Grand Hotel President

My friend and I had a fabulous holiday at the Grand Hotel President in Sorrento between 23rd Aug - 2nd Sept. Our room with balcony (Room 244) was lovely with an amazing panoramic view over Sorrento, Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. The hotel is up the hill, there is a path to town, we did walk down to the town but always used the shuttle bus to get back to the hotel. Call out to the fantastic staff especially Antonio who was our lovely, friendly shuttle bus driver (he even gave everyone on the bus a cake on his birthday!), Luigi in the restaurant who always remembered our favourite wine, Maria Grazia from housekeeping who did a great job looking after our room. Overall we had a fabulous holiday with amazing memories, would recommend the hotel to anyone.

It’s not very fair of me to say Hotel President is only a 3/5. It’s more like a 3.75/5. It’s ok. It’s fine. It’s not dreadful. But it’s not a 5/5. If you are planning a visit I feel you should know all the facts. Hotel President does have amazing views. Seeing Vesuvius every morning while having breakfast is truly stunning but…the hotel itself is old fashioned. One guest we met said she came 10 years ago, and it “hadn’t changed in the slightest”. Read into that what you will. The breakfast is fine, especially if you like cake. They have a small selection of continental breakfast, but surprisingly the ricotta and the mozzarella have no flavour whatsoever. There is some cooked offerings which is ,again, fine. Then there is some cake and some pretty bland filled croissant type things. It’s ok. The pool opens at 9am but you can’t get a towel until 9.30am. Speaking of getting a towel you are given a laminated card when you arrive at the hotel. This is your towel card. You hand this in at the pool bar to receive one towel. At the end of the day you hand the towel back in. Then you go to the reception desk to get a new laminated card for the next day. I am not sure why. The hotel is situated up on a cliff. The views are incredible. But the hotel is the only thing up there, apart from other hotels. If you don’t want to eat at the hotel you have to get down the cliff. Apparently there is a “short cut” you can walk, that is about 2.5km long, down the side of the cliff. There is also a complimentary mini bus every hour, from the hotel to Sorrento. Be warned, it is a bumpy ride. Depending on traffic it can take 20-25 minutes to get down to the drop off. To go back up the cliff you wait with everyone one else from all the other hotels at the side of the road. For someone who has a bit of anxiety about being in the correct place, this isn’t fun. There aren’t any signs to let you know where to stand, you just stand. If you want to eat during the day at the hotel you can eat at the pool bar. You can get an ok selection of food from 12:30-3, slightly pricy but you are up a cliff so they can charge what they like. You can get “snacks” at the pool bar from 3-5. We had a decent pizza, a tomato pasta dish and some fries one day and they were actually good. Charging €7 for 2 tiny scoops of icecream is a crime though. The rooms do have a small fridge with some bottles of water in, but the bottles of water cost €3.50, so be warned. You can buy water from a supermarket, but it’s down the cliff. Speaking of the rooms be aware there aren’t many sockets. An extension strip might be an idea if you have more than just 2 phones to charge. The rooms are fine. The beds are slightly hard but that’s personal preference. Everywhere is tiled and as my husband found out on the second day, tiles are slippery when wet. The bath is also slippery and as in most hotels the shower screen is just that little bit too small so the bathroom floor gets a lovely soaking every time you shower. The sun deck on the top of the hotel is a lovely place to sit. Very quiet, a great selection of seating from rocking chairs ,swinging chairs to comfy couches. Lots of shade or sun depending on what you want. The views are stunning. I think it’s was actually my favourite place in the whole hotel. The staff seem friendly, especially, it seemed, if you have been here before. The guests average age seemed to be about 65, but that may have been the time of year we visited. Overall Hotel President is fine. If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing it is probably an ok base, but be aware it will take you a while to get anywhere. If you like to be able to find little places to go and have a meal, a walk around a town, a morning iced coffee, know it will take you a while to get to that too.

My wife and I have just returned from the Grand Hotel President in Sorrento. It was our fifth visit to this hotel. We love the place and there is always a sense of returning home when we get there. The staff throughout the hotel are outstanding, so friendly and kind. The food is fabulous and the panoramic views over Sorrento and the Bay of Naples must be the best of any hotel in the city. The whole hotel is spotlessly clean and it's a great place to stay. Grazie mille Grand Hotel President!

The staff were fantastic, couldn't do enough for you. Breakfast had lots of choice, room service very good, as was the evening meal in the restaurant. Views to die for, *get a sea view room* Rooms well equipped and beds comfortable. The hotel is up on a hilltop, hence the fantastic views. There is a goat path down to the town. Ok, going down but a slog going back up. There is a regular shuttle bus from the hotel down to the town, always enough space on it, and the main driver is lovely, he interacts and plays some great tunes. Best hotel we've stayed at. We will definitely return.