Grand Hotel Santa Maria

An absolute gem in Santa Maria di Castellabate that full filled our expectations! Super clean, great rooms, view and most importantly fantastic staff.I am not giving a stars purely because there is a hidden service charge that doesn't make any sense If you order food or drinks they will add an amount on to your bill so you don't what you are actually spending. For a 4star hotel you would expect no extra charges for breakfast ( bacon , French toast , omelette etc.). Also, you should be made aware at check in of city tax to be payed at checks out as they aren't included

A truly enjoyable stay in all senses. The beautiful location, the friendly and attentive staff, the lovely room, the hotel decor and all the amenities made it a wonderful experience. We would return in a heart beat!

A beautiful sea front hotel with stunning views. Very well located with great access to Paestum and Old Castellabate. It is just a short walk to the town with everything you might need. You can follow the road or walk along the beach, however you may need your phone torch for a very short section along the beach at night. There is free parking with the hotel which is located in the town; a lovely porter will shuttle you to and from your car. There are some spaces right outside the hotel for ease with bags and disabled spaces there too. The rooms are large and very clean with incredibly comfortable beds. We had a sea view and a lovely balcony. The showers here are amazing! The hotel boasts its own private beach, which is sand and staff will arrange loungers for you, you can access the bar from the beach using the QR code on your umbrella. Lovely clear water and an amazing sunset experience sat in the beach bar. Mostly excellent service, we only had an issue with one of the receptionists, who had some attitude but everyone else was very friendly and helpful. There was Maximillian on reception, who was fantastic, a lovely blonde on the beach bar with the friendliest smile and was really enthusiastic and last but certainly not least the porter who was so very generous and helpful. There are lots of bars within the hotel, all with differing opening hours listed in the elevators. You receive and amazing snack variety with drinks. We never ate at the hotel as we decided to go into town, but if we stayed again we definitely would as the breakfast was very good. I personally prefer a savoury breakfast, however my mother says the apricot tart there is superb (a regional speciality I believe). The chocolate cake looked delicious, but sadly I had to abstain as I was attending a wedding shortly after. I had hoped for some tomatoes to go with my breakfasts, but there were not any provided. There was every kind of milk or juice available and plenty of fresh fruit, preserves and yoghurts. Hams, cheeses, eggs and a full patisserie selection. The pain au chocolat style Italian pastry I am told was delicious along with some of the doughnut looking types of food. There are lots of nice touches around the hotel and in the bedroom giving an air of luxury, such as the towelling slippers, which were very much appreciated and used. I believe there is a spa, but I did not visit it. Our only gripe about the hotel was that some tables were closed off during our stay as the cushions were being laundered, this limited seating space at the beach bar, there were some very comfortable seated areas dotted around on different levels of the hotel, however these were not well served by bars and too many different elevator rides to take our own drinks there. The bar on the middle section should be open all day to cover these areas in my opinion. Also I am of the opinion that a 4 star hotel should not have a bar that closes, there should always be somewhere open to get a nightcap should you want one.