Hotel Gli Dei - Pozzuoli, Italy     

My wife and I loved this hotel. We drove from Rome looking for a hotel on the ocean and could not find anything nice. It started getting late and we were hungry and tired when we started follwing signs to Gli Dei. We drove to the top of a steep hill that turns out to be the ledge of an ancient volcano. The view out into the Mediteranian was incredible. We figured the hotel was way out of our budget, but it was an affordable $135 euro in July. A regular hotel room by the airport was $260. There was a wedding going on, but we asked if we could eat by the pool. They said sure and a man immediately set up a table for us that had that incredible view. It turned out he was the owner. We ordered a broiled seafood platter and a bottle of wine that was outstanding and the service was excellent. We couldn't have been happier. We stayed for a week. The staff was excellent, the owners very friendly, and the hotel was sparkiling clean. You need a car to go to places and there isn't entertainment on site, but Pozzuoli is hopping and Naples is ten minutes away. Thank you for book Antonio, the best waiter in all of Italy.

This is the second time staying at the Gli Dei. Only in Naples, with its piles of garbage in the streets, would this hotel rank a 4-star rating. Rooms are basic, though clean. The major plus is the spectacular view of the bay. There are no "nonsmoking" rooms, and smoke can be smelled throughout the hotel and its rooms. Here's a little lesson I learned this time around: I arrived early afternoon and was a little hungry. The Gli Dei is not walking distance to any restaurants or cafes, so I asked the receptionist if the hotel kitchen was open. He showed me to the restaurant, where I was the only patron. I told the waiter I just wanted a lite lunch, something small. He said they had a fixed lunch menu, which was the only option. OK, I said, and proceeded to have a nice little lunch of prosciutto and parmesan, followed by a little bowl of pasta, followed by a lite fish dish. Perfect, I thought. I never saw the bill, as the waiter disappeared. When I wanted to leave, I went back out to the reception, and the receptionist indicated that the waiter was on break, and they would just charge the lunch to the room. That was OK, I thought, until I went to check out the next day. The lunch was on the bill alright...for 64 Euros. When I expressed my dismay to the receptionist, I got the classic Italian shrug. This was my last time staying at this clip-joint.