Grand Hotel Cocumella

For starters, the service at the Grand Hotel Cocumella is a 6+, the grounds are lovely at least a 5, but the room/sleeping experience was a 2, if I'm being generous. The room itself could use some sprucing up, but for a hotel that age it was forgivable. What was NOT OKAY was that we had a front facing room, the air conditioning did not work and it was pretty warm weather, so we had no choice but to leave the window open, and it was LOUD. Unbelievably loud. Jackhammer/leaf blower/Indy 500 loud. The road fronting the hotel is extremely busy all night long, with a preponderance of muffler-less scooters and trucks. Also, the location is somewhat inconvenient. It's a long walk from downtown and the shuttle ceases running at 9:00 p.m.. Huh??? Italians don't even sit down to dinner until then! Combine that with the mind-exploding costs of Sorrento taxis and it makes this hotel location less than ideal.

We used the hotel as a base to explore the area and it is well situated to reach all the big sites Vesuvio, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, Ravello, Positano, Amalfi etc. Sorrento itself is also a lovely town. Two things are special about this hotel - firstly the staff. They couldn’t be friendlier, or more helpful, the service was simy excellent from every department. The second is the location - gardens are beautiful, views of the Bay are idyllic and the ability to sea swim was a delight. As to the food, the breakfasts were excellent with a wide range of produce and fresh food. The pool side restaurant served both salads and pizzas which were highly enjoyable. In the evening, we tried both main restaurants but Coku was the clear winner (recommend the tasting menu), whereas the main restaurant was good, rather than outstanding. As much as I loved this hotel and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it, I didn’t use 5 stars as the physical environment is a little tired and dated. If you want shiny and new, you will be disappointed, I would characterise the hotel as ‘fading elegance but full of charm’.

If you're looking for a warm, luxurious old school hotel with charactar where the staff makes you feel like family then this is the place. It is quiet and definitely not a scene but perfectly positioned to enjoy the sights in Sorrento, Naples / Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. It's rooms are extremely comfortable, the food is amazing, the gardens are beautiful, the pool is huge, the views of the sea are spectacular and they event have a dock / small beach but what REALLY makes this place special are it's staff. They are warm, welcoming and go the extra mile for their guests. I really can't praise them enough. They made our initial stay so good that after a few nights in Ravello we chose to return to the hotel to celebrate my wife's birthday instead of staying somewhere new. We left feeling like we were part of some sort of family and can't wait to visit again. We are fortunate that we have experienced many luxury hotels around the world but only a few stick in our memory. This is one of them.

Very nice place but a four star hotel:…Lovely grounds and spacious junior suite oftset by 1.smoke wafting into main hotel (so move smoking area!) 2.there isnt always a person at the front desk or concierge 3.phone system broken 4.staffing somewhat uneven 5.wacky situation at waterfront results in TSA precheck style different lines on the dock for the hotel chairs ve public beach. I was about to pay to use the dock but figured out at the last minute that i didn’t have to. If they can fix half of theses things, would consider a five star. Hotel should tell staff not to take/have personal phone calls while guests are waiting.

This is such a charming little hotel in Italy. Close enough to Sorrento to spend a day or catch a ferry, but tucked away and kept intimate. Phenomenal breakfast in the mornings and amazing views in the evening. Plus the team behind the scenes was always willing to go the extra mile for my wife & I. The type of hotel you book and hope it lives up to the pictures online, and it most certainly does. 3 nights was not nearly enough!