Hotel Palazzo Alabardieri

Nice hotel for a few nights in Naples. Took advantage of the airport pickup and return for 45 Euros each way and the drivers were great. Location was good for walking to waterfront restaurants, other nearby restaurants, and the touristy shopping district. Umberto's is a few steps away and had a great meal there without a reservation. The room was big and quiet. Able to put a few bottles of water in the mini-fridge. The bathroom was also roomy, including a big tub/shower. Breakfast had a lot of items, including scrambled eggs, pastries, breads, and juices. Friendly attendants brought your desired coffee, e.g., a pot of American, espresso, or cappuccino. After a long, hot day touring, it was nice to stop at the bar off the lobby for a couple of Peroni's and snacks. Overall, a well-run hotel, in a good location. Highly recommend.

Unfortunately this stay was made costly at the worst time just as I was checking out. Be on your guard with hotel communications and use a translation app when speaking to staff on any important matters. I had accumulated a lot of Euros while settling shared receipts at the end of a family trip. I effectively became the exchanger for rest of family when they left town before me, and I ended up with half the price of my hotel bill. The day before check out, I asked 2 different hotel desk staff - in Italian - if I could use the Euros towards my hotel bill and they told me yes. So I spent my last day walking the city- and not using the available time to go to a bank and exchange the currency for a fair rate. At check-out the next morning, the Chief desk clerk told me it was too late to change my payment, they could not accept the cash, and the charge would go on my credit card. I pleaded with her and explained my prior communication. I was shocked she would not listen to my explanation and simply told me I misunderstood. I could not wait to change all the cash at my US bank, so I ended up losing 25% of the currency’s value using th airport exchange. Otherwise, rooms are nicely furnished. But you pay a lot for what you get and need to be careful about their added room charges. Depending on which staff you speak to, you will get different responses. Frankly, they seemed to have a predatory approach to foreign tourists. Multiple times I witnessed desk staff pushing costly guided tour packages of external sites like Pompeii, instead of answering English-speaking tourist questions about cheaper taxis and public transport. No doubt this is a source of hotel kick-backs. If you stay here, good luck.