My friend and I stayed at this hotel for 10 nights in September and had a great stay.
The Hotel
The hotel is so peaceful, you can't help but relax and soak up the sunshine. It's a beautiful looking hotel and commands superb views. Our room was very nice, not luxurious but comfortable with stunning views. The balcony was small but with just about enough space for the two of us. We were on the top floor at the front of the hotel. The bathroom was well equipt but the shower was a bit poky.
The pool is wonderful - plenty of sun loungers and deck chairs, lovely views and very quiet. Some days we were the only ones there, probably because it was towards the end of the season. You can take short walks around the hotel gardens. We went to the beach a few times using the free mini bus laid on. It's pretty regular and takes you door-to-door. The beach was lovely - golden sand, very peaceful, plenty of free sun loungers (within the hotel's private area). We went for a few walks along the beach and enjoyed lunch on the beach in the cafe restaurants.
The hotel staff were so lovely and extremely helpful. They helped us so much with finding details of buses, walks, restaurants and booking trips for us. They are lovely, friendly people and couldn't do enough for us.
Breakfast is on the terrace if the weather is good enough. There is a pretty good selection. We had dinner in the hotel on a couple of occasions and the food was excellent with 4 courses. I think it cost about £30 a head. In the summer dinner is servied on the terrace with lovely views, in September we ate in the indoor restaurant which wasn't as special as you couldn't see the views.
The Area
I've travelled to Italy a lot and wasn't sure what to expect of Cilento as it's less developed. However, be re-assured it's a lovely area and a bit quieter but with plenty to see and do. We travelled to Paestum one day (about 1 hour 30 minutes on the local bus - very easy). Paestum is fascinating. We hired a boat with Giovanni for half day and had a lovely trip around the coast with stops for swimming. We walked from the hotel along the coast path via Punta Licosa to Ogliastro which was a lovely walk. It's about 8 miles and I will never forget the smell of pine trees. It's fairly easy to do (there's a road that's marked private but you need to walk along it, which we did without any problem), there are a few areas that are a bit rugged so you need to wear trainers. Ogliastro is pretty with a few restaurants - we had lunch and a swim there and caught the bus back to the hotel.
San Marco di Castellabate is a 10/15 minute walk away. It's a small town with a marina and has a few restaurants. As it was the end of the season there weren't many open. We tried a couple and enjoyed them both. Stella Marina (on the little road leading to the harbour) is an indoor restaurant with lovely, reasonably priced food. KBar (in the piazza) has a pretty outdoor terrace and the food is good but a little more expensive. There's a nice bar by the marina for evening drinks whilst watching the sun set.
We visited Santa Maria di Castellabate a few times - in the day and in the evening for dinner. There's plenty of shops to look around. The hotel mini bus drops you off and picks you up during the day. In the evenings we took the last mini bus there and Antonio (htoel's minibus driver) collected us for 10 Euros. There's plenty of good restaurants and bars to enjoy.
We visited Castellabate (the town on the hill) a couple of times. It's really pretty with stunning views. We caught the local bus which was really easy. On our last night we booked the ape (3 wheel truck) to get there, which was great fun and had dinner at Ristorante Cantina Belvedere. Lovely food, the best views and friendly staff.
If you're looking for a peaceful, relaxing holiday in a quiet area with a few days sight seeing, then you've found the right place and the right hotel!
- Hermitage Salerno Hotel
