Hotel Santa Caterina

The hotel staff were very polite and helpful, and the coffee in the morning was really good. Breakfast was nice too, with local pastries, some fruit and cereal, and local coffee and juices. It's in a very convenient spot, though the hotel could use a few fixes. Only one outlet in our room worked, and the bed was rock hard, though some people might like that. The door jamb had been poorly repaired after an earlier break-in, and since the safe was only screwed into a wooden wardrobe, we took our valuables with us. You can only enter when someone buzzes you in, so I assume access is limited to guests and staff. Getting a good night's sleep was nearly impossible, though that's not the hotel's fault. Traffic never let up, and locals kept honking. The bottle collection at 4am woke us, then the church bells at 7am did too. It's a decent, honest hotel, but very loud.

The staff were friendly and helpful, breakfast was better than expected, and there was free parking right next to the hotel. The location was ideal, right by the Pompeii entrance. But the suite was a letdown, to put it mildly. It was old, smelled bad, and was freezing, with only a tiny air conditioner. There was no toilet paper, the bathroom lights only partly worked, the shower wouldn't drain, and the soap dish was broken. The hotel faces the street, so we could hear all the noise even at 5am. I just wanted to check out.

The room was clean but very old-fashioned, and the internet worked okay, just not everywhere. The receptionist was friendly, and breakfast was good quality with plenty to choose from, mostly pastries and cakes. The location is really good, right off the main street, and the area felt safe to me, though the whole city didn't. Noise started around 6am and was horrible. The trash collector dragged metal containers along the street for quite a while, making it impossible to sleep. Then breakfast began, and since our room was right beside that area, the noise kept going.

The staff made us feel welcome and were very helpful. We were right across from the Pompeii ruins, with good restaurants and shops nearby. Breakfast was good, and the coffee was excellent. It got a little noisy sometimes, but hey, I love Italian living! We'd definitely recommend it to friends and family. Two thumbs up!