Relais Regina Giovanna — Hotel in Sorrento

In ancient times Relais was the post office where people stopped to rest in the middle of a long journey.

The Relais Regina Giovanna is essentially a unique and exclusive place, in which relax body and mind.

The "green" structure promotes low environmental impact ethics in respect of the ecosystem, paying a lot of attention to principles such as reduction and recycling, water and energy saving. If, as me, respect and protection of the environment are among the causes that are most important to you, the Relais is the perfect solution !!

This premise will help you understand the choice made by the property and be lenient on any misunderstandings and / or shortcomings that will probably be due to the difficult period we are all facing.

To better appreciate the Relais you must always look at the glass half full !! Crossing the gate, you will be catapulted into a suggestive place of an extra-luxury resort. But you must immediately ask yourself what luxury really is ... For me, luxury must be sought in something that is worth a lot and only a minority of people who have sensitivity and nobility of soul can afford it.

And here is the luxury I found at the Relais: A breathtaking view of the Gulf of Naples that will make you feel tiny in front of such brazen beauty and you will immediately fall in love especially if you admire it at night. hectares of land belonging to the relais converted into a park, farm and breeding farm treated with biological methods. Walking among the olive trees, meditating in silence, tasting a tomato or a fig while keep going, simply cleaning it with your hands because nothing chemical has been used, but only the result of the skilful work of the peasant ladies. Go down to the sea in a private cove that looks almost like a fjord. Dine under a pergola surrounded by lemon trees and flowers with the sun trying in every way to get in to warm the soul of those who stop there. Doesn’t it seem enought? In all this there is the staff of the Relais who will discreetly try to satisfy all requests and overcome all the inconveniences that country life entails. The girls at the reception will always welcome you with a big smile and will be available for any need. I recommend that you take a walk to enjoy the unexpected corners that will give you a different perspective on the gulf ... but if you have relaxed too much, you will always have an electric kart available for moving around the property (don’t touch the electric scooter that belongs to the Captain !! 😁) We are in a farm on the sea, never forget it during your stay, so there are hardworking ants with whom you can live peacefully with a little attention !! There is dust, yes in the countryside there is dust !! So a little patience because water, which is scarce in the summer months, is used to water the fields !! The cove should be spartan and instead Fulvio and his staff bend over backwards to give you maximum comfort with a well-organized beach bar ... In the evening you can have a romantic candlelit dinner ... no lights are needed, you are in a safe place and on your plate you will find only organic and delicious products. The very young and talented chefs are always available for any request .... obviously just ask kindly and don't expect everything to be perfect !! ... so if there is no fork or bread at the table or you want an off-menu dish ... just ask ... a no-stress environment requires no-stress guests 😄

Having said that your eco-sustainable holiday begins by choosing this relais ... mine for the second consecutive year ended a few days ago !!! I am attaching some photos to remove any doubts about the validity of the place 😉

Enjoy !!!! and before writing any reviews remember: Critics are men who watch a battle from a high place then come down and shoot the...

We stayed 4 nights in this delightful place with Vicenzo and Lucia. They have an organic garden growing all kinds of things from the beautiful lemon grove, olive trees, figs, peaches, plums and all manner of green leaves, tomatoes, sweetcorn... and chickens...||||They are very proud of their garden and produce - we tasted several of their gifts of produce and each delighted more than the previous!||||The access to the apartment is very narrow - great if you have a smart car or something quite skinny to drive - we managed with great care to get a Fiat 500 down but it was a bit traumatic! So ideal for the fitter traveller or mopeds!||||The narrow road is actually roman and it leads to a secluded cove and a great restaurant with lido and acess to the sea for swimming. It is a pleasant walk and although steep when coming back up the hill - it is worth it when you get there!||||The accomodation does need improvements for most travellers... having said this whenever we discovered something wasn't there - it was provided from the family house. ||||I suggest if you think 'glamping' rather than a smart apartment you might be about right. ||||The apartment is part of the basement of the main house, it is simply furnished with a large bed, wardrobe, bedside units and an en suite shower room. It has a little kitchenette with large fridge and cooker operated by a gas bottle, sink and drainer. The kitchen utensils are basic as are the cooking pans - however they all did their job perfectly well... things don't need to be shiny and new to work! Providing a tea towel and cleaning cloths / washing up liquid would be appreciated by guests...||||The bathroom needed a new shower caddy/ shelf, bath mat and towels [we had to buy a towel!] it also would have been a good idea to supply a floor mop to keep the water off the floor. The shower was adequate and if you needed hot showers it was possible if you ran the shower for about 10 minutes... none of the fittings were new, but as mentioned before they were clean and they worked. ||||There was a faint damp smell when we arrived but it went away after the doors had been opened up and the room was allowed to air! it is an old building and it is underneath the owners home, it is also backed onto from the rear by a very old store area [we guess quite old original part of the building] so if you keep 'glamping' in mind and like a little history - it is easy to forgive this... The air conditioning unit and the telly didn't work - telly we weren't bothered about but the air con would have been nice!||||Why do I recommend this place - well the terrace and the whole view of Naples Bay, Sorrento and Vesuvius sort of won my heart... as did the garden and the freedom to roam it afforded by our lovely hosts who had made us feel totally welcome... we both sat obe evening and decided what wouyld make a real difference would be to create a 'yurt' adjacent to the terrace, with a sunset view, access to the already built outdoor kitchen - all they would need to add would be a toilet... then it would truly be glamping... we sat out there until very late just enjoying the tranquility and smells of the garden, looking at twinkling lights around the bay and hearing the occasional rustle in the olive grove... not sure what that was.... but it was below us so we were ok!||||The price was very reasonable considering this was July....||||PS - if you have a car, negotiate with the parking people at the top of the road and you can get covered parking with security gate for a few Euros a day... that is where our little Fiat...

We’ve been touring around Italy and were looking forward to some down time here with its private beach cove. And it was beautiful- the cove (lovely staff down there), the farm with its lemon groves and scented garden. A chance to take a breath from busy Sorrento. |Unfortunately that’s where the compliments end. We had our dog and so were assigned an apartment in a separate block to the main hotel that was in a sorry state- more 2 star than the purported 4. There were hastily over-painted damp patches in the rooms, no wifi except in one area of the apartment (where we all huddled nightly to connect), tiling and grouting in the bathroom was mouldy and the general feel was of a tired, neglected outhouse. If you provide a kitchenette in the apartment it surely has to have usable basic utensils/ pots and be clean? ||I tend to be an optimist about surroundings and want things to work out so was prepared to overlook the poor quality of the accommodation. Simple can be beautiful if it’s clean and cared for. But the fatigue in the interiors and exteriors too (the farm was clearly in need of staff as dozens of lemons lay rotting on the ground, vegetable garden areas were sadly unkempt with plump tomatoes again left to rot in clumps on the ground) was matched by the staff and how they treated us and that was truly unacceptable. ||We have never been to a hotel in Italy where the sheer disinterest and lack of care from the staff was so evident. Morning breakfast became a trial as we’d have to get up and ask for a coffee as we were never greeted and welcomed to a table for our order to be taken. Or they’d forget to bring you salt, or it would take quarter of an hour for a fried egg to arrive. The staff barely smiled and it felt that they too were tired/ fed up and unwilling to care about their guests. My teenagers stopped coming in the end. The buffet breakfast was average- if you didn’t get there early, food wouldn’t be replenished so the fruit bowl for instance would have two browning bananas and a few bruised soft fruit by 9am. The sweet/ pastry areas were often crawling with ants (which happens in hot countries, but it’s simple to wipe down)breakfast crockery was chipped and dirty- looking, and over the 10 days we were there, variety was poor. A welcoming ‘Buongiorno!’, a smile and attentiveness to our requests for coffee or juice would have made such a difference to how the day began.||One last thing! They offer a free shuttle service into Sorrento in an MPV. One night, the driver refused to take us back to the hotel stating his shift had ended. I showed him the confirmation of the booking and after an angry call back to reception he resentfully herded us into the car. He then drove at breakneck speed (we’re used to the Italian drivers of the Amalfi Coast but this was something else) and my kids were so scared on the journey back, we had to close our eyes at points. I spoke to reception and there was no apology for an errror that wasn’t ours and the result which was dangerous driving intended to upset / scare us.||It could (um, should) have been a beautiful experience. The Relais need to self-reflect on what they wish their guests to feel and experience during their stay. A refresh of the accommodation to create clean, inviting spaces is desperately necessary. All so disappointing I’m afraid-...