Hotel Bristol — Hotel in Sorrento

When you arrive here, your cases are wisked from the coach and deposited in your room; that is a clue what is to come. This hotel is all about top drawer service. A little about the location first, it's on a main road which takes you down into the tourist part of Sorrento in about 15 minutes. The road is busy, but you have pavements to walk on. I didn't appreciate how good this was until we spoke to other couples on a Tui trip who were staying further up the hillside and had to rely on hotel transport to get into Sorrento, so a real plus. The views from our room and also bars / dining rooms is spectacular, looking down over the town and bay. The hotel communal areas are beautifully decorated and have flowering orchids everywhere. You really feel like you are in a special place. The reception is on hand 24 hours a day should you need their help. The restaurant is organised by a head waiter and lots of willing, immaculately dressed staff who can not do enough for you. Even at breakfast, you can order fresh eggs and bacon to your table; the bacon is good, too. There is ample choice for everyone to be happy. At the evening meal you choose from a menu which changes daily. The food is good quality and plentiful. 4 courses if you can manage it; we couldn't. The bar upstairs is one of the best I have experienced. The prices are fine and no different from less quality establishments in Sorrento. Italy is not the cheapest place in Europe. We had two medium ice creams in Sorrento, which came to 23 euros! That was pretty standard in the town. Whereas a gin & tonic in the hotel is a mere 11.5 euro. We tried a few trips during our stay, the first a ferry ride up the coast to Potistano. We had wanted to go to Capri but had heard horror stories from other guests as to how ridiculously crowded it was. It must have been bad because when we stepped off the ferry in Potistano, you could hardly move for the number of tourists. The small streets of the town simply couldn't cope with the numbers. A real shame and we were glad to escape. Luckily Sorrento doesn't have the same problem. We also tried the Tui trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum. This is a must....magical. Tiring in the heat but worth the effort. Our guide was brilliant. Back to the hotel, we stayed the last week in September and were surprised how hot it was. Every day hit 29! Which brings me on to the pool. Its massive! It's surrounded by plenty of quality sun lounges. We usually went after lunch and there was plenty of spare capacity. Our room was fully tiled, which kept it cool as well as being good on the eye. The maid worked hard and provided fresh towels daily as well as leaving it spotlessly clean. The bed was super comfy, too. No matter what, you set the air conditioning to whilst you in the room, as soon as you leave and takeout the smart key, it's over ridden by the hotel itself; so on your return it's super chilled. Something we were pleased with. All in all, if you decide to stay here, you will not be disappointed. We look forward to our...

August 2013 We have just returned from a fortnight at the Hotel Bristol in Sorrento. We were a family of 5 - 2 adults and 3 boys aged 12,13 and 14. We had to accept the half board option offered by Thompson for this hotel and we were a little apprehensive as to what to expect. We were pleased to see that the menu changed daily with set options on offer as well. The food was freshly prepared and with generous proportions and generally to a quite high standard - considering they were catering for virtually all the hotel guests. This is the most i've seen my boys ever eat on holiday! The location was ideal. A gentle 10 minute stroll down the hill and you were in the heart of Sorrento. Just beware if you have young children as the footpath is narrow and the road is quite busy with hot headed Italians driving on this road! We had a room overlooking the Bay and Vesuvius looming in the background. There was a small balcony and although we were perched above that infamous road - the road noise wasn't too obtrusive. The second room didn't have a balcony- but was very comfortable. The staff were exemplary. Mateo -the Maitre'D and all his restaurant staff were always meticulously dressed with the old fashioned manners and attention to detail that was just fitting to the overall style of the hotel. The hotel itself was well appointed, clean and furnished to a high standard. The pool was a good size and a real joy to cool off in in the heat. Although the hotel seemed quite busy - you could always find a lounger by the pool. There were also plenty of lounge areas to cool off in and keep out of the searing sun. The gardens too were well attended with areas to sit in under the trees away from the pool.The views from virtually every window were stunning- i've lost count of how many photos i've taken from various viewpoints! The evenings were often spent after dinner relaxing on the terrace bar overlooking the Bay of Salerno and Mount Vesuvius and fireworks going off in the Bay...stunning against that backdrop! We had a couple issues with the room - air conditioning leaking, ants crawling through the vents..... but all were dealt with promptly and efficiently. We decided to stay for 2 weeks as we wanted to pack in all the usual haunts- Pompei, Herculaneum, Amalfi coast drive, Naples, Capri and Positano with rest days at the hotel. This worked out beautifully for us. We booked all the tours independantly -not through Thompson. We usually book BandB Hotels to give ourselves the flexibility over meals. But this was not a problem as the Hotel food was so good and we could switch the evening meal for lunch allowing us to go into Sorrento for dinner. Overall we would recommend this hotel very highly and although the package we booked through Thompsons was not particularly cheap - we had a wonderful time and felt it was worth...

Nice hotel, great location, pity I couldn't use the pool though

We stayed there for a week at the end of September. The location of the hotel is superb, with all (I believe) rooms having a view of the bay of Naples, Sorrento and Vesuvius.

Our room on the 9th floor was a bit of a trek from reception and involved two separate elevator trips which was a pain. Ask for a room on floors 5-7, not 1 to 4 as constant outside traffic is very noisy

The room was spacious, with balcony, and enough room for 2 chairs and table. It had everything you needed for a comfortable stay. King size bed, good bathroom with bath, safe, tea/coffee making facilities, however you have to pay for the tea and coffee sachets! A small fridge with enough room for a botlle of water or two. TV set with some english speaking news channels. Housekeeping did a great job there twice daily.

The restaurant is nicely appointed and the food ranged from really bad, to good, however some staff in the restaurant are excellent, very professional and attentive. Others are rude and condescending. There is an OK breakfast buffet. Tea/Coffee and if you like plate of eggs they get served to the table.

The bar is also nicely appointed, with a surrounding outdoor terrace, with chairs and tables for outdoor imbibing! Staff there are excellent, and the barman does fabulous cocktails. You've got to try the Harvey Wallbanger, or the Sour with Jameson Whiskey. It is a 10 minute brisk downhill walk to the beginning of Corso Italia (the main pedestrianised shopping street), and about 5 mins more to Piazza Tasso, the main square. There is a bus stop outside the hotel and tickets for this can be purchased at reception. The bus trip would take no more than 5 minutes.

There is a nice terrace on 7th floor full of easy chairs and couches, and this is partially covered, the perfect spot for relaxing, reading or just admiring the view. Wifi in the hotel is free and the quality of it is good.

I would have given the hotel a 5 rating if I could have used the pool, however, sadly this was not to be. The pool was absolutely freezing, and I am an avid swimmer, would normally swim twice a day, but on this 7 day holiday I could only manage two very chiily dips because the pool was so cold.

I was told, and I quote "that our pool is heated and it is regulated on 26° unfortunately last week, due to an unexpected temperature lowering all over the region ,it effected badly the pool temperature" You would expect in any decent hotel that if the temperature drops, then you crank up the heating in the freezing pool.

Would I go back - NO. Plenty of great hotels...