Casa Matilde

A quiet, clean place with friendly, attentive service. The shower was nice, and the furnishings and facilities all worked properly. Communication with the staff was great too.

The location is the one good thing, just outside town but close enough to walk to most places. We waited two hours to get into the apartment building. The host only came after a woman working beside the gate called him on her cell when she saw we couldn't get in. He didn't apologize for the wait or for not keeping track of his bookings. The room carpet was badly stained, as were the sheets, which seemed to have been washed but not cleaned well. Loose bed springs jabbed us through the night. The tub needed a serious scrub, with soap scum in the jets, and the toilet was awful. Breakfast was poor, and the main lobby smelled of cigarette smoke when we checked out.

The room had been refurbished and decorated to a generally high standard, and I liked having a balcony with a table and chairs. The bed was just okay, though I'd expected a better mattress. Even with breakfast 300 metres away, this room was better than a nearby hotel with a similar star rating. At £109, though, I thought it was a bit expensive, and I couldn't find any English-language channels. For that price I'd expect satellite TV with international channels. Several things kept this from a 4 or 5. The shower leaked onto the bathroom floor, so the seals around the glass need replacing. The wardrobe was bizarrely designed, with a clothes rail too high for a normal person to reach. When I managed to hang clothes on it, the rail collapsed and I couldn't put it back. Completely unacceptable, and I can't see why it hasn't been fixed if people have raised it before. The entrance lock for the apartment block also needs replacing. Other residents were having trouble, and even after I requested a new key I still had problems. During the day, the apartment was noisy because it's close to Sorrento's busy main road, and construction at a nearby apartment block carried on all day. I don't understand why they were doing this during peak tourist season instead of waiting until the end of October.

I booked a room that was non-refundable but said I could pay on arrival. Within two days, they charged me €150, which was fine since I owed that amount anyway. The following month, they charged me another €150. When I called to ask about it, they said "no English", gave me an email address, and hung up. By email, they admitted the second charge was a mistake and said they'd refund me, but then asked for my bank details. That made me suspicious, so I told them to return the money to the credit card they'd charged. They never replied, and now ignore my emails. I believe they took €300 from me, and I had to report it as fraud to my bank. Don't book with this hotel.