Naples Hotel - Last Night in Italy
 

My husband and I will be staying in Naples for one night on our way back from Capri leaving the next morning for the airport. I am assuming we will be arriving at some point in the afternoon. My husband would prefer to stay near the train station--I believe we are taking a bus to the airport. I don't know if that is necessary. I am looking for a nice hotel for our last night in Italy. Advice?<BR>

Kathy:<BR><BR>We stayed at the Starhotel Terminus our last night in Naples a few years ago. It is right across the street from the Garibaldi train station and not a choice neighborhood, but the hotel was fine. It had a bar and restaurant (decent food) so we didn't have to leave the hotel, which we didn't want to do as we had a very early departure the next morning.<BR><BR>Starhotel Terminus<BR>Piazza Garibaldi, 91 80142 Napoli<BR>Telephone: 0817793111<BR>Fax 081206689<BR><BR>Couldn't find a web site on the bill, but they must have one as it is part of a chain.<BR><BR>j

The Terminus is the ONLY hotel in Piazza Garibaldi (Naples Central Train Station) which I would recommend. Don't stay anywhere else. It's perfectly OK for someone having to catch a VERY early morning train, or wanting to take the extremely inexpensive city bus to the Airport, or simply wanting the convenience of being close to public transportation. HOWEVER, if you want to experience a bit of nightlife, or simply walk around after dinner, have a coffee or liqueur, etc., this is NOT the place to be. There is an airporter bus leaving daily at 6:00 a.m. (or thereabouts) from Piazza Municipio going to the airport (travel time 30 minutes). This bus also stops in Piazza Garibaldi, but is different from the city bus. The Hotel Mercure Angioino is a four-star hotel 50 yards from Piazza Municipio and could be considered as an alternative to the Terminus, particularly if you want to be in a "nicer" part of town. From Piazza Municipio, you can stroll after dinner to Piazza Trento e Trieste (landmark Cafe Gambrinus) and the San Carlo Opera House, or to Piazza Plebiscito and the Palazzo Reale (you might even wish to visit the Bourbon Palazzo Reale in the evening, well worth the admission fee). If your flight leaves after 7:30 a.m., you could consider this alternative. Otherwise, a taxi will cost about 20 Euros (really not bad). An even nicer alternative would be the sea-facing Hotel Miramare, on Via Nazario Sauro (they have a great website), or the "classic" trio of sea-facing Hotels Excelsior-Santa Lucia-Vesuvio on Via Partenope. These four properties are more expensive, but also more elegant, than the previous mentioned two. If I were you, I would try hard to make my last night in Naples (and in Italy) a memorable one (which means avoiding Piazza Garibaldi!!!). Naples is a truly beautiful city deserving of serious time by the foreign traveler, and can be extremely enjoyable if situated in the right part of town.

I just want to say thank you for these great and very insightful responses. Thank you for taking the time to answer.

We traveled from Positano to Naples and spent our last day and night in Naples to catch an early 7AM flight back to the US. The taxi ride was not more than 10+ minutes at that time of the morning from our hotel, The Mediterraneo (hotel was okay for one night, about $150/nt). If you will arrive in Naples early enough to do some sightseeing, it would probably be more convenient to stay somewhere more central. (verify the fare before you get in).

Unless your plane is leaving at the crack of dawn I would take GAC's advise and stay at one of the hotels along the waterfront. We stayed at the Hotel Miramare which we found delightful. You can walk to quite a few restaurants and cafes from there. The staff is extremely helpful and could arrange transportation for you as well. Naples has some very beautiful areas, but the train station area is not one of them.

Kathy, I agree with Steve.<BR>It is your last night in Italy and it deserves a charming accomodation. Along the waterfront, one of the best places of Naples, I advice you Santa Lucia or Vesuvio. Both are four stars.<BR>Santa Lucia is at the front of the wonderful Borgo Marinari where you can walk after dinner.<BR>Vesuvio has an internal very good restaurant, Caruso, with a beautiful view on the Bay of Naples and on the island you left in the morning !<BR>The next morning, don't worry: taxi and you are at the airport after an unforgettable night.<BR>Have a nice trip.

As Vincenzo seems to know Naples like the back of his hand, I would like to ask him what he thinks of the possibility of spending the last night in Naples in one of the beautiful,romantic, updated sea-facing rooms on the top floors of the Grand Hotel Parker's on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, on the slope below the Villa Floridiana? I believe that the views from the top floors of this hotel are much more scenic compared to the views from the sea-facing rooms of the Hotels Excelsior-Santa Lucia-Vesuvio on Via Partenope. At the same time, the Parker's is within easy walking distance of Piazza Amedeo, which has night life. One could even take the metropolitana from Piazza Amedeo to Piazza Cavour, to visit the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. In addition, the Hotel Britannique, literally next door to the Parker's, is less expensive, not as updated, but has similar views of the sea. Could you recommend the Parker's as an alternative to the big hotels along Via Partenope, or even the more functional Hotel Mercure Angioino on Via Depretis, off of Piazza Municipio? [Clearly, one would need to hire a taxi to go from these hotels (excepting the Mercure) to Capodichino for an early morning flight].

GAC, you're very kind. I was born in Naples. I studied in Naples, I lived in Naples. I'm once a week here. You know Naples well enough, I see.<BR>Well.<BR>Your suggests about an accomodation on the hill rather than waterfront are very good. But, in bottom line, every thing depends from the aims and the wishes of Kathy and her husband. <BR>Imagine what is arrive from Capri at the harbour of Mergellina. Less than five minutes of taxi and you arrive at Santa Lucia or Vesuvio. The choise of dinner can be a wonderful pizza, maybe the best of Naples, at Ettore in Via Santa Lucia. The name of the street is the same name of the hotel. It's this small part of Naples that is named Santa Lucia. Imagine that the persons that here live are named "luciani" before than "napoletani". In other words, this is a village into the city. And don't forget Borgo Marinari. What magic atmosphere you live walking in Borgo Marinari, visiting Castel dell'Ovo and looking at the Bay of Naples.<BR>We, in Naples, say that Naples has a double face, and a double soul, too: a Mediterranean face and a Mitteleuropean face. The first is at the front of the sea, nearby harbours, as Santa Lucia. The second is Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the small hills.<BR>I like both very much, but I love deeply the Mediterranean face ( and soul ). It's only my opinion.<BR>Grazie, ciao. <BR>

Kathy, here you have a wonderfully personal testimonial from a true Napoletano, someone who really knows the territory! I can also attest to the vivacity of the Borgo Marinaro and the Santa Lucia area, particularly in the evening, as I stayed a week at the Excelsior. This is the best-known part of Naples, for foreigners and Italians alike. Next door to the Excelsior, I really liked the restaurant "Il Posto Accanto", owned by the same people who manage the Hotel Miramare on Via Nazario Sauro. It's reasonably priced and the food is excellent. The area gets very crowded at night, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights (everyone seems to have an overdose of "joie de vivre). The hotels I mentioned on Via Vittorio Emanuele will be much more sedate by comparison. You've got a couple of good choices for your last night.