Parco Del Sole

Visited last year and a pretty much last minute holiday this year with family. Good base location for visiting the area. One thing that really annoyed me was the inability to get a lounger/ seat at the pool. Despite posters stating no access prior to 9 am, you go out and everyone has a towel or personal belongings on them- usually don’t appear for a few hours. Last straw was this evening when I saw a brazen family put their towels out in front of everyone then went for dinner. Spoke to the chap on the desk who couldn’t have been more disinterested if he tried! Poor effort. They need to enforce this.

We travelled to Sorrento in the final week of July amidst the europe-wide heatwave. We arrived at midday and we were immediately told to take advantage of the lunch available outside in the dining area there. After lunch, we were given our keys and made our way to our room where our cases were waiting for us. We had a third floor room which had a small balcony with a sea view. From the room we could see Vesuvius and the sea in the distance. The balcony was really small and only just fit 2 chairs but it was good to have the view we did. The room was the smallest we have had on holiday but was perfectly functional. It was just a bedroom and small bathroom with sink and shower, there was no area to really sit separately but then we didn't really need it. Decor wise it is a litle dated but clean and gives the place charm. The bathroom could do with a refurb as it's caramel colour is dated. The room does have air con but we found this poor. We ended up buying two small fans to have on the bedside tables (theres a shop opposite the hotel entrance selling electricals). However, we heard one family comment on the excellent air con to a staff member so I'm not sure if some rooms have better than others. There is a safe and small fridge in the room too. The safe is free and water is routinely replenished in the fridge. The hotel is an odd shape with winding corridors which have been clad in a stripy laminate wood design- this is out of character with the hotel and would be better painted white to bring more light as they are quite dark. The All inclusive board was great for those who don't want the hassle of budgeting for meals while on holiday. Breakfast has a good variety with hot and cold options. Hot food included bacon (the type common in Spain/Italy), eggs (scrambled and fried), mushrooms, cocktail-style sausages and pancakes. Crucially, no beans which seemed odd when they are clearly attempting to provide an english breakfast. Sadly, the english brekkie, if this is your thing, will disappoint. There is also toast, a wide range of jams (oddly positioned as far from the toaster as its possible to position them), cold meats and cheese, pastries, fresh fruit (water melon, melon, orange, pineapple) and yoghurts. We always managed to find enough to eat to start the day. Drinks are juices but are the incredibly sweet type from a machine- its a sugar hit that will certainly wake you up. Theres also hot drinks too. Breakfast is served inside on the floor below reception. There is indoor and outdoor seating but the outdoor is a little depressing as you're sat on a level below the main ground level with no view. Lunchtime they serve food out by the pool. There seems to be no real change in the food served at this time of day with pizzas, pastas, chips and salad fairly standard every day. Having said that, we found the quality good and perfectly adequate to provide a snack mid day. There is a drinks machine serving absolutely ice-cold drinks which was absolutely fab in the heat. The bar is also open and serves cold treats as well as drinks. Theres also bottles of wine to help yourself to as well. I tried two cocktails from their menu but found both undrinkable- too strong/chemically. If you are off on a day out you can order a lunch to take with you. You need to order this with Reception staff and pick it up the next day at breakfast. We did this once, but picking it up the waiter claimed he hadn't had the order forwarded to him (we'd done exactly what we were told to) but he did go and make up two lunches. These consisted of a small cheese sandwich, apple and small carton of juice. We weren't overly impressed with this and didn't bother ordering again. In the evening, some evenings food is served outside and some inside. They do a BBQ evening, Meditteranean evening and a Seafood evening all outside. On these evenings there is also entertainment. We really enjoyed the BBQ evening- there is great choice of meats, salads, pastas etc. The entertainment was also fun. One evening we had a wondeful traditional group singing and dancing amongst the tables which was great. The indoor evenings there was also a wide range of choice and we always managed to find something to enjoy. I would say that this hotel wouldn't be my first choice if I had young children. Though we saw a few families there, the food choices are geared to adults- there isn't a child friendly section you might find in a spanish hotel. However, if your children are adventurous in their eating and willing to try new things they'll be fine. The pool area is surrounded as you'd expect by sunbeds but also some deckchairs. We didn't use this area but it always seemed packed without any spare beds available so it will be a case of getting up early to reserve beds if you want them. The pool is a reasonable size. All of the staff at the hotel are welcoming and willing to answer all your questions with a smile. We had a lovely chat with the ladies at Reception including an older lady who spent time chatting to me about how the area has changed since we last visited 30 years ago. It was nice to feel like they cared about their guests enough to spare that time. The waiting staff were also lovely, always cheery even in the awful hot temperatures they were working in. The staff are I think the highlight of this hotel. The complimentary bus service down to sorrento town was also fab. We used it several times and they will always fit you on board as some guests sometimes stood in the aisles- however its a short 10 min journey so not an issue. The location of the hotel is good. It is sited on a busy road but set back. Nearby ( turn right out of the hotel and walk 10 mins) is the train station where you can catch trains to Pompeii and Herculanenum. We visited both and would highly recommend. Turning left out of the hotel you can walk to Sorrento if you want to, though the free bus is better in the heat! You can book trips via the hotel reception and we booked the Amalfi coast trip and Capri. All were great. The Jet2 rep was around a fair bit though we didn't need to use her this trip. Sorrento town is stunning. We enjoyed ambling around the narrow streets littered with souvenir shops, bars and cafes. Wandering down to the port was nice and you can jump on boat trips from here. There is a lemon grove not far from the coach car park in the town where you can enjoy a tour with tasting too. Do it! It's great- La Limonaia www.lalimonaiasorrento.it We did discover the need to douse yourself in mosquito spray. Almost immediately we started getting bitten and looking at the other guests we were not alone. I don't normally get bitten but they feasted on me this holiday! However, though annoying, it didn't ruin the holiday and we still loved our visit.

This hotel is great for budget family or couples. The staff are very helpful and knowledgeable and can have a laugh! The hotel is classes as 4 star but jet2 3 star and rightly so....people think it's dated but actually its deliberately decorated this way. The food was good hot and a variety even for fussy eaters. The location is good from the town of sorrento there is a good shuttle bus service with air-conditioning. The only issue we really had was the lack of evening entertainment there really needs to be something more like the Thursday night entertainment level more nights. The mosquitos are terrible you NEED Deet if you can and even then it might not work!! The pool was clean every day and lovely size. Could do with a few more umbrellas but not really a big issue. The room for a couple was lovely and clean and the x2 shower types was perfectly for adults and children. The hotel do sell excursions to capri and id 100% recommend it! Overall lovely holiday