Ravello holiday villa: Ravello

Booking a place, site unseen in a destination you've never been,as we did, can be a little unnerving. Upon our arrival... the website did not do it justice... once we got in our room and open the doors to our balcony... the view, the experience of being there, took our breath away. As the always helpful and friendly staff continued to tell us over the week, we had the best room in the villa... something we suspected in those first few seconds of being there. You cannot imagine a more beautiful proprerty, with flowers, the sea, pool and history all around.

It must be noted that to get anywhere in this villa meant walking up and down many steps. To get to our room from the road took approximately 100 steps... well worth every one of them and it did get easier by the end. The good news is that the staff carries your luggage to your room upon arrival and up from your room upon departure.

The one element missing, as to be expected in a bed & breakfast, was a restaurant. However, just down the road 500 meters or so was the villa's sister villa, San Michelle which had an excellent restaurant serving lunch and dinner. To give you an indication of how much we loved the food, we ate there 4 out of the 7 nights. They speciallized in seafood and local specialties. offering a choice of 2 different 1st and 2nd courses at a fixed price which was very reasonable.

We walked back and forth to the Villa San Michelle, a very different experience for my wife the first night with scooters and cars whizzing past on what seemed like a very narrow road (sidewalks do not exist on the coast and the rule to remember is always walk on the sea side).

The staff, Piero, Dominique and Emilliano (who as it turned out worked at the San Michelle) were always there to help, from arranging excursions to giving advice on sights and restaurants.

All and all we felt we had received a five star experience without the five star price.

Would highly recommend and hope to return someday.