Hotel Apollon Club

"We stayed at Hotel Apollon Club Thermal & Spa for several nights during our trip to Ischia. Overall, the resort has an incredible location and some wonderful amenities, but unfortunately the experience did not justify the $600–650 per night price. Pros: The setting is absolutely beautiful, with stunning sea views and direct access to Maronti Beach. The resort offers a large variety of thermal pools, including both hot and cold baths, which was one of the highlights of our stay. Our room was cleaned thoroughly every day, had excellent water pressure, and the views were fantastic. The reception staff were very helpful throughout our stay. They assisted with ferry logistics, restaurant reservations, and transportation, making planning around the island much easier. The resort also offers a free shuttle to their sister hotel, which is only about a one-minute walk from the center of Sant’Angelo, making it very convenient to explore the town. The on-site restaurant was also quite good, and while initially it seemed expensive, the pricing is fairly reasonable considering the logistics and costs of the island. Cons: Unfortunately, the property itself feels quite run down and does not reflect the premium nightly rate. The bathroom had several maintenance issues. The bathroom door scraped against the tile and was difficult to close, and the shower door did not seal properly. Combined with the shower floor being sloped incorrectly, water flooded the bathroom floor after every shower. The biggest disappointment was the pool staff. When we politely asked for additional towels because our beach towels had become sandy, the lifeguard dismissed us with a wave of his hand and later reported us to reception for taking “too many towels.” We had requested an extra set because on a previous day they had completely run out of towels, and we wanted to ensure we had towels available the following morning. What made this especially frustrating was the inconsistency in priorities. During our stay, babies were allowed to remain naked in the pools for extended periods, one child’s dirty diaper was removed beside the pool, and another baby was changed in a bathroom sink while experiencing diarrhea. These obvious hygiene concerns did not appear to concern either the lifeguard or reception staff, yet they seemed far more focused on policing towel usage. That was extremely disappointing at this price point. Breakfast was another weak point. Food and utensils were frequently not replenished, including eggs and forks, and the overall selection was surprisingly limited. I’ve stayed at hotels in Naples costing a fraction of the price that offered a much better breakfast. Another surprising extra charge was the in-room coffee machine. Coffee pods must be purchased separately, which felt unnecessarily cheap for a luxury resort charging over $600 per night. The gym is very small, with damaged equipment that should either be repaired or replaced. The hotel’s promotional photos also make the property appear newer than it currently is. A few additional observations: * The thermal pools close at 6:00 PM, which feels far too early for hotel guests. * The resort markets itself as a romantic getaway, yet there were many young children and babies throughout the property. * Walkways become very dark at night, making it easy to trip because there is limited lighting. * Be sure to carefully review your final bill. We noticed charges for items we had not ordered, although reception corrected the mistake immediately once we pointed it out. * I also recommend paying directly by credit card rather than charging purchases to your room whenever possible. Helpful tips for future guests: The paid golf cart service up the hill should really be complimentary at check-in and check-out. However, there is a workaround. Take the free shuttle to the sister hotel, then walk about one minute through the property to reach Sant’Angelo. When returning, you can have your taxi drop you off at the taxi stand, walk about four minutes through town to the sister hotel, and take the complimentary shuttle back to Hotel Apollon. While you’re in the area, I highly recommend Pasquale, Casa Celestino, the nearby gelato shop outside the sister hotel, and the SeaDream combined boat tour. Overall, Hotel Apollon Club Thermal & Spa has an exceptional location and the potential to be a truly outstanding resort. However, the maintenance issues, inconsistent service, weak breakfast, unnecessary extra charges, and lack of attention to guest experience make it difficult to justify the premium price. If these issues were addressed, it could easily become one of the best places to stay on Ischia."

"This hotel is a bait and switch. The pictures that you're viewing on the internet are nowhere near what you get when you're trapped in a tiny corner of Ischia at the this hotel. To begin with, once you're dropped off at Ischia Porto, you need to take a shuttle or a taxi for 60 euro. That wouldn't be a big deal but the taxi takes you to the bottom of the compound and then you need to pay another $40 to 50 euro to take a golf cart with your luggage to the actual hotel. Once at the hotel, we immediately got shook down for more money under the premise we didn't book a three person room. The initial woman that checked us in understood that we had paid extra to have three people in a conjoining room. The initial female employee acknowledge this fact but we had showed up a little early before checking so we dropped off our bags and had lunch. When we return from lunch the director of the hotel was there and informed us we only had reservations for two people. His own employee was telling him he was incorrect but he continued to fight us. I was livid, but what could we do, we were trapped and tired. The extra €90 a night did not get our third Guest a room, she got a prison cott that was put in our room next to the door. The director of this hotel is a scumbag and customer service from him is a disaster. I did give the service three stars because the actual workers at the hotel are very kind and provided good customer service. I think the director of the hotel is the bad apple and he extorts westerners knowing the positions they're in. The hotel is a shell of its former self we also paid for a ocean view and our view was a deserted abandoned withering hotel. The rooms themselves are tiny and the beds are basically too cots put together. The food at the resort is terrible which is also true for the nearby resorts. The only good thing about the food is the complimentary breakfast and if you're there you better load up because that's the only good meal you're going to have for the day. Their private beach is okay it's run down. The thermal pools, the amenity they advertise so much, closes at 6:00 p.m. this was the low point of our trip the low point of our customer service experience and overall we didn't really feel safe. To cap things off, I was worried about our bill at the end of the trip because they make you charge everything to the room please please please double check that bill. After we paid the remaining bill and checked out, about 30 minutes later I got a call from the resort telling me I owed another $125 euro. That was ridiculous I already paid the bill for our room and we paid the extra 90 Euro per night. I told them to take it up with Expedia and we made our way to the port to get the hell out of there. There's nothing really good to say about this hotel, and I advise all Americans and Westerns to stay away!!! ***TIP*** If you're a Westerner I have a tip for you. The hotel likes to trap you there for your money for their subpar food and experience but you can call a golf cart service that will pick you up for 4 Euro and drive you to the bus stop. There's one bus for the whole island so you don't have to worry about transfers and that bus will take you into city. Don't let them talk you into taxis, it will be a rip off."

"Be prepared for a very long tiring journey traveling by plane to Naples, taxi to the ferry, ferry to Ischia, taxi to hotel (which can’t even take u to the hotel itself and you have to pay 8€ for a taxi service to get u there due to the roads not being wide enough for cars) We then arrived at Hotel Apollon to be given a classic room with no sea view and a small balcony, when we had actually paid for a supreme deluxe double room with balcony and sea view’s. We went to reception to complain to the staff who said they had no deluxe rooms left! WHAT!!! We then had to call TUI as there were no TUI reps on site to help (who thankfully got us a premium room the next day) this totally ruined the first 3 days of our holiday. The food is very average, NO PIZZAS! lots of rabbit, mussels and clams on the menu. Breakfast was terrible, not a very well stocked buffet. Flies and wasps all over the meat, cheese, fruit and cakes (the cakes that had been left from the night before’s dessert)! And then to top it all you get charged a service charge at lunch time for using the cutlery even though you are actually staying at their hotel!!!!!!"