Hotel Grazia Alla Scannella

"Their best assets are the breathtaking view and the staff. The view melts away your stress and worries as soon as you arrive at their swimming pool, where there are more than plentiful sun beds at all time. It is because many guests go to the beach, go for walks or join boat trips, plus many rooms have their own sun beds on their patios to appreciate their private views. Rest assured that there is no need of getting up early morning to secure your sun beds at all. Many guests seem to have brought their own beach towels but you can hire them. Every single one of the customer facing staff was very professional and friendly. When we were checking out early in the morning, the nightshift receptionist was waiting for us at the bottom of the lift. His heart warming service is what we would never forget. If you are staying here for a few days, their food is great. Their traditional & professional waiting service adds great touches of specialness and made us feel like we were starring in 1970s Italian films. Their breakfast consisted of some cheeses, ham, hot drinks, sweet cold drinks, mixed fruit salad, some salad veg, eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, sliced bread and fluffy buns. This exactly same set repeats every single day, with absolutely no change. So we, big breakfast lovers who are used to having grand buffets at various hotels all over the world, very much struggled to be motivated to get up for this breakfast after the first couple of days. Unfortunately I have a very sensitive palate that can detect what the majority cannot. When it is coffee, if I care to come back, I suggest them to double check their espresso machines: this often requires readjusting micro level of filtering speed or pressure. At Grazia, I detected unpleasant bitterness, but they just didn't want to know as the majority of guests were happily drinking it. It meant we couldn't drink coffee during our stay here. Their dinner is 4 courses every night: buffet antipasti, four choices of starters, main courses and desserts. Although antipasti hardly changes, the course menu changes everyday. I personally liked their soups and gelato but didn't enjoy main dishes as they were overcooked and very simple. There was not much variety of vegetables apart from zucchini, tomatoes and aubergine dishes. The biggest issue for us was that their dinner was served 8-10 PM only. It is fine if you occasionally dine late and sleep late, but eating this late every single night for days after days, made us difficult to sleep and we struggled with indigestion and bloatedness. Despite that we usually lose weight when on holidays, due to this late dinner time everyday, we gained weight. Their a la carte restaurant offers the sunset view. We were interested, but by 8 pm the sun was almost set, so it didn't justify the extra expenditure. Rooms are, as many other reviews say, quite tired and small although they are kept clean every day. Somehow Italians need a bidet even if the bathroom is super tiny. We kept on kicking into this object. We struggled to store our four suitcases, so we had to put them out on the balcony. Thanks to the hotel run shuttle bus, free accesses to the beaches and Forio town were available. But the services were not necessarily when we wanted: e.g. many boat trips want you to be at Forio before 9:30 or come back after 19:30. These times are when there are no services by the hotel. Taxis are very expensive here, you cannot spend 50-60 Euros for return journeys for every outing to Forio. Their professional massage was great, the staff were friendly and approachable. But their spa facilities were disappointing for us as there was not much to do apart from sitting in the shallow indoor pool, where you cannot swim, or staying in the Turkish bath for 10 minutes. There are showers and outside foot baths, but you only need a few minutes for these. There's not enough space to relax next to the indoor swimming pool. There is a gym area, although I am a gym person, I didn't feel like using the facility even once as the space was super tiny. In their garden, there were Yoga sessions twice a week. Being in the garden early in the morning felt nice but it meant that I had to bend over on to the grass or soil that I didn't appreciate. Overall, we would come back here for a short break but not for a long duration."

"I spent a few days at Hotel Grazia alla Scannella and had a really wonderful time. The location is just stunning, high above the bay, surrounded by nature and away from the noise. The sea view is something special, especially at sunset. There are two thermal pools, one indoor and one outdoor, both clean and comfy. The water was just right. The outdoor pool at sunset was probably my favorite spot — quiet, with a beautiful sea view and a real feeling of calm. The garden and spa are also very nice and well kept. My room was clean and quiet. Some rooms have great sea views, others are simpler but still comfortable. The bed was good and everything was tidy. Maybe a couple of bathrooms could use a bit of updating, and the Wi-Fi can be slow in some areas, but it wasn’t really a big deal. The food was good, especially the fresh fish, and the staff were friendly. Breakfast had plenty of choice, maybe a bit similar after a few mornings, but still fine. The shuttle to Forio worked well, although the schedule was kinda fixed. The bar was my favourite place. The view from the terrace is fantastic and the atmosphere relaxed. The cocktails were excellent. Pasqual, the young bartender, really deserves a mention — very good at his job, friendly, and he always remembered our drinks and what we liked. Gaetno was also very kind and welcoming. Pasqual is definetly a valuable asset to the hotel. If I had to mention one thing, the evening music could be a bit quieter, sometimes you could hear it from the rooms. Overall it’s a lovely hotel to relax and enjoy the sea view, with people who make you feel at home."

"Just wanted to thank all the staff at this wonderful hotel especially Michael, Giuseppe, Mattia & Gaetano for a wonderful stay at Grazia, special mention to them but the whole team & management where amazing & went above & beyond to make sure my wife & I enjoyed our holiday, we honestly felt like this was our second home. Now the food & wine, the breakfasts are fabulous, lunches on the terrace delicious but the main event dinner at 8pm was four courses of well thought out & presented ever changing meals. A good wine list which also featured local wines which they will happily recommend to pair with food. There is a complementary mini bus each day at set times taking you to town which we used it regularly, some evenings & lunch’s we ventured out to dine, the taverna up the hill ( a short but steep 10 min walk ) was fabulous we went twice, and in town there are many good bars restaurants & cafes to spend time in. We didn’t use the spa but did the pool and it was very good, the room was cleaned every day & efficiently, we only opted for a standard room with garden view but on departure Giuseppe said if we book again directly he would upgrade us to a sea view room which was a nice gesture, so in conclusion don’t hesitate to book here, it really was a pleasure to wake up each day & see friendly faces while spending another day in paradise!"