We stayed at L'approdo at the end of September 2010. Accommodation was a single room with bathroom. The bedroom was spacious compared to other Italian hotel rooms we have used previously. The hotel is located in a picturesque position right on the sea front so we had a lovely view from our balcony. Next to the hotel is the small fishing marina (some early morning noise if boats going out to fish). The hotels beach is small and deserted at this time of year. I understand hotel closes for Winter at beginning of October. Beach is an artificial sand construction but a ramp was laid into water enabling swimmers to avoid the stones at the water's edge. .The sea wall was ringed with good quality sun beds. Access to the sea from the sea wall was once again made more pleasant by covering stones with matting. Sea was crystal clear. Some presence of jelly fish but hotel staff would go out in canoe and clear them. The pool is good but on the small size and immaculately clean. A previous comment made reference to a children's pool but I did not find it and it is not sign posted The town itself is small but there are a handful of restaurants/bars/gelaterias some of which had closed for the season. The neighbouring village of Santa Maria Castellabate also had a number of restaurants (parking difficult at sothern end). Menus every where are a bit limited - OK if you enjoy fish or Pizza's. Hotel Restaurant provided adequate breakfast usual selection of Italian cold meats/cheese but also bacon/scrabbled egg. Other meals - we only ate in restaurant 1st night which turned out to be a mistake. Fixed cost of evening meal was 35 euros each and whilst I would say it was one of the best meals I have eaten my wife's meat was raw. We had arrived at hotel 10 minutes prior to final orders in ding room. It appears chef was in a hurry to go home. Despite sending meal back it was returned yet meat still raw. Serving staff excuse was it was not their fault that the kitchen staff had gone home. We complained to reception next day but did not get satisfaction so I waited until paying final bill lat end of holiday and complained again at which point the cost of the meal was reduced. Despite this problem overall I found the staff to be helpful. We observed on a number of occasions when eating out that restaurant clientele were returning under done meat so this was not a problem specific to our hotel.
A quirky aspect to the hotel is the amount of vegetation both on the outside and internally. Holes have been created in corridor internal walls and floor to allow creepers to grow internally from floor to floor. With the amount of watering the vegetation required I wonder whether this explains the number of mosquitoes about. Despite use of repellents they were very persistent and we had many bites which I have not experienced elsewhere in Italy. Parking might be a problem in busier periods as the hotel fronts on to port and restrictions apply. In September with so few staying at hotel we managed to get a spot most days and traffic wardens kept away. The official hotel parking seemed a little bizarre located in a ship repairers yard and was always locked outside working hours so was not used by us. We enjoyed our stay as area relatively uncommercial and not a huge number of British people Non Italian speaking visitors might find it difficult as English not as widely spoken as other parts of Italy but most hotel staff have good range of English

We stayed at L'approdo at the end of July. We had a 2 bedroom apartment which was spacious, although not being in a hotel room did, I realised too late, mean we didn't have a maid service (except for when we paid an extra 20 euros for it) and thus the room did get a bit sandy ! The hotel is in a great position right on the sea front so we had a lovely view from our balcony. The hotels beach is small but more than adequate (being man made the sea did create quite a shelf at the seas edge which had to be cleared periodically but once done it was fine again). The pools are good but the childrens one is a bit of a trek up the hill behind the hotel and can't really be used later in the afternoon as the mossies are out in force. We tended to go there in the morning, then lunch at a cafe outside the hotel, then siesta (which is almost universally done - the pool is closed) then beach late afternoon, which worked well for us. The animation team were great, my 6 year old daughter loved the mini club and the shows the team put on in the evening. The town is small but there are half a dozen good restaurants. We also drove up to Castellabate where there are another half a dozen so plenty of variety for a 2 week trip. We also hired a boat one day which was lovely as the sea is really clear with lots of little fish to see.

This hotel has a great set up. I was determined to go on holiday somewhere that did not require getting the family in the car every day. The hotel has its own private beach - where you get your own umbrella and loungers so no fighting - and 2 pools and you can walk in to Santa Marco for shops, restaurants and ice-cream shops. Everything you need is on your doorstep. If you fancy an excursion the ferry leaves from the harbour outside the hotel and takes you directly to the Almalfi coast, Capri, Palinuro and more.

All the rooms were clean and spacious. The hotel rooms were lovely and very large. The two bedroom apartments again were great. The one bedroom apartments had a strange layout. The living sace was at the back of the room (where the bathroom would be in a regular hotel room, the bathroom was in the middle thereby cutting off the light to the living space and the main bedroom is at the front with the balcony. It is an odd layout as you don't really want to spend time in the living area. However you get a great view of the harbour - perfect people watching. However if you can afford the 2-bed apartment then I would go for that.

The children's pool is behind the hotel accessed from the third floor. There are steps but if you have a buggy you can walk round on the road instead. It has no really shallow end but no deep end either so for children above about 4 they can stand the whole way. It is generally quiet at this pool and surrounded by lovely flowers.

The main pool is filled with sea water and is a lovely pool. However there are aqua aerobics and various activities that involved loud music at times so not appealling to everyone.

The beach is perfect for small children as the sea is warm and very shallow. Great for snorkling too as the sea is so clear. It is very safe and there is a life guard.

The town is small but has all you need with several supermarkets and small shops as well as 3 ice-cream shops which the children loved. Our favorite was up the hill near the Stella Marina pizza restaurant. None of the restaurants were outstanding but they were all fine and not too expensive.

Reports on the food in the hotel were mixed. Lunch was great but dinner not so good. It is also expensive if you are not half board. Breakfast is €10 per person and lunch and €30pp so that adds up for a family. Whereas the pizzas in the town start from about €5.

The bar by the pool was good. The pricing was very fair for coffee, beers and ice-creams. They also sell paninis etc.

The staff at the hotel were great. our Italian is pretty limited and they always took the time to help us. The reception team were especially good.

We had a very relaxing and enjoyable hoilday and will certainly be back.

I loved L'Approdo. We spend our holidays in Italy most years and always try to stay in 'proper' Italian hotels - ie those frequented by Italians themselves! That sums up L'Approdo - about three quarters of the guests were Italian - mostly families with children of all ages right up to teens. English speaking guests were well catered for however and most of the staff speak some english.

The main pool area is surrounded by flowers and is very pretty. The beach (blue flag status) is small and particularly safe for young children. The water is unbelievably clear! Guests are allocated 1 lounger and deckchair for the duration of their stay so no early morning scramble!

Entertainment is provided by a team of 12 professional dancers during July and August. They orgainse yoga and aqua classes around the pool, a kids club and evening shows. The Mama Mia show was really fantastic and they also arranged a show starring all the children - very professional considering they only prepared for 2 days! They also had all the teenagers up dancing every night

The rooms are comfortable, spotlessly clean and all have a sea/marina view. The food is average - great selection of side dishes but the main dishes let them down. Most days there is a choice of 2 pasta and a soup for starter and 3 main courses - fish, meat and veggie. Lunch is the better option as you get to choose your meat or fish and it's cooked to order.

Children are well catered for: kids club as described, the girls were really lovely and made a real effort to include the non-Italian speakers. The children's pool and playground are above the hotel up a short but steep lane. You really need to decide each day - is it a pool or beach day as there is some distance between them. Kids' pool suitable for ages approx 4 up as there is no really shallow area suitable for toddlers. Play equipment all quite new and in good condition.

The food is the only slightly disappointing aspect and if you do decide to eat out, there are limited options - 2 or 3 resaurants in S Marco but plenty more if you're prepared to drive. As a genuine fishing village there is a strong emphasis on seafood and you won't find any tourist menus (thank goodness!)

Overall, I would really recommend L'Approdo and I anticipate that we'll return.