Grand Hotel Excelsior Amalfi

This hotel is located spectacularly, its staff are pleasant and efficient, and the facilities are good. However, the big let-down is the food.

Breakfast consists of bad quality yogurt and breads, with tastless scrambled eggs which are never available at the start. The meats are "plastic" with one type of very poor processed cheese.

Dinner is no better. Poor quality food served in a beautiful location.

My conclusion is that the Excelsior is in the business of selling scenery but not food.

The hotel lives up to its 4 star rating in many ways, but for food, I would say 2 star.

We visited here the first week of June never having been to Italy before. Hotel is very remote in the hillside/mountains. We were put in the Garden Room which was away from the main hotel but nice and quiet and surrounded by lovely lemon groves with a cracking view out to the sea and very clean. The food was poor - portions are minature and we couldn't even cut the steak it was so tough!. Breakfast isn't great - runny scrambled egg, ham and cheese and stale bread, the coco pops were about the best thing. Some of the restaurant staff very sour faced. The drinks are expensive and there is hardly any entertainment except on a Saturday night which consists of an Italian woman singer and chap on a keyboard. Entertainment seems to focus around the bar/lounge every night but most people had gone to bed by 11pm - not for the young and lively!! Amalfi itself can be accessed by courtesy bus from the hotel but they do not run that frequently and get very busy so you can get a local SITA bus but you need to buy your ticket before you get on the bus. Tickets and timetables available from hotel reception. We had originally hired a car but cancelled this when we read the internet reviews for driving in Amalfi and believe me thank god we did - they are mad drivers and there is nothing but hairpin bends and blind corners so I would think twice about driving there. The pool area is nice but very cold and very very deep - not good for young kids. If you tire of the poor quality food there is a cracking local restaurant in the village above - Pogerola called La Carcara. They do a fantastic pizza, fresh fish, pasta and lovely home made wine and its really cheap. Amalfi itself is truly beautiful and there are some stunning views. I would go back to Amalfi again because we had a lovely holiday and met some fantastic people but would not stop at the Excelsior as in my opinion I do not believe this should be rated as a 4* hotel even though the views are truly breathtaking.

What a disappointment, the food is inedible the staff or surley and unhelpful and the room we were given had no view. When I queried it I was told we "had specifically asked not to have a sea view" - Thomson did nothing to rectify the problem either. If you want to go to Amalfi- which is beautiful dont ruin your holiday by going to the Excelsior

Hotel overbooks and then puts you in spare rooms 10 minutes away from the original hotel. Spare rooms are not similar to what they show online. We met some other people also who were put in the garden room because the hotel was overbooked.

This was only our third package holiday in 37 years of marriage, and we feared the worst - sloppy service, skimpy meals and shoddy service.How wrong we were on all counts. The views from the rooms and - in particular - from the various levels of public balconies - are simply stunning and totally unforgettable. We also found the service from every member of the hotel staff to strike exactly the right balance between professionalism and friendliness. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and we were made to feel genuinely special and welcome (even though they must see thousands of different guests in a year).Yes, the price of drinks was high-ish, but the pleasure of drinking them overlooking such wonderful scenery was priceless. We enjoyed the food, and always had sufficient choice. The gala dinner in particular was truly excellent. We'll definitely go back, although hopefully in slightly cooler weather!

The Excelsior Hotel is well situated to get some of the most beautiful views in the area. In our travels around the region, we didn't see another hotel with better views. The architects have taken full advantage of this and all rooms face the view, which is only matched by the view from the pool deck. Despite our reservations, expressed below, we will return in a few years time, at a time of year when the weather is cooler. While we were there, the Med. was experiencing its hottest May and June for about two hundred years.Pros:The view is spectacular, the hotel is nicely laid out and furnished and the staff are both friendly and helpful. I've seen complaints, on some web sites, about the quality of English but we certainly didn't have any problems.Cons:Not all private or public rooms are air conditioned and even when they are, its not reliable. The main dining room doesn't have air conditioning so I would recommend that you get down early for your first evening meal and request a balcony table. Unless you miss an evening, due to trips, you will sit at the same table for the remainder of your stay. When you book your trip, request air conditioning if you want it and back it up by contacting the hotel directly. They can be found on the internet.The hotel is somewhat remote (hence the views!) and you will need to add up to an hour to organised trips, for getting to and from Amalfi by hotel or public bus, as none of the coaches will collect you from the hotel as they do in other resorts. Thomsons and First Choice both use the same local agents.A comment on one of the web sites complains of the price of wine. In fact the price of drinks is high, though comparable with English prices in a similar establishment.

A shandy by the pool cost us £3.00 each. Due to the remote nature of the hotel, the nearest competition, in terms of bars, is a ten to fifteen minute walk up the road in Pogerola.Food was nice but there wasn't much choice, three starters and three main courses per evening.

That being said, if you didn't like any of the options, they were willing to do a melon starter and an omlette main course as extras.

June 2003 - We have just returned from a six day stay at the Hotel Excelsior in Amalfi. The plus points were the very friendly service from everyone at the hotel and the views over Amalfi which were fantastic. We had dinner on the terrace each evening overlooking the town and it was quite something. Our room was very good, spacious with a sitting room and terrace, again with a view over the bay. The food was OK but not brilliant, so if you are looking for a la carte dinners it would be best to go down to Amalfi town to eat. The hotel bus service and the local bus service meant that you could travel about quite freely. The coastal area is absolutely lovely, quite the prettiest we have seen for a long time. Capri was a bit disappointing due to the number of visitors and the extreme heat - better to visit in April or May. We would definitely return to the Excelsior, and really enjoyed our holiday. Terry & Corinne White.

We went to Amalfi Italy in Sept/Oct 2002.The weather was really warm in the day but a little cooler at night. We stayed in the Hotel Grand Excelsior and have never stayed in such a hotel with a view over the Amalfi Coast from your very own room. We did"nt want to leave the hotel because it was so relaxing and lovely views but of course we did to visit the area. Our favourite"s were Ravello, Positano,Amalfi the list could go on and on. We would recommend this hotel to anyone. The food was good, the staff very friendly and very clean. We are very envious of any one going to Amalfi soon, especially at the Excelsior hotel. CIAO.

We spent a week in the hotel on a package holiday from England. Plus points were the friendly service, the large and individual bedrooms and the decor of the main rooms. The views from the hotel's many balconies and terraces were phenomenal. By day and night there were panoramas of the Amalfi coast, almost every five yards the view changed to an even more beautiful one! There was a good minibus service to town and local buses also. The food was good but only average by Italian standards. Wine was expensive. There was a decent sized pool. No entertainment in the evenings but local buses from town ran till midnight. We would definitely recommend it.