Grand Hotel San Pietro

The staff were consistently pleasant, professional, and helpful, and breakfast had a good range of choices. Even with the hotel’s shortcomings, the employees deserve credit. We were disappointed by the gap between the photos and what we found. As we understand it, the hotel was built in 1981. It may have been a great place in the 90s, but it’s overdue for renovation now. The room smelled strongly of damp and had visible damp marks on the walls. Worst of all, the bed was extremely old, and you could feel the metal inside the mattress. Toppers are used on all the beds to make up for the mattresses, but they only help a little. We couldn’t sleep well the first night because our backs hurt. We told reception, and they moved us to another room for that night and replaced the mattress in our room with a new one. The replacement wasn’t great quality, but it was an improvement and we slept reasonably well. We were also surprised that access to the spa costs €40 per person. At most hotels you’d expect it to be included or cost less, especially for a small facility like this.

Waking up to that beautiful view was the best part of a lovely stay. The service was great, and the atmosphere felt relaxing. I’ll definitely come back.

The restaurant staff made us feel at home right away and were extremely helpful. We also loved swimming in the seawater infinity pool, a refreshing change from the usual heavily chlorinated water. The little private beach, with its wooden jetty, made for pleasant and safe swims. Our room was comfortable and spacious, and it was easy to adjust the temperature. From the balcony we could see the bay and the headland, with its romantic castle. We loved our stay and intend to come back next year.

The staff were welcoming, thoughtful, and really nice. It’s a superb hotel with a lovely sea view, tasty breakfast, and a good spot right in the center of Palinuro.