Costa Azzurra

I gave it one star for the clean pool. The hotel's ratings seem artificially high to me, and the quality feels like the lowest I've experienced in Europe. The double rooms are really single rooms with small windows, like prison cells, and reception couldn't change ours because of occupancy. The furnishings look like they're from the 1980s. There were disposable soaps but no hair dryers. Breakfast was the worst I've ever had: the same dull powdered eggs every day, cheap pork ham and sausages, a few vegetables, stale white bread, and very poor discount croissants. Dinner was no better. Tables were assigned by room number, like at a poor children's camp, and there was a long gap between meals, breakfast ending at 9:30 and dinner not starting until 8pm. There's nothing much nearby, and the beach is far away and crowded.

I chose to come back mainly for the pool. It's beautiful and well looked after, even better in person than in the photos. The room was spacious, clean, and nicely furnished, with air conditioning, a large balcony, and views over the sea, mountains, and village. Breakfast has improved a lot since my last visit in 2023. Back then it was simpler, with coffee from a machine, bakery items, cereal, jams, and yogurt. This time it felt just right, with all of those plus fresh red onion, tomatoes, salad, fried bacon, and eggs. The beach shuttle is great, especially because the steep walk is hard on a hot day. One small disappointment was that the pool bar serves drinks only, no snacks. We forgot to ask for our passports back before leaving, and the staff kept them. We had gone all the way to Lamezia Terme and had to return all the way to Ricado to retrieve them. It seemed like both sides had forgotten, so some help from the staff would have been appreciated. The beds are quite hard, though I'm sensitive to that and my roommates weren't bothered.

The grounds, pool area, beach, views, and location were all lovely. The pool has a bar, toilets, and shower, and the area was clean. The free shuttle to the beach was useful, where sunbeds cost 20€/day. You can also walk the 800m, though the return is steep. Dinners were good, too. The room situation was rough at first. We asked reception for a quiet room under the roof, but got room 203, right by the stairs. From 6am until midnight, guests from all over the hotel passed with heels and suitcases, talking loudly. We could hear reception, the cleaning lady's broom, and the main road as well. People weren't walking above our heads, but they were right beside them. It was ridiculous. I think room 203 is reserved for a Czech travel agency. We didn't want to complain, but couldn't take it, and fortunately they moved us to a great room. Doors throughout the hotel don't close quietly. They bang and shake the building, waking guests from 7am. The owners should address it instead of sitting in the restaurant watching the staff, or whatever they're watching. The restaurant staff don't seem to enjoy their work much unless they're pretending. Breakfast was disgusting and repetitive, despite Italy having so many good ingredients. Changing one or two items each day would help. It supposedly runs until 9:30, but food is cleared at 9:15 and the area closes at 9:30, so really it's only until 9. We've never seen that elsewhere. The machine coffee wasn't tasty, and despite the promo photos showing breakfast by the pool and outside, food can't be taken outdoors in the morning. They clean the room and change towels every day, which seems unnecessary when other places are trying to save nature. They could save money there, or by serving food left uneaten from one night again the next night, which is fine. It's a cheaper hotel, and the service matches the price and quality. Maybe suitable for people on their first holiday who don't have much accommodation experience. Booking reviews are more accurate than reviews here.

The other staff were friendly, but the receptionists were unfriendly when we arrived, with no smile or real welcome. We waited a long time to get a room while I was with my pregnant wife and our three-year-old. Afterward, the receptionist explained the restaurant and showed us in. I thought at least something had gone right, but the room had the worst smell. The bathroom plumbing smelled so bad it was unbearable. When the receptionist noticed, he tried to leave, so I stopped him and said that wasn't normal. He said maintenance would check it. We turned on both air conditioners, but the one in the child's room didn't work. Someone came later, but when we tried it again it still didn't work properly and made a loud noise. Someone came again, and it still wasn't right. The restaurant mixed up our order with another room. A paper at the bar said we were in room 231, but our room was 226. I told reception I was allergic to shellfish and they wrote it down, but they served me prawns anyway. They changed my plate three times. The website photos are completely false. I'll show the real room photos on my Facebook. It wasn't good value. The food quality was very poor and a disaster, though it got a bit better on the second day. Unfortunately, the ravioli wasn't homemade. The entertainment was poor and had no real budget behind it. The place left us very dissatisfied.