Hotel Ara Solis

"Arrive @ Ara Solis From Naples: as you leave the national routes to take the local route to Taranto you will see the port cranes on the horizon. The hotel is about 30k from here? There appears to be a car route and a coach route due to a narrow bridge under the railway. Finally, on arrival, the hotel now has a new sign. On arrival our coach party received room keys efficiently and a welcome drink. Our fourth floor room: 407 was clean & tidy, provided 3 single beds and views of the sea & the pool. All facilities working. If there are damaged panels in the rooms in the hotel, it’s not this one. Evening meal was simple fare (set meal) of gnocchi followed by sliced ‘pork’ & mash with a panna cotta for sweet. Though the beds have a firm mattress we had a great sleep. Breakfast was continental and not full ‘Irish’. As we discussed our fellow travellers experience of the hotel there was negative feedback which confirmed damaged panels in rooms, broken facilities in bathrooms. Crockery mugs are not allowed in rooms for coffees and guests only offered cardboard cups. This was justified as a health & safety matter. Some of the dining staff had an attitude problem where diners expressed dissatisfaction with the ‘agreed’ food offering. Any food intolerance did not seem to be respected at first; we were expected to eat what we were served. So if you were vegan, an aubergine meal was provided for the first four nights along with, surprisingly, a gluten sweet on two occasions. My son who has special needs and refuses pasta (the starter course) again no alternative. As a preference he prefers ice cream for sweet and not fruit salad or panna cotta. The initial response to the dessert was you can purchase from their bar fridge not as a replacement. Ultimately, for my son’s preferences, the solution was to speak in Italian through my phone’s translater & our preferences achieved. Instead of pasta, sliced meats & bread. For ice cream a choc ice on a stick provided. Many thanks to Andrea & Emily for improving of final days in the hotel."

"If you’re not Italian or have children do not go here! Booking failed to mention this hotel is part of AH’s « Family Village » offering, and it definitely showed with the opposite of a calm and serene vacation.

We went for a relaxing vacation and in the end were unable to sleep due to the blasting music all day long of the same Spotify playlist and not to mention a microphone which volume could be turned down by 50% and still be heard all over Taranto. The worst of it all? Karaoke until 11:30PM each night with the music and tone-deaf sounds of guests on absolute maximum that can be heard through any closed doors and windows even on the 3rd floor of the hotel as if they are inside your room. 
 The staff was not very friendly and catered all clients Italian speaking over all others. The pool requires a swim cap to enter making the only other option the beach which is very dirty and the lifeguard from the hotel will decline to put beach chairs and umbrellas out for you if you are not Italian. Food was quite basic and served not very warm. If you do not take the all inclusive the dinner is 30€ per person which is definitely not worth it. Unfortunately, if you don’t have a car there are no other options of food in the area in walking distance so we took to taking the bus into town where you can have an incredible steak dinner for 25€ - very well worth it compared to the hotel dinner. Rooms are overall clean and A/C isn’t too high and just perfect for sleeping however there are quite a few missing features/ damages to the rooms including holes in walls, water damage, and missing shower doors. Overall I would ask for the volume to be turned down heavily before they sell themselves as an oasis or some type of vacation place. If I wanted a crazy party with bad music, I should be paying half the price of a hotel. If you have children, you could consider this hotel if you’d like for them to go deaf from the blaring music at the pool. However, once again if you don’t speak Italian I’d recommend somewhere else to get more friendly service."

"I was given a room with a view of the parking lot when everyone else in my group had an ocean view and small balcony. The people at the desk were very nice and allowed me to move my room. It’s an older hotel that could use some maintenance. The fence surrounding the property is rusted and access to the beach is difficult. The meals were delicious. What a surprise from a hotel restaurant."