"Stayed here in August as a solo traveller and I chose Grand Hotel Moon Valley based on it's location from Pompeii and other local attractions which was the purpose of my visit. The hotel is absolutely not a 4* star hotel in my opinion and I don't know how its achieved this accolade. I'd put it somewhere between a 2* and a 3* because it is in dire need of a refurbishment and the service levels are nowhere near 4* standards. The furnishings in rooms are old, tired and outdated. The single/solo traveller rooms aren't great, these are probably the worst rooms in the hotel as they don't have a balcony and are tiny. To be fair I had set my expectations quite low for the room anyway and didn't intend on spending a lot of time in it. If you're a solo traveller using this as a base only, then it's perfectly ok for that purpose, just don't expect luxury here. The rooms have actual physical keys attached to gigantic heavy keyrings which is also very old fashioned.
No tea or coffee making facilities which is unusual for a 4* hotel but not a problem for me since I always bring my own facilities with me just in case! The hotel are using thin bed sheets as towels in the bathroom?! I went down to reception to say there weren't any bath towels but apparently the sheets in the bathroom are towels?! Never seen anything like it anywhere I've ever stayed; even 2* bargain basement hotels have proper towels! I ended up buying by own toilet paper as I was getting through a roll a day of the cheap 1-ply stuff the hotel provides and the hotel were being stingy with it! On a positive note I was pleased that use of the safe was included in the price of the room and does not incur an additional fee unlike most hotels in other destinations. There is also a mini fridge which is free to use.
I found the hotel staff to be generally ok. The staff on reception were helpful and answered my questions, however, service on the front desk would be much improved if the staff could manage a smile every now and then. I was often greeted with stony faces and there were never any pleasantries from the front desk staff. There are clearly some staff who don't speak very good English and I found that while waiting at the bar the waiters would ignore or avoid me until an English speaking waiter was available which wasn't the best service. The lady who tends to guests at dinner was really friendly as were most of the wait staff who do smile and are really pleasant to deal with. The cleaning staff were also pleasant and polite.
There is a small mini-mart & deli just down the road from the hotel entrance. The prices are great for essentials. The prices for drinks in the hotel are horrendous, very expensive. Visit the mini mart instead. Crossing the road to the mini-mart is a nightmare as it's such a busy road. If you have mobility problems this hotel and this area might not be for you. It is difficult to navigate on foot.
Seiano train station is located a 10 minute walk down the hill and will take you to Sorrento or towards Naples. I'd heard some absolute horror stories about the Circumvesuviana before I travelled to the area but in fairness, it was comparable to any UK rail service, i.e. late, busy and hot!
I stayed half board as I often do when travelling solo. I wouldn't rave about the food, it wasn't anything special but it was edible. I didn't partake of the cooked breakfast as it didn't look very appetising, so I stuck to the pastries only which were ok. There isn't a great deal of choice at breakfast. Evening meals were basic but sufficient. I quite liked the "choose your own veg" section on the buffet to accompany your meal though it was the same every night. Again, I wasn't expecting fine dining so the food generally met my expectations.
The pool area is really the gem of this hotel. The pool is very large relative to the size of the hotel and I never struggled to find a lounger when I wanted one (only twice during my stay). It appeared clean and well attended to and of course has fantastic views.
The cleaning was adequate, though I was annoyed that the cleaners moved everything in my room and I couldn't find things when I returned! This meant I felt I couldn't ever really settle in my room knowing it would be upended every day by the cleaners. I took to just packing my things away each day to avoid this issue and especially after I found the cleaning staff had left some of my belongings in or on the bidet?!
The hotel offers a shuttle bus to Sorrento leaving at 9:45am and returning at 2:30pm which I learned from the Jet2 customer helper; the hotel didn't mention this to me at all. The rep also mentioned that the hotel will prepare a breakfast for you if you have an early excursion but by the time I had cause to use such a service I'd become bored of the very limited breakfast options so didn't bother to order a box.
All in all a mediocre stay, not the worst place I've ever been to but very far from the best. I would return to the Sorrento area but not to this hotel."
