Panorama Palace Hotel

I think the best phrase I can use to describe the Panorama Palace Hotel is “old school.” This is meant as a compliment. The place seems to revel in both some old-style touches and more importantly old-style service which is sadly lacking in some establishments in this modern age. This old school vibe begins when you check in. The reception desk looks like something out of a bygone era, with its collection of open mail boxes for each room behind the counter. Check-in is fairly easy, submit Passports and sign a registration form. Again, reminiscent of a bygone era we weren’t asked for a credit card. I’m sure that they take them for room payments but our room was part of our vacation package so the room was prepaid. I was advised that the room tax and any other incidentals such as room service or drinks and meals billed to the room would be settled by cash. On checkout this was the case. As I didn’t see any nearby ATM machines this should be considered beforehand by those travellers who refer to go “cashless.” Once checked in we were handed our room keys. Instead of a modern card key we were handed an old-fashioned pair of keys on a ring attached to a large brass oval with our room number embossed on it. The safe key was again a separate actual key. As there was only one room key and we couldn’t slip it into a credit card slot in our phones, whenever we left the hotel, we turned it in at reception and it was placed carefully in “our” mail box until we returned. Panorama Palace Hotel is located in Meta, a town just to the east of Sorrento. It is located on top of a cliff approximately 20 metres (120 feet) above the Bay of Naples and the beach, Lido Metamere. A series of switchback roads and tunnels literally carved into the rock lead from the hotel on top down to the seafront and elsewhere. It's located at the eastern edge of this seaside town in a quiet residential area. Sorrento lays about 6 or 7 kms to the west but a public bus stops just down form the hotel and takes about 30 to 35 minutes dependent on traffic. The local commuter railway station is about a 20-minute walk away and the train then takes 8 minutes to Sorrento. There are of course taxis as well, but the cost is prohibitive. We were quoted 80 Euros one way. The hotel is a large whitewashed building of four floors. It is listed as a four-star property. There are apparently several rooms types and they can be booked as room alone or with half board (breakfast and supper included). There are a total of three dining rooms, although only one was open during our visit. In addition, there are two bars one off of the large lobby area and another across the street with a cliff top patio and fantastic view of the bay. There is, an enclosed solarium an outdoor pool, and a roof top sunbathing deck. As our stay was in October, we really didn’t take too much advantage of these last two. There is also apparently parking available, I am presuming in an underground garage built into the

I will be happy to change my review to 4 stars when the hotel decides to turn their air conditioning on for the month of May. The rooms were VERY warm, and the front desk was not able to provide us with a fan of any kind to accommodate this. The beds were also stiff, and the pillows thin. Lovely location, and a nice enough lobby though.