I recently logged onto your site to select a hotel for a family holiday next spring and felt I had to write after reading a traveller’s comments on the Albergo Rufolo in Ravello Italy.

My husband, son and I, together with a few friends, stayed in the Rufolo this year to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, and our experience was completely wonderful.

One of our guests is tetraplegic and struggles to get truly wheelchair accessible accommodation when travelling in Europe, but the staff at the Rufolo were absolutely super, from arranging a pickup at Naples airport in an appropriate vehicle , to researching restaurants in the local area with good accessibility, including parking spaces close to or right outside the restaurant (not an easy feat as anyone who knows the Amalfi coast and its parking difficulties will appreciate), to taking off internal doors in my friends room in order to better facilitate movement between the bedroom and bathroom, and finally assisting him to access their small but delightful vegetable garden and vineyard (which necessitated staff lifting him in his wheelchair up the steps and over the a wall).

Our own experience was also lovely, from the wonderful meals on the terrace and in the silver service restaurant (they have recently acquired a new chef and he seemed very keen to match the quality and style on offer in the big 5 star hotels in Ravello) to the spotless rooms and bathrooms, the delightful spa (where we found the staff to be first rate and the decor of beautiful local handmade tiles and mosaics quite luxurious ) and finally to arranging a celebration cake at the last minute (which my husband very unreasonably ordered on the morning of our anniversary to be served to our guests at lunch that day!).

The Rufolo lacks a modern state of the art pool, but with the amalfi coast just a few minutes drive away our preference was to go to one of the many nearby beaches and relax and enjoy the view.

We would warmly recommend the Rufolo to any traveller to the Amalfi coast. It is one of the few good hotels in Ravello remaining in private hands, which we feel gives that extra something where service is concerned, and where most of the clientele seemed to be regulars coming back year after year.

Villa Rufolo has the most stunning views of anywhere we have been on the Amalfi Coast, or anywhere else for that matter.One day we took a path of steps and walkways all the way down to Minori. It was like going back in time. We caught a bus from Minori to Amalfi and another from Amalfi back to Ravello. The weather was perfect the first couple of days and by the time we left for Naples it was snowing. Even that was beautiful. Ravello is a magical place. The bell tower bells sounded like music to us. The room was large and clean . Caution: If you are expecting a jr. suite with a terrace big enough for a table and chairs you need to request it before hand. I mistakenly thought that all jr. suites had that. When we arrived and saw our terrace was standing room only, the staff did move us to another suite. It is just a shame that a couple members of the staff finds it necesssary to belittle their guests. Not once, but twice when returning to the hotel we were stopped and asked where we were going. When telling them we were returning to our room we were asked if we had a key as though we didn't belong there. There couldn't have been more than a handful of guests at the hotel. Bottom line, a great place to stay if you can ignore a couple of the staff's arrogance.

Apart from the incredibly and unhelpful front desk staff, my stay at this hotel was a very pleasant one. I was in Ravello for a wedding and the bride and groom booked several rooms for their guests to stay in. The stunning view from the terrace in my room left me breathless. It overlooked the breakfast area and the Villa Rufolo. Two of us shared a room, and it was spacious and very clean. They have a turn-down service every night. The sheets and blankets were tucked in so tightly that I had to completely unmake the bed in order to be able to fit my feet comfortably at the end. The bathroom was large and clean. The shower was in the middle of the bathtub on the wall, rather than on the end, so if you have big feet, good luck turning sideways to get under it. My pontoons were halfway up the side of the bathtub, and I thought I was going to fall out of it a couple of times. Overall, the front desk staff was curt, unhelpful, and rude. On my last night, I was berated for a group of us not showing up at 10pm to pay the room bill before checking out the next morning, since they are unable to make any transactions any later than that, even though the staff is there 24 hours a day. Somehow they managed to get the payment through, even though it was 11:30pm. They unapologetically forgot my 3:30 am wake-up call on my last night, and I had to run to my airport bus with a huge suitcase dragging behind. I guess this was punishment for unknowingly being late to pay our bill. Beware of the hotel masseuse. If you are looking for a traditional therapeutic massage, this is not the place to go. Several fellow guests felt slightly violated after the experience.

Small rooms, outrageously rude staff, unimpressive swimming pool. The charm of having church bells toll every 5 minutes outside your room stretches you to the end of your tether as you find yourself without sleep the next day.

In all,deeply unimpressive. The front desk staff are so incredibly rude you will wonder why on earth you spent so much money staying there.