to explain that we did not have her pillow nor do we have any desire to have one of her pillows, but most importantly after traveling through Italy for two weeks we simply did not have room in our luggage for one of her pillows.

In my life I have been called many things, but a thief is not one of them. Especially being a thief of a used hotel pillow which when thinking about it is kinda gross anyway. We were told we would be being charged for the pillow 30 Euros. We contacted our credit card company to find two charges from this place each for $48. Our credit card company closed the account and are reversing the charges.

Questions I have and were not answered.

Why was this pillow not discovered missing until 36 hours after we had checked out?

Who had access to this room in the 36 hours since we had checked out?

Why was the room not checked during check out? They have 4 rooms total and we were their only guests.

4. Why when the initial email stated they were charging us 30 Euro were two charges placed on our credit card for $48 each. One used hotel pillow for nearly $100? I know the conversion rate from euro to dollars and that does not add up.

5. why would we if thieves honestly tell this place upon check out that we used one of the waters left in the room and pay for this water to only then thieve a used pillow from them?

Attention future possible guests: this is not a hotel. It is an apartment they have turned into 4 small guest rooms. They are nice and comfortable. We had no issues until 36 hours after leaving and enjoying our time in Rome to be called thieves for a used hotel pillow. Furthermore we had to then spend time on our holiday canceling our credit card so this place could not continue to raise the price of their missing pillow and keep charging as they please. Very dishonest to wait a day and a half to accuse a guest of missing items when the guest has no recourse or anyway of dealing with this other than listening to them call us thieves. Also fraudulent to be charging anything they feel they want to charge to our credit card. Somehow they think the original 30 euros is equivalent to two charges of $48. Lastly the two charges they put through for this used pillow which is being rejected by our credit card company is more than we paid to stay the night. Seriously????

STAY CLEAR OF THIS...

We had the pleasure of staying at the Bourgainvillea Relais from the 28th to the 31st July. We were in Sorrento for our friends wedding so the location was not only perfect to get to the venue, but it was within walking distance to the town centre, the train station and the Port.

The owner Maria was in contact with us in the days leading up to our arrival which made us know that we were already in good hands. We already had a transfer from the airport, otherwise we would have taken her up on her offer to arrange the airport transfer. She also told us to WhatsApp her with our arrival and for anything we needed during our stay. We were greeted by the lovely Saman, who took us up to our room and made sure to show us everything and get us settled in.

Our room was perfectly clean, with tea and coffee facilities, a refrigerator with refreshments that were very reasonably priced. Our room had a very modern console that controlled the lighting and the shutter, much welcome air conditioning, WiFi, a smart television, wireless phone charger, space for our suitcase with room to hang our clothes. The bed was amazing! A memory foam mattress and memory pillows. Heaven. The balcony had a table and chairs with a canopy to provide much needed shade. It was overlooking the main road, but we loved watching the world go by and we couldn’t hear it when inside. We also had a lovely view of the hills. Our en suite was immaculately clean with a lovely shower and plenty of towels.

Maria asked what time we would like our breakfast and Saman brought in to our room to enjoy on the balcony. It’s a continental breakfast that had everything we needed to start our day. She asked what coffee we would prefer, so we enjoyed cappuccinos with fresh juice, fresh croissants, fresh donuts, with fruit, yoghurt and jams.

There is a laundry service provided, but we just wanted an iron to get some creases out of a linen shirt. Maria brought an iron and ironing board to us personally and due to the weather being very hot and humid, arranged a taxi to take us to the wedding venue. Maria is just a delight. So warm and friendly. Talking to her is like talking to an old friend. She gave us some recommendations for the rest of our stay and stayed in contact with us for the rest of our visit.

Due to our visit being short, we fully intend to return to Sorrento as there was so much that we wanted to see, but just didn’t have the time. We will most definitely be booking the Bourgainvillea...

Exceptional stay in Sorrento, at Bougainvillea Relais. Teresa was the perfect, attentive and caring host who wanted to ensure we made the most of a 6 day visit. All of her recommendations (food, excursions, sights) were spot on - and she was in touch via WhatsApp throughout to provide any help needed.

Our room was very clean and comfortable with daily service like a hotel. Breakfast was yummy - with homemade croissants and cakes from Teresa's family bakery, which we enjoyed on the balcony, watching Sorrento come to life in the morning. (We also did a private gelato class with her at her gelataria which is 100% worth it for great tips on making gelato at home).

There's parking available on site but, having hired a car, we found the easiest way to get around was either by public transport or booked excursions. You'd spend hours looking for parking in the tourist spots on the Amalfi Coast - so wouldn't recommend driving yourselves.

For food, definitely try La Cantinaccia del Popolo right outside the villa - Teresa's recommendation and the best steak we've had in years. Go early, though - or be happy queuing! For traditional pizza, we had a great one at La Lanterna - or for the best foccacia in town, Storico8 in the Old Town. And, finally, don't leave without trying out Bougainvillea's awesome gelato selection - quite literally...