Torre Barbara

beautiful location, view, parking swimming pool, breakfast / meal terrace with a view of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius friendly staff, possibility of hotel pickup for the Capri excursion very good meal

We had a fantastic stay at Hotel Torre Barbara, with absolutely stunning views of Mount Vesuvius, the sea, the surrounding landscape and the beautifully maintained hotel grounds. We stayed in a ‘Family Room with Sea View’, which exceeded our expectations; apart from the breathtaking view, the room itself was spacious and comfortable, with plenty of storage, excellent Wi-Fi and an impressively powerful shower. The restaurant food and service were first class. Throughout our stay, we were made to feel incredibly welcome and genuinely looked after — especially our children, towards whom the staff were wonderfully warm and affectionate and provided off-menu child sized portions. It really added to the feeling that this was somewhere special. Breakfast too was varied and plentiful. The reception team were equally friendly and efficient. A particular mention must go to Sara, who went above and beyond when we had to reschedule a boat trip to Capri at the last minute due to illness. Although this was completely unrelated to the hotel, she immediately contacted the company via WhatsApp and helped us rearrange everything without us incurring a fee. Exceptional service and a real credit to the hotel! The swimming pool was another highlight. It was fabulous and considerably larger than we had expected from the photographs. There are a few loungers positioned underneath the pool, so you may get the occasional splash from above — but this certainly didn’t detract from our enjoyment of the pool area. There were enough sun loungers for all and lots of both sun and shade to move between. A couple of practical points are worth noting for anyone arriving by car: the car park entrance/exit is a narrow ramp and requires some skill and confidence, when joining the road as it’s high speed and hard to see to pull out and when pulling into the hotel due to the tight angle. We also found that the car park was always busy, so it’s worth planning ahead if you have an early departure so you don’t get blocked in. There is of course the hotel shuttle but we’d recommend letting the driver know where to drop you as he won’t stop otherwise! These small practical considerations aside, our stay was absolutely wonderful. We will remember it as a truly special five-star experience.

I really struggled to write this review as Mirella and the hotel staff were so helpful and polite. This was our third time at Vivo Equense, the first was July 2010, our honeymoon and we stayed at a local 5 star hotel. We reviewed this hotel and choose it as we were staying for 8 nights and wanted a relaxing base near both Vico Equense and Sorento. The location and the hotel room itself was not to the standard of a four star hotel. The room was tiny and not equipped for a stay for more than a few days ( two tiny drawers and a hanging rack) . We couldn’t unpack. We had trouble with the lights, only one overhead light worked and beside lights didn’t work. The single biggest issue was the location. There was no footpaths and you have to drive or take a taxi everywhere. We went to a restaurant we know by foot the first night and we had torches but you were walking in a water gully full of glass and weeds and the traffic was horrible and scary at the pace they were driving ( do not even consider if you have children or older relatives) .There is limited transfers from the hotel but if you want to go out for dinner it will require a taxi back between €50 and €70. I won’t comment on the tiny pool area. We are lucky we now live in Italy and we had our car to drive home. Bookings. Com and Mirella were very good to issue us a refund but be careful to do you homework if you are travel here from abroad.I wish it was different for us.