Atlantic Palace Hotel

The Atlantic Palace Hotel is at via Capo 76, in Capo di Sorrento, in the locality of Li Simoni: it is the stretch of coast that runs west from the centre of Sorrento, in the direction of the Bagni della Regina Giovanna and Punta del Capo. The difference compared with a hotel in the old centre is substantial, and should be understood before booking: here you are in a residential area, quiet and green, overlooking the Gulf of Naples with Vesuvius in front, but piazza Tasso is not round the corner. The hotel solves the problem with a free shuttle to the centre of Sorrento, which is the service that makes this position convenient. The property belongs to the GTO Resorts group, which also runs the Maya Beach Resort in Massa Lubrense and other hotels on the peninsula.

How it is made up

The operator's website states ninety-five rooms, all air-conditioned, with a safe and a balcony overlooking the Gulf of Naples and Vesuvius or the hotel garden. The room types are named after trees and places: Eucalypt, a double with balcony and garden view; Olmo, a superior double with balcony and sea view, which the operator indicates as the most requested; Siena, a double with balcony and garden view; Zaira, a double with balcony and sea view; and the Juno Villa accommodation with a sea view. The rooms have a private bathroom with shower, air conditioning, wifi, a flat-screen television, a desk with a chair, a balcony with a table and chairs, a safe, a minibar, a hairdryer, a telephone, a courtesy set and a kettle for tea and coffee. The food offer includes the continental breakfast, lunches in the garden with wood-fired pizzas and light dishes, à la carte dinners served on the panoramic terrace, an indoor cocktail bar and a sky bar looking over the coast. Parking is stated by the portals as free.

The wellness area and the pools, said for what they are

There is one pool only and it is open-air, inside the hotel grounds, with a solarium, sun loungers, parasols and a bar at the poolside; the operator states that it is open every day from 9.00 to 18.00, and the portals indicate it as seasonal, so it is not a pool to use in November. In the grounds there is also a hydromassage tub, mentioned in all the offers published by the operator. There is no indoor pool. On the wellness side it is worth being precise: the operator speaks of a wellness center and describes at length only the open-air gym, installed in the green of the grounds and equipped for training in the open air. A sauna, a Turkish bath and treatment cabins are not named, and the website's silence is not a denial: anyone who cares about them should ask before booking. The sea is not inside the hotel. One kilometre away there is the Maya Beach Experience, the group's beach club in the protected marine area of Punta Campanella, reachable with the hotel shuttle and discounted by fifteen per cent for guests; it is a service that is paid for and outside the property, not a private beach included in the stay.

The access rules

The property presents itself explicitly as adults only: the operator calls it an adults only hotel and an oasis for adults, but does not publish a threshold in figures. The booking portal publishes one, and writes that children of at least sixteen years are welcome: sixteen years is therefore the minimum age reported on this page, and it applies to the whole property, pool and grounds included. Anyone travelling with a young person of sixteen or seventeen is within the rule; anyone with younger children should look elsewhere. On pets neither the operator nor the property's website takes a position, so the information has to be asked for. The published numbers are 081 877 06 96 for bookings and 081 878 26 88 for reception.

Who it suits

It suits anyone who wants a large, well-equipped hotel but with the silence of a residential area, and anyone who puts the view over the gulf and Vesuvius ahead of the convenience of sleeping inside the centre. It suits anyone who spends the day by the sea, given the link with the beach club at Punta Campanella, and anyone who enjoys eating outside, between the garden, the panoramic terrace and the sky bar. It suits less anyone looking for a real spa, with a water and steam circuit, because here the wellness area comes down to an open-air gym and a hydromassage tub in the grounds; and it suits less anyone travelling in low season counting on the pool, which is open-air and seasonal.