B&B Carbonara Napoli

The staff and owner were extremely kind and helpful, and the place had a wonderful smell as soon as we came in. It's centrally located for walking, near both the Central Station and Piazza Garibaldi Metro station, so getting around by metro was easy too. Our four-night stay was peaceful, though there are several things that could be better. The room was darker and less modern than the Booking.com photos suggested. There was dust under the bed, behind the nightstands, and beneath the window frames. In the bathroom, the shower curtain let water onto the floor, and the high window was open and hard to close. The walls were thin enough that sounds from the other room felt like they were coming into ours. With a few small improvements, this B&B has a lot of potential, especially given its location and the kindness of the people running it.

The steep, uncomfortable stairs and the narrow alley were among the problems. We had to take a long way around to avoid shortcuts where we might run into “unpleasant” surprises or unwelcome encounters. We stayed two nights, and won't be back. There were no spare towels or toilet paper. Our group of ten got just four small rolls for two nights, so we had to buy toilet paper and soap. There was no hair dryer. The towels were yellow stained, and the mattresses were yellow and dusty. Hygiene overall was lacking, with encrusted fixtures. The small shower curtain was moldy and water flooded the bathroom every time we showered. This didn't feel like a B&B at all, just a guesthouse. The only breakfast-like thing was an old coffee maker and a bottle of yellow water covered in limescale. The walls were so thin we could only talk between rooms with the doors shut, and there was no privacy. If Naples itself hadn't been so beautiful, this would have been a nightmare of a stay.

The central location is convenient, just a short walk from the city center and central station, but the room wasn't soundproof at all. We heard everything from the street and neighboring rooms. The stairs were steep, and there was no air conditioning, as other reviews have mentioned. Those are manageable for us on holiday, since we don't expect a brand-new, comfortable place in a historic city center and can adapt to the property. The interior could still be made beautiful, functional, and comfortable. What's missing is customer service. The building and room were reasonably clean, but needed a thorough clean and some maintenance. There was dust on the closet hinges and in the fan grille, the fan didn't oscillate, hallway tiles were loose, and plaster fell from the ceiling during the night. The shared bathroom, which we knew about and accepted before booking, had peeling ceiling plaster, plenty of mold on the shower tiles, and limescale built up on the bidet and sink taps. The shower flooded the bathroom each time because the curtain was too short. The kitchen coffee maker was kept between the mop and vacuum cleaner. I hate to leave such a poor review because we're adaptable and rarely complain. We usually camp and can put up with a lot, but adapting here was genuinely difficult.

The mattress was comfortable and the location was good. Still, the apartment was quite dirty, the furniture was old, and almost nothing matched what was described. The pictures on Google and Booking.com didn't reflect what we found.