What a beautiful property, and the rooms and amenities were first class. We booked this week-long cooking school vacation through International Kitchen. Every morning we would report to the kitchen at 10:00am for our leason. Our teacher, Carmen, was the best part of the whole package. We laughed, danced, chopped, boiled and mixed our way through the morning. By lunchtime we were ready to clean up, and their first class staff served us either what we had prepared, or a lighter lunch. We often had what we prepared for dinner. They were so incredibly flexible. If we asked about a certain fish, then the next day we would be cutting it open and preparing a dish using that same fish. After lunch they would have a driver pick us up and wisk us away to sightsee. They arranged trips to Positano, Ravello, Amalfi, Pompeii, the island of Capri, and a local lemon grove where we learned how to make Lemoncello and Mozarella cheese. We would arrive back to the hotel around 6:00-ish, and have a lettle free time until dinner. I can't say enough about the food. Everything we ate was absolutely delicous! After dinner we would chat with other guests into the wee hours, drinking wine and sharing stories.

I can't say enough about this property, and the staff. We really just had a wonderful time, and there isn't a thing I would have changed, or asked them to change.

Well after reading all the reviews on this site it seemed to be a must do place to stay.
We tried to book rooms but unfortunately all booked thus we took the new large cottage which sleeps a family of 4.

We assumed this would be fine as we were able to use all the hotel facilities etc and as the cottages were within the grounds of the hotel we thought this would be fine.

On arriving at the hotel we were surprised when we were told we could have no food as it was Friday and all was closed. Never mind. We had started travelling from London early that morning and after a horrendous journey from Naples airport we didnt expect to have to travel again just to have a meal.

We were then surprised when we had to drive out of the hotel, across a dirt car park passed a large multi storey hotel and taken to our cottage which was situated behind this hotel. Not exactly as we expected.
However the cottage was of good standard, but did lack a few bare essentials for self catering (no knife for cutting bread etc).

We were also shocked there were no lounging chairs for sitting in the garden, just the simple wooden chairs you see in the photos.

We do like to sunbathe and sitting on barren grass wasnt ideal.
I asked three times about the possibility of having something to sit on in the garden as they had a plentiful supply of comfortable sun loungers in the hotel grounds to be told on each occasion that the cottages didnt come with sun loungers! Eventually however I did receive two.
OK lets move on.

On the third day we were told the Hotel had been exclusively booked by an Israeli family, we could no longer have use of the restaurant, breakfast room and two days after even the pool !

Private area on beach - Only for hotel guests
Taxi to beach - Only for hotel guests

Carmen - Well after all the reviews I read on this site I was shocked and find them hard to believe!

She didnt even speak to us and wasnt involved in any of our issues, very very poor management.

However Giovanna (manager) did try her best but stuck to her guns, no compensation, no offers of any subsidies etc.

Luisa - Top class fantastic.

If you stay in the cottages unfortunately your not and never feel part of this idyllic , classy establishment. In my opinion the cottages are quite expensive as really apart from the pool and the daily cleaner there was no other plus points. If you stay in the hotel you possibly see the sea view but certainly no view is possible from the location of the cottages.

My conclusions - Im sure on a cooking course all would be great and Im sure Carmen would be this fanastic person everyone says she is.
If your not on a course beware, and certainly take the many fantastic reviews here with a pinch of salt.

Breakfast - Once again take no notice of reviews here, whilst the first few days it was fine it just went down hill day by day, if only I had my camera on our last day you would have been shocked at what was offered.

1 week stay is ample (we stayed for 14, far too long)
You do need a car
Dont go in August
Dont assume all will be fantastic

Please contact us if you want any further Information, pictures etc.

I will gladly talk about our experience.

VIc - Somerset, UK

Having read the last review, I'm really shocked. As newlyweds, we booked this hotel for it's location, food and the fact that so many people rated it . . . we were not disappointed. Although we were booked into the junior suite of the hotel.
From the moment we arrived till the moment we left all of the staff were very attentive, nothing was too much trouble for them - providing us with insect repellent, maps and directions, recommendations for restaurants, bus routes etc.
The room was serviced mega efficiently, as soon as we returned from breakfast the room was done and was turned down in the evening. Room service was fast and efficient . . . the wine list is very impressive. The only minor downside (I stress minor) was that my husband moaned about the walk from the village back to the hotel (it's uphill) but given that he hates walking anywhere, it wasn't really an issue.
I'd recommend hiring a car, as it's the perfect location to explore the entire Amalfi Coast. If you prefer public transport, then the village is served well by the blue SITA buses - the hotel staff will provide maps etc. Top tip - if you're coming back from Sorrento, the bus stop changes location depending on the time of day. Make sure you know where to go, otherwise you could be left standing for some time!!

My family stayed in one of the cottages at this hotel. We did not want to stay in a cottage but due to the hotel being full we thought it was worth it as we were so looking forward to quiet evenings with fantastic food.
When we arrived the hotel had been completely taken over by a huge group of the most unruly families I have ever encountered. We were told that we were not allowed to eat in the hotel as this group had exclusivity and did not welcome any outsiders (as we were considered in the cottage).
One of the highlights of our stay was to be the beautiful food in the restaurant but this was not to be.
We were told that we were not to eat breakfast with them and so we ate in the kitchen, and the spread for breakfast was poor and deteriorated over the ten days we were there.
We were never allowed or even found out whether we could have purchased a drink in the hotel.
We had 2 boys of 12 with us and they were like saints compared to these other destructive children, yet we were the ones that felt ostracised.
Carmen hardly passed the time of day with us and when we complained at the end and asked to speak to Carmen she would not even show her face. Perhaps she was too embarassed because we were definitely treated shoddily.
On the positive side, the cottage was very clean and well appointed, and there were a couple of the staff whp tried to make us feel welcome.
On the whole I feel we should have been told about the hooligans who took over the place and then we could have made the decision to have stayed elsewhere.
Beautiful location but they would have to pay me to go back there.
UNFRIENDLY, UNFRIENDLY, UNFRIENDLY!!!!!!!!!!
I feel severely let down as this 10 days was the bulk of our holiday.
Perhaps this is a warning to people to be a bit cautious when somewhere gets such fantastic reviews.