Grand Hotel Riviera

We loved our stay at Grand Hotel Riviera -- the location is perfect (at the quiet end of the street) and easy walk into town. All of the front desk staff are extremely helpful and friendly. Our room was a good size with a balcony facing the bay, although unfortunately at this time of year (end of October) it did not get any direct sun (same thing with the "beach" area and pool for this time of year). I read some comments about the room being dated and I felt the opposite -- it had very modern furniture, it was light and colorful and had really good lighting which is often an issue in hotels. And an awesome shower. The breakfast buffet was quite extensive; we ate dinner one night at the hotel and food was very good too. My only issue is that the hotel is technically not non-smoking even though that's in the TripAdvisor description. People were smoking outside at the breakfast tables (not enjoyable while eating), and I question if the rooms are non-smoking since there was an ashtray in the room. Sorrento area and Grand Hotel Riviera are wonderful -- we almost extended our stay for 2 more days.

Fabulous hotel, really impressive lobby and surroundings. Amazing views of Vesuvius from.the terrace. About a 15 minute stroll to the centre of Sorrento. We didn't use the pool, but did swim in the sea which was a treat. The breakfast was decent, a big choice of foods. The pancakes and pastries especially good. I do agree that the room was a little tired, but it was spotlessly clean and had a good shower. We didn't plan on spending much time in the room, and we didn't, so it suited us fine. I found the staff as attentive and helpful as anywhere in Italy. I would stay here again

Stayed here for 3 nights in October. The positives are that it is a very nicely decorated hotel with stunning views. The lobby, bar and restaurant are beautiful and the views over the bay are as good as you will get. The private terrace for swimming in the sea is one of the main benefits too. Unfortunately the rooms and the service were severe let downs. We stayed in room 98 and it is in definite need of a revamp. Ants got into the bathroom during the night. This didn't massively bother me and I understand that because the hotel is surrounded by citrus trees this can be an issue but there didn't seem to be much effort to prevent them getting in e.g. there are loads of gaps between the bathroom tiles and the mirror. They could also wipe the bathroom with a lemon cleaner to discourage the ants to come in. We didn't get great nights sleep as there is a large gap under the door which lets light and noise in. We probably could have asked to move to another room but that's not really practical at 2am. All that's really required is a bit of effort to block off the bottom of the door. Again it seems to be just another small detail which has been overlooked. There is also no iron in the room, which is unacceptable for a 4 star hotel in my opinion. I believe the hotel claim this is a safety precaution but plenty of other hotels seem to survive whilst allowing their guests to have an iron. It might seem trivial but the Do Not Disturb sign was very tatty and worn as well. My impression is of a hotel which puts all its efforts on looking good but little effort on the minor details. Service in the bar was also lacking. There were plenty of staff but they were never in much of a rush to check if you needed another drink. Twice we had to go to the barman as he was spending most of his time looking at his phone. I decided to eat once and ordered some pasta which was decent enough. My wife ordered some french fries, expensive at €8, but when we got the bill they had added on a €5 service charge per person, so the french fries ended up costing €13! On top of this, drinks were very expensive, a bottle of Peroni was €6 when it would cost around €3/4 in the town. I'd understand if service was fantastic, but it really wasn't. Pure profiteering as they know the majority of their clientele will just pay it. Lastly, the pool is quite cold until the sun really starts to hit it. A solar powered heater would be a small, but worthwhile investment.