Villa Albani

The pool itself was good, but they also let in people who weren’t staying at the hotel, which was the worst part. Staff tried to scam us several times. One morning, cleaners came into our room at 9 a.m. and woke me up, and there were so many bugs that we got bitten during the night. All in all, I don’t think you should stay here.

Our week here left us bitter, and I strongly suggest avoiding this hotel if you want a stress-free holiday in Italy. Other guests apparently had problems too, from what we heard. The town itself felt depressing, and the place seems neglected by the owner, despite the website saying it was renovated in 2022. The walls need repainting, the bathroom had insects, and the shower was clogged. Our first room had a broken air conditioner and window, and they offered a fan. We were paying far too much to settle for a fan, so they moved us to another hotel for two nights. That wasn’t great either, and we had to leave our elderly parents alone at this hotel. The rooms were dirty, and the shower was covered in scale. Breakfast was a joke: they said it ran from 8 to 10, but when we arrived at 9, the ham, bread, and cheese were already gone. We were told the guests had eaten everything. This happened twice. Another time they said a group had come at 6 a.m. and eaten all the bread, even though breakfast wasn’t supposed to start until 8. We’d paid for breakfast, so how could they not have enough food for everyone? We were told we’d get free pool access for the whole stay because of the room and breakfast problems, but at the pool they said it was only for one day. The pool cost €12 for a full day or €8 for a half day, and it wasn’t worth even €2. The paint was peeling, it was dirty, and the water was ice cold. Staff could barely speak English and kept speaking Italian even though they knew we didn’t understand, which made things more frustrating. I’ve stayed in many hotels and used to work in the industry, but this was the worst managed hotel ever. I could go on about how awful it was. The staff sat by the cafe all day drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, and seemed lazy. It could be a really nice place, but they’re shooting themselves in the foot. My three suggestions: improve the rubbish breakfast, make the pool free and clean it, and clean and fix the bathrooms.

The location was convenient and near the train station, making it easy to plan lower-cost day trips around the Amalfi Coast. But the pool was broken and unusable for our entire stay, breakfast food kept running out, and the staff were rude and incompetent. It also took 20 minutes to get our room key, and the air conditioning didn’t work.

Via Pecorari is a narrow, quiet street, so there’s no traffic noise, and the hotel looks out toward a nearby hill with spectacular views. Staff were helpful and friendly, as seems common in the Campagna region, though still worth mentioning. The room was clean and air-conditioned, and the pool was a good size, with a depth of 2.5 meters at the deep end. Breakfast was tasty, with fruit, eggs, ham, muesli, croissants, and sweet buns to choose from.