Hello to everyone - hope you get to read this review before you book! :).
For the first - it's not as bad as it sounds.
There are a plenty of things to be prepared for. I will just write what is on my mind if I remind myself chronologically.

So first - the nature is just beautiful. Calabria just looks so different - Olive trees, lemon trees, the sun and heat and the smell make the country one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Okay so first after the arrival we were taken to the hotel by a small hotel train (like those in some cities that take you for a guided tour). It takes you because the reception is some 200m away from the road and 250m from the beach way up a small hill - so I would not recommend to anyone carrying a small baby or elderly people who might just have enough of it after the first time or two.

Languages 2*

We received our "All inclusive badge" at the reception, were taken to the restaurant and were supposed to get the keys afterwards. I will get back to the restaurant later. The personnel were speaking english so that one could understand. German was only spoken by one lady at the reception. But what is the worst - noone of the beach personnel spoke any english or german or any other foreign language - so be prepared to show what you need with your arms and legs :).
We went up to our room - shock!!! If this is four stars than I really don't want to know how 3 and less-star hotels look...Bathroom was still okay and let's say it was clean, although the shower door was damaged so that it couldn't be closed and water was spilling out of the shower so there was a danger that you'd slip if you don't mind your step.
But the rest of the room - well, let's say I imagined some room to hide the luggage - at least. No way! There was a closet made out of four parts - a pity that half of it was so smelling after some disinfection pesticide or how to call it, that if I'd hide my clothes there I would never wash out the smell again. So I hid the bed spread there which didn't look like it was free of living creatures and bugs. I didn't want to risk :). The floor was not tidy.
So I went to open the balcony to see whether we got the requested sea view (which we were assured about by the receptionist). My personal opinion about sea view is that after opening a window or balcony I can directly see the sea/ocean...well, let's say my opinion is a little different than the receptionists. I dd see the sea, however not directly, I had to look left. As the hotel itself is on a hill, you can see the whole area of Santa Maria which is also a nice view. So this wasn't as bad. But the balcony was very very small with a set of plastic seating (2 chairs+1 table) and one "thing" for your laundry - so if you wanted to sit, you should not dry anything and vice versa.
If you have any electronics with yourself and you are outside of continental europe you'll probably already have an adapter. Inside continental europe we usually have the same drawers - not in Italy! I could charge my iPod or phone, but couldn't plug in the laptop. If you need an adapter, you'll find them in the only shop there is in S. Maria - the Big Market (which is really small and yes, that is the name), the adapters are hidden behind a corner so you'd better ask for them (the italian word is Adattore as far as I remember). Also, if you think you'd get an internet access - not here, guys. You can get wifi access in the reception area. Price: only 3 EUR an hour!!! But it gets cheaper and you'll get it for 8EUR/3 hours as far as I remember. (ironic laugh).

Room 2*

Now to the dining - I need to mention right in the beginning - THIS IS NOT ALL INCLUSIVE (Our catalogue said ULTRA All inclusive - meaning that drinks are included - haha - we'll get to that). The food was really delicious, the good thing was that you could choose from about 30 dishes and salads of various tastes every dinner. Breakfast was worse - choosing from a few dishes like croissants, corn flakes, eggs etc. - but all over again each and every morning. Now to the drinks - you may drink whatever you like how much you like - given you like only local beer or wine, pure/sparkling water or really poor imitations of coke/fanta - beware, do not drink from the water pipes, the water is not meant for drinking. So, given you only like these mentioned drinks - you may drink how much you like - but only until 10PM!!! AND!!!! NOT at the beach bar - What? Did you think your holiday was all inclusive?? IN YOUR FACE :). But the restaurant really was nice :). And the personnel always wishes buon apettito :).

Dining 4*
Drinking 1*

Beach: there was a hotel beach we stayed at for maybe 30 minutes (we were waiting until the lifeguard finishes his siesta (1-4pm for everyone) because we wanted to rent a canoe. The entrance into the sea is rocky - you can really hardly find a sandy entrance so if you're staying at the hotel beach buy yourself some rubber shoes if you don't feel safe when barefoot. There is just a small shower reaching to your knees just to wash off the sand on your feet on the hotel beach. In fact, you can only shower in your bathroom. There are just too many deckchairs for such a small area so we went to stay somewhere else on the long beach. But there are Bananas growing over the shower! :).
Now there is an important point - the beach is not sandy. The sand are in fact tiny stones mixed with sand. So don't fall in to the trap if they tell you there are sandy beaches - there are none. But on the rest of the beach there are some nice places to stay at with quite good entrances. The sea itself is something you'll never forget in your life - so clean. But be careful about jelly fishes. There aren't many but be careful and have your eyes opened in case you are diving.

Beach: 2*
Sea: 5*

Night Life in S. Maria - absent. Zero. Nothing-at-all. If you want to experience some nightlife, you'd better go to the nerby village of Capo Vaticano. It's just a village but at least not as dead as Santa Maria at night. There are some nice restaurants and pizzerias with really good pizzas - we tried Pizzeria Campagnola on the top of the village - it was delicious.

If you would like to visit Tropea, you can take a cab from the hotel and back again for I think 7 euros/person. You have three hours to spend in Tropea then. This is a nice service and I have to say that three hours are completely sufficient for Tropea to have a look and buy some souvenirs in one of the shops which are really numerous and nicely decorated.

Things I did not try and therefore cannot review:

Hotel Swimming pool - be sure you are wearing a rubber cap when entering the pool otherwise you are not allowed to enter it.
Sports (Tennis, football, volleyball, whaterver - canoe was great!)
Animation programmes

I hope this review helps you out and that you'll have a nice holiday. I can say for myself that I came there to relax so I tried to look at the bright side of the whole thing and not to make all too much out of it all. With this attitude I need to say that the stay is not so bad, but you'll really need to make the most of it yourself.

Your Hotel Reviewer :).

..can you this feeling,when you are looking on a picture of catalog or internet and you say..wow,this will be a perfect holiday time.it is sooo beautifuuul...
..BUT!
everything change when you come in hotel area...why this hotel got 4*????on the recepcion very bad english,german...sorry,but we are not all from italy!more bader outside area.rooms?beautifull,but only on pictures for travels company.and you think,you get this room like on the picture?yes of course,when you pay every day extra 30-50euro.room,which you get is apartman,but not 4*!what about beach?they promise a similar beach like in karibik.forget it..and don´t forget for beach and sea shoes!and you like all inclusive?then don´t forget,that you get only water,wine,beer..for rest you must extra pay.in room you get also refrigerator,but is all the time empty..service in this hotel is very poor..have a nice holiday :-)
Marcela

To class this hotel as All Inclusive is something of a misnomer, as only wine and local beer is the alcohol in the package, and this only until 10pm - all drinks , even juice and coffee have to be paid for after then. Nor are ice creams included, so beware those visiting with children! The hotel is in a beautiful spot, built on a hillside overlooking a lovely bay. The rooms are basic but clean, and again, be warned; if you are English you are charged 10 euros deposit for a TV remote control, only to find there are NO English channels. Very little English is spoken at all by the hotel Staff, which can cause confusion, and in fact led to us being booked onto a trip on the wrong day and then being asked to pay for our non attendance despite it being their error. There are 2 pools, one of which is very noisy with a busy bar, and one known as the 'Relax Pool' which is quiet and far more pleasant, but this is closed from 1 - 4 pm "because the Italians like their Siesta"! They also have an insane rule that everyone must wear a swimming cap in the pools, and needless to say, these can be purchased from the the hotel for 3 euros each, another added expense for families, as well as making you look like a Wally should you care to indulge! There is nightly entertainment in the open air theatre next to the pool bar, which can best be described as Junior Butlins style, and again, all in Italian. All meals are buffet style, and are of good standard and reasonably varied, with a nice choice of desserts. This is a pleasant hotel with some odd quirks, and is rather isolated, no shops nearby, so a car is needed if you wish to explore the local area, however there is a gym and several sporting activities available if wished.

i have just returned with my family from our summer vacation in capo vaticano, where we stayed in hotel scoglio della galea village 4* resort. hmmm....this is not a 4* resort...rooms: old furniture, small bathroom - no buth tub-very difficult to wash my 15months old baby in the shower. we booked an all inclusive holiday but the reality was only full board. as the hotel is located on a hill, it is very frustrating to push the stroller everyday several times up and down the hill when going to the restaurant-and i am quite a lazy person at all!!! the BBQ restaurant and pizzeria is not open this season :-( . lots of birds´poo around the pool. the local village is small, lot of mess on the streets, smelly, there is only one pizzeria that opens at 6p.m. and two restaurants that open at 7.p.m., there is no other place to go, the nearest town is tropea - has a stunning beach and a few shops, welling mostly jewellerie. the animation team of the hotel is great, but their knowledge of english is very poor (except the boss of the team). reception desk services are poor, the staff is not speaking english. there is a reef stretching along the beach, it is very difficult to enter the sea.