Best Western Signature Collection Hotel Paradiso

The rooftop terrace was a highlight, with a lovely restaurant and a waiter named Alessandro who was outstanding. Breakfast was good, housekeeping was efficient, and the room was clean. The front desk team was nice overall, too. A very good four-star hotel with breathtaking views across the Bay of Naples.

Hotel Paradiso was clean and comfortable, and the staff were friendly and helpful. We were upgraded to a room overlooking Naples harbor, and the plunge pool you reserve was a nice little treat, even though it isn’t heated. The buffet breakfast was good quality and fairly priced. Getting around on foot is the drawback: we walked downhill into town one day, but going back up would be a long trek, so you’ll need a taxi or bus. Still, we had a great stay.

The restaurant view was beautiful, and if you reserve the plunge pool early enough in the day it’s private and pleasant. That’s about where the positives end. The rooms are basic, more like a Travel Lodge than a four-star hotel, with very few amenities. We were left with just one teaspoon every day, and the shower leaked all over the bathroom each day. Paying a higher room tax for a four-star rating made that especially frustrating. Our room looked out onto a wall and railing below the restaurant, so there was noise at all hours. It was also dim all the time, and facing the main street meant we couldn’t open the curtains without losing privacy. The staff were mostly abrupt and rude, barely understood English, and made my husband and me uncomfortable throughout the stay. The food was a mess too. The website suggests a range of meals, but the menu is about 95 percent seafood, which I can’t eat for health reasons. When we asked for a simple pasta dish or another option, the best they offered was ham and cheese, which isn’t a meal. Lunch and dinner use the same menu, and it never changes from night to night. Breakfast was the worst I’ve had in a hotel: cheap thin meats and cheeses, no orange juice, and only small cocktail sausages and scrambled eggs as hot food. The coffee and hot chocolate were filtered. We paid ten euros for two unpleasant hot chocolates on the first day and didn’t repeat that. The hotel is a long way up a steep hill, and even the nearest shop is a half-hour walk away. The view doesn’t make up for all this, especially on a stay longer than a weekend. It feels like revenue matters more than guests’ comfort or quality. I can only guess that the five-star reviews come from people the hotel knows, since they seem to be fellow Italians rather than tourists, and perhaps the staff are only friendly with other Italians. We thought the negative reviews might be exaggerating before we arrived, but learned the hard way they were completely right. Don’t be taken in, this place isn’t worth the cost.

The rooftop bar and pool have amazing views, and the small pool can be booked fairly, with space for up to two families at a time. It’s really more for cooling off, but it does the job. We had no trouble reserving it. The hotel itself is lovely, with friendly service, a clean, well-equipped room, and daily cleaning. The views of Naples and Mt Versuvius are fantastic. Getting around took a lot of walking because the hotel is high up and the funicular railway was temporarily closed. From Mergellina train station it was a long 2.2km uphill walk each time. I’d recommend the hotel, but if walking is difficult for you, expect to use taxis or Ubers to get anywhere.