Hotel Hermitage

L'Hotel è molto carino, immerso in un ampio giardino molto curato e con piscina (piccola ma ben fatta). Ai bordi della piscina ci sono dei comodissimi lettini su cui rilassarsi e prendere il sole. La camere era con vista piscina e con un terrazzo enorme. Arredata bene e con un bagno piccolo ma dotato di ogni confort (doccia con box...e non è scontato). A mio parere vale molto più di molti 4 stelle in cui sono stato!

Buona accoglienza e simpatia del personale pulizia delle camere ed ottimo buffet

Having travelled several times to Italy from the United States, I have stayed in a variety of hotels varying from 6 star Villas to 2 star pensiones. When booking a 3 star hotel, it's difficult to find that few that are special in terms of what 3 stars have to offer. OK...we can honestly admit that Americans may just be a little spoiled, in terms of amenities, air conditioning, internet.etc. Having stayed in two different 3 star hotels during the same 10 day stay, Hotel Hermitage was by far the best choice. (I won't mention the other) The simple conveniences that make your stay easy were all there: 1. Free wifi...no daily or hourly charges...ok, we are Americans and tend to work too much. 2.REAL Air Conditioning with a thermostat! Not a poofy blower that many hotels claim to be air conditioning. 3.Meticulously clean...the cleaning crew was ready and working as soon as you left the room. 4. Al Fresco buffet breakfast with real waiters, fresh fruit, fresh cafe, cappucino, cafe americano, eggs, the works. 5. A Large POOL with plenty of towels and lounge chairs. 6.Balconies are even larger than the rooms, with lounges and bistro tables to relax. 7.One block from beach so you do not hear cars speeding by all night. 8. SERVICE!!! Very special people who actually cared about your comfort. Anna, the gentile front desk lady waited on our every need, from creating our American ice coffee, to speaking english to accomodate us. 9.Finally the wait staff and ownersElena and Lucca, took time to be sure we were comfortable...Lucca even popped me in his Porche Carrera to drive me to the open market!! Now that's service....Definitely better than any other 4 star hotel I've stayed at in the last 20 years. OK...I guess it was all good!

We made the fatal mistake of falling for the pictures on the hotel web site and reading the reviews which sounded ok on Trip Advisor, booking and then when we returned home realising that we had been reading the reviews of the other ‘Hotel Hermitage’ up the road in Forte dei Marmi. Yes it was a stupid mistake, one we will never make again. That said, the photos on the web site do look ok, with a modern attractive feel to the dining room and lobby. The reality: Yes still a modern feel to the entry of the hotel but when you get up stairs to the room something different. We had booked adjoining rooms for the kids 10 and 8, we were totally shocked. We have an expression in our family ‘lucky we didn’t bring the cat!’, the reason being that if we had there would not be room to swing it. The rooms were supposed to be double but were just big enough for a double bed. I realise that Italian hotels are known for small rooms but having been to Lido De Jessolo last year we were expecting similar. For what we were paying this was a total disappointment. This hotel was not cheap. Before going we spent a week at the beautiful Villa Il Poggiale south of Florence, which is fantastic with enormous rooms and is truly an extraordinary hotel. The Hermitage was 30% more expensive and about 1/3 rd of the quality. With rooms about 1/5 th of the size. Although the rooms were clean they were tired in décor and soft furnishings. The bathrooms were also in need of some serious work. One good point, the balcony was big and quite nice. The swimming pool was ok from afar, once up close, like the rooms, in need of some work. During the times when we did not go to the beach and spent time by the pool, we were generally their alone, so no atmosphere and no one for the kids to play with. The hotel beach 5 minute walk from the hotel was ok nice sand and clean, but no more than ok. Evening meals were unusual. Generally two options for main course available, which had to be booked the night before, plus one dessert, fruit and ice cream. What was served was just about passable but was made up of cheap ingredients. Breakfast again just about passable being the usual Italian offering. In terms of the staff, generally friendly with little English. No one to help with bags when we arrived, had to carry cases containing the kitchen sink et al up a spiral staircase unaided. We booked 10 days and left after 3. We tried to avoid discussing with the kids what the ladies were doing standing on the street corners when going out at night and returning later. This part of the Tuscan Riviera is worth avoiding. Much better to be in Forte dei Marmi and not Marina Di Massi.