Giardini Calce Luxury Rooms

While this place wouldn’t have been our first choice had others been available, we were excited to stay. Sadly the “luxury rooms” didn’t live up to expectations. Ours, Gide, was spacious enough but lacked the character you’d expect from a room in the centre of the old town. It was also lacking some key elements, number one, a safe, breezily dismissed by Alessia, the hotel receptionist, as “not needed because everything’s safe here”. Number two, good ventilation. If the AC wasn’t on (and the heated towel rail wasn’t on either), our wet towels didn’t dry. We ended up hanging them over the bathroom and wardrobe doors. When we requested they be changed, we were told that happened every three days, more frequent and we’d be charged. Outside the room, there are no communal areas; this meant that on rainy days we had to sit in the room. Contrary to our booking details, breakfast wasn’t served in the garden but, on the provision of our vouchers, at the cafe in the square. I know Italian breakfast is limited but the daily croissant/bread and jam or omelette offering was monotonous to say the least (and one of the waitresses there, the young, slim one, is clearly in the wrong job as she couldn’t have been more surly if she had tried). Finally, we didn’t realise that Ravello is wedding central; the rooms’ location overlooking the square meant it was very noisy. We were kept awake until the early hours by revellers in the square and by revellers staying at the B&B. Summary would be we were disappointed; we saw more of the cleaner than we saw of the receptionist (though she was responsive by WhatsApp). It felt more like we were lodgers than hotel guests despite being charged hotel prices - €310 per night to be precise. These “luxury rooms” are lacking luxury and are expensive for what they offer. Our recommendation; stay at the Garden hotel, lovely, friendly staff, fabulous pool and views, tasty food (if the lunchtime salad is anything to go by).