B&B Cappotto Civico 48

Antonio was incredibly welcoming and helpful, and made sure we were looked after. When we had to rush for a train, he even loaded all of us and our luggage into his own car and got us to the station in time. The location is great, just a short walk from the Ruins. The only reason I took off a star was that our ground-floor room faced the street and was a bit noisy. Otherwise, it was a great stay.

The location is close to Ancient Pompei, which was the one good thing. We booked two rooms with breakfast but never got to eat breakfast because the owner didn’t show up. Then the next day they cancelled my Booking reservation. I can only imagine why, since that meant I couldn’t leave a comment on Booking, and they kept the city tax I’d paid. Completely unprofessional. I travel every month and have never had anything like this happen. The rooms also have poor sound insulation.

Umm… misleading doesn’t even cover it. We were duped. Here’s what Capital One travel said, followed by what we actually found. The listing claimed garden views, but the only view was a decorated fence. It promised tour and ticket help, which made me think there’d be a concierge, but there were only some tour brochures. It mentioned a restaurant, but there isn’t one on site. The advertised 24-hour room service? From where, the honor-system drink cooler? And the complimentary daily reception was nowhere to be found. Breakfast was advertised as free local cuisine from 7:30 to 10:30. Instead, we had to heat our own coffee on a camping stove, and there were prepackaged rolls. That’s not local cuisine. The listing also promised complimentary newspapers in the lobby, another service that didn’t exist, and free self-parking on site. There’s no parking lot, though we did park for free on the sidewalk. It said there were four air-conditioned rooms, but the air conditioning didn’t work properly. There are no windows, so the room got very stuffy. The listed Select Comfort bed with down comforters and premium bedding turned out to be lumpy, with scratchy sheets that wouldn’t stay tucked in, leaving us touching the plastic mattress pad. The pillows were super hard and lumpy, and the bedspread was generic. Where was the down comforter? The bathroom had a sort of shower stall, but I had to hold a terrible shower head in my hand. The bidet was the same, just a shower nozzle beside the toilet rather than a separate unit. Even the property’s own website makes several false claims about kettles and a magnificent breakfast overlooking a wine cellar. Please, don’t make me laugh so hard.

We had a late arrival after traveling to visit Pompei, Herculaneum, and Vesuvius for three nights in June, but we were still welcomed warmly and shown everything we needed. The room was clean and had all the essentials, and the location is excellent, a very short walk from the Pompei site and the train station for Herculaneum and Vesuvius. The AC was a godsend in the 37-degree heat. After long, hot days, I really appreciated the shower, which had good pressure and was always warm, plus the soft towels. Antonio was incredibly helpful and accommodating, answering our many questions and even offering to make us dinner. The rooms are quaint and comfortable, and there’s a covered outdoor area where you can eat or have a beer at very reasonable prices.