Grand Hotel Oriente

Naples looked stunning from the hotel, and it made a great base for exploring. The building is beautiful, clean, quiet, and comfortable, on the main street and just a short walk from shops and cafés. Breakfast was fresh and tasty, with everything we needed, though the selection wasn't huge. The pillows felt a little too firm for us, and the air conditioner made a vibrating noise when it switched off, perhaps from another floor or nearby room. Our room faced an inner courtyard with residential buildings that looked a bit neglected. We'd recommend it for the good value.

The main disappointment was the New Year's Eve dinner, which was nowhere near worth €304 per person. Most dishes were inedible, the pasta was only basic, and the dessert tasted of raw egg white and was poorly balanced. The wine was forgettable and overpriced, with a particularly weak sparkling selection. When we returned an untouched plate and questioned its freshness, our concern was dismissed as "untrue," which isn't an acceptable way to handle feedback. Some staff were friendly and professional, especially Jessica, who was warm and welcoming. The hotel initially looks impressive, but the feeling doesn't last. It seems dated compared with modern hotels; our room was large and clean but basic, with no personality or sense of place. The lobby felt cold and bland, more like a hospital reception than a grand hotel. The property doesn't justify its name or prices, and seems to lack vision, modern hospitality standards, and attention to detail, particularly around food and drink.

A great stay, with kind, professional staff and an excellent breakfast room and drinks terrace on the top floor. It was perfect.

Grand Hotel Oriente is my usual choice in Naples. I work abroad as a digital nomad for five months a year and have spent many weeks here over the past few years. This time I stayed in one of the renovated rooms. It was stylish, modern, and sumptuous, a refresh that really worked. The refurb was quiet and discreet. I wouldn't have known it was happening if I hadn't taken the stairs to the roof. The roof is a great place to work, and the wine there is reasonably priced for a hotel of this caliber, with several good options under £24 a bottle. For anyone familiar with the usual Italian hotel pitfalls, the air conditioning is excellent, 10/10, the mattress is phenomenal, 10/10, and the pillows are decent, 8/10. My only tiny quibble is that the distinctive room keys with the hotel's branding have been replaced by plain white ones. I added one to my collection with a Sharpie. It hardly matters, but feels like a missed branding opportunity and doesn't quite fit a hotel that pays attention to small details. I collect hotel keys and have 150 from the past four years, lol. Looking forward to coming back in three weeks!