Calata San Marco

The three of us had enough room, though the shower was cramped. The toilet was the real problem: it didn't work during either of our two nights. The hotel tried to repair it the next morning.

We paid nearly €100 per room per night for two rooms over two nights, and the convenient location couldn't justify that. After we left, the polite receptionist said he'd ask the “administration” about a partial refund for the room mix-up, but we got nothing back and they kept all the money. We had prepaid, so we felt stuck seeing the place through once we arrived. The room for my wife and me wasn't ready at 10:30 pm. The bed was still undone, the floor was dirty, and the white neon lights were on. I even called out to see if anyone was inside. The receptionist, the same slow typist, apologized and said they didn't have enough cleaners to keep every room ready. We wondered how clean a room would be even after it had been cleaned. We left our two teenage girls in their room and went to check ours, which was on a different floor for no clear reason, even though the hotel seemed empty. We decided to look for somewhere else and accept losing what we'd paid. Getting there had already been a struggle. The entrance is a short, claustrophobic corridor with a tiny reception desk, a vending machine taking up more of the space, and an air conditioner that couldn't get the temperature below 28. The receptionist, a man in his fifties, was smoking at the entrance, a small opening in a peeling wall beneath a misleading three-star sign. He entered passport details painfully slowly, one finger tapping about every ten seconds, and we waited around 20 minutes. There was no breakfast area or Wi-Fi. We got just one key for the room. The lift barely fits two people with luggage, so our family of four had to go up in two trips. On opening, it was like stepping into an oven. The tiny corridors had old, stained walls and carpets, and in the hot July 2023 weather in Naples that made the lack of air conditioning outside the room miserable. The room did have air conditioning, but it was as loud as a helicopter taking off. We couldn't sleep with it running, and it was too hot to sleep with it off. The wardrobe was just a cheap open wooden frame, the bed had a tubular frame without a headboard, and the bathroom looked about 40 years old, with a shower enclosure whose plastic doors seemed even older. We left our daughters wondering whether the place was safe and what sort of guests might stay there. The lift opened onto the third floor, where there were only stairs, so we had to carry our three suitcases up another six or seven steps before reaching the rooms.

The young staff at breakfast and reception were kind and helpful, and the location was good. Those were the only upsides. We came with an organized group, but apparently they had “lost” our reservation. We had to split up and change hotels for the second night, paid more, and they didn't honor the original rate. My room key didn't work either. Someone at the desk opened the door for me without asking for any proof, which felt unsafe and unreliable.

We arrived without a booking and the staff were kind and very helpful. Stefania was patient with us, and so was Massimo. The lobby and room were very clean, and the bathroom was modern. Breakfast had a good variety and the coffee was excellent. It's an easy walk to the port. I'd stay here again if I return to Napoles, especially if I wanted a simple, clean room.