It's taken me awhile to write this, because I have mixed feelings about the Hotel Olimpico. I had very high expectations. I feel that, on their website, they present themselves as a resort hotel. And, of course, they can't be blamed for the weather, which was not great when we were there. If it had been, we probably would have enjoyed our stay more, because as it was too cool and rainy to go in the pool, (and the beach doesn't even open until Mid-May). I have to agree with the people who say the location is not great. If you don't have a car, you are pretty much completely dependent on the shuttle bus. That's ok, but the problem is this: you have to book it in advance, and you can't always predict when you're going to want to return. If you don't have a phone (which we didn't), you could wind up stranded in downtown Salerno for a long time. And believe me, you don't want that to happen. Especially if you're stuck at the train station. There is not even one bench, and you DON"T want to go to the ladies' room there if you can help it. Another big disappointment for me was the lack of assistance by the staff. One of them, Laura, was very pleasant and she did try to be helpful. However, she advised us that we could get to Paestum by bus, which would come across the road from the hotel, at 11:00. Well, we waited there until around 11:20, and gave up. We had no way of knowing whether or not the bus would actually come (we were the only ones waiting) and when we got back to the hotel, the man at the desk (Giuseppe, I believe) informed us that this is a private bus, not a city bus, and sometimes doesn't show up. We later got a different story from Laura, who explained that time is basically a relative concept in Italy, and the bus might just have been late. At the time, we asked Giuseppe what our options were, and if he could arrange for a taxi to take us to Paestum. He discouraged us from doing this, by saying that it would be expensive (I believe, 40 euros each way). This basically ruined our day because we had to wait until 2:00 to go into Salerno on the shuttle (as there was nothing else to do) and once there, we didn't really have enough time to get on a train or bus to go anywhere else. So we spent the afternoon walking around Salerno and at least saw the historic district. The point is that a resort hotel would do a much better job of arranging day trips to neighboring areas. All they do is hand you a plastic container filled with maps and brochures. They did not offer to contact an excursion company for us. Now, for the good part. I have to disagree with the other reviewers who did not like the restaurant. For me, that was the best part about the hotel. Both my husband and I loved the food. We did not have one bad dish there, and the waiters were wonderful. We even enjoyed Heaven, the restaurant across the street (and I am SO thankful they were open for lunch on the day we got stuck there, or we would have starved since the hotel restaurant doesn't open until 7:30). I have to agree that the area around the hotel is very run-down, and you do feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. Our room was also a bit of a disappointment, since it was a "Superior" room with a sea view, but it was quite small, in fact the smallest room we stayed in while we were in Italy for 12 days. All in all, this was an "ok" stay, but if we toured this area again, we would absolutely stay someplace like Sorrento, Amalfi, or Positano, even if it cost a little bit more.
