This page describes my opinion of the hotels I visit from time to time. It is not intended
to be an objective criticism of the hotels, but it may address issues that conventional reviews
don't.
Hilton Sorrento Palace, Sorrento
I stayed at the Sorrento Palace from 12 to 21 March 2006 for a developer conference with MySQL.
Overall
Even by Hilton standards, the Sorrento Palace is luxurious. I certainly had one of the best
imaginable views from the hotel room:
That was taken the day I arrived; Vesuvius still had snow on the cap.
Heating
I like to sleep cool. At this time of year, you'd think that that's not a problem; but it is.
Like many Mediterranean hotels, the Sorrento Palace is primarily laid out for the summer
months, and they have air conditioning. In the winter they reverse the system and heat instead.
And it's not possible to turn the heating off in this hotel. I had to sleep with the door to
the balcony open to get the correct temperature. Apart from the noise, that lowers the
security, since all the balconies are joined together.
Plumbing
The showers are in the bath, and the temperature control must rank as some of the worst I have
ever had. The temperature changes every 20 seconds by about 5°, so I was continually adjusting
the temperature. It's been decades since I have had such problems even in cheap hotels.
Housekeeping
Housekeeping is not good. I carry a small cushion with me when I travel, and they managed to
lose it (well, send it off to the cleaners in Naples). That could have been an accident, but
talking loudly in the corridors before 8 am is not, and they also repeatedly didn't wipe
surfaces. The following photo was taken a day after they had cleaned away a tray of ice. They
had obviously not bothered to wipe the surface dry, and whatever was left behind was not only
water, which would have evaporated in that time:
Value for money
The conditions for the conference were very good, but others were not—€ 8 for a
beer, and € 22 per day for network connection. It's high time that hotels realize that
they shouldn't charge for network connectivity. This one point would certainly be enough for me
to choose another hotel.
Staff attentiveness
On the positive side, the front desk staff were very friendly and helpful.
