Hotel Des Artistes

The towel smelled a bit stale and felt old, and there was a sharp metal doorstop right by the bathroom. I hit my foot on it badly and thought I might have injured myself, though thankfully it was okay after a while. A rubber cap on the stop might help. On the plus side, reception was staffed 24 hours and the team were very friendly and helpful. The two people serving breakfast during my stay were especially nice and good to talk with. It was a pleasant place, and I’d stay again, though I’d say it probably shouldn’t be classed as a four-star hotel. It does have some elements you’d expect from a 4+ star place.

The rooms were comfortable and very clean. Staff were fantastic, friendly, and always ready to help.

The building is old, like much of Naples, so there’s no soundproofing at all. The toilet flush is a bit tricky to use because it’s old, but it works. We really enjoyed the room, with its vintage feel and special ceiling paint. When the room is completely dark, the ceiling looks like a starry sky, which was cool and relaxing. There’s even a framed notice on the wall explaining the feature. The vintage elevator was my favourite part of the building. It’s old and small, but extremely beautiful, and made us feel like we’d gone back in time. The warm welcome and the barista in the breakfast area were great too, always happy to help and share good tips and places to eat. The hotel is on Via Duomo, in a group of buildings, as is common in Naples. Almost everything is walkable, or just two to three train stops away.

We were on our honeymoon, but they gave us a room with four beds lined up beside each other. There wasn’t even a welcome drink or glass of water. The bathroom was moldy, and the “garden view” was a wall and an area full of rubbish. There was only one power outlet in the room, and the empty mini fridge was terribly noisy. Our room faced reception with no soundproofing, so we heard guests’ conversations and complaints, as well as the night shift preparing reports and printing. The receptionist was rude. When we asked for the manager, they wouldn’t call or give us the person’s name. On our first night, after arriving late and asking for another room because this one wasn’t suitable for a honeymoon, we were told none was available. They also refused our request to cancel so we could go elsewhere. We went out to dinner, then got a booking.com notification during the meal saying we’d been marked as a no-show and our reservation cancelled, despite already checking in and leaving our luggage in the room. We panicked, didn’t finish dinner, and rushed back by taxi around midnight, thinking we’d have nowhere to sleep. The receptionist then said we still had a room and that the booking had been cancelled so they wouldn’t have to pay commission. We couldn’t sleep because of reception noise until 4am, then building work started at 7am. After we complained, another room suddenly became available. The next day, drilling began at 7am and the building work was even worse. The reception staff’s behaviour was unacceptable. The following morning, after we threatened to call the tourist police, they agreed to cancel the booking. Thankfully, we didn’t have to spend any more days there. The only good part was breakfast staff: both were polite, attentive young people who gave us more information and suggestions than the receptionist ever did. Do yourself a favour and stay away. Photos and videos are attached.