Hotel Capo Casale - Maratea, Italy     

We stayed at this hotel for a wedding in the town, the location high up in the village underneath the statue of Jesus is superb. I never got tired of looking at the view over the rooftops. The drive from Naples airport was long but Maratea is easy to find. Follow the instructions to the centre of the town and then take a tiny little road on the right opposite the fountain in the main square. Keep going...keep going... keep going and you will eventually see the hotel on the left hand side. The roads are really really narrow and it is no surprise to see that every car (including the hire cars) are covered in bumps and scratches. You can park the car by the side of the road outside the hotel but it has to be hard up against the wall which means the driver has to get out of the passenger side. The hotel is clean and tidy, our room was big as was our bathroom. They are styled in a sort of 80's decor which looks a bit old fashioned now and the large bathroom was let down by the cheap and nasty shower cubicle which took up a tiny corner of a big room. A larger more expensive shower or wet room would have looked fantastic. Breakfast was OK and served in a room next to the terrace. This lovely terrace was not in use at all during our stay which was hugely disappointing. and it would have been a perfect place for a nightcap after walking up all the steps from the town but no such luck. Staff were strangely absent most of the time and when they were around seemed not bothered. They could have made a fortune from us in lunches, drinks and after dinner nightcaps but chose not to. Ladies - do not wear high-heeled sandals or shoes with slippery soles, you will come a cropper on the slippery stone steps. In the town, find the little taverna up a side street past the souvernir shops - the food is fantastic!

Nice hotel with fantastic panoramic view however difficult to reach (handicapped not at all) . 3 Star hotel and rooms are as such. Friendly staff and possibility to drink a bottle of wine or so on the terrace (no restaurant), even after midnight. 5 minutes by car to the (beautiful) beach. Very quiet so good place to relax a couple of days