Philip

Thanks for your opinion -- a group of 6 Americans will be spending our last night before returning to Houston in Naples. Price is always a factor but that is not what is driving us this last night. We do have to leave the hotel about 4 in the morning for a 6:45am flight to CDG.

Is there a hotel with that wow factor in Naples -- a outdoor patio for example -- where we can sit down and relax on our last night with a nice bottle of Italian red. Probably a 4 or maybe a 5 star. Does not have to be full of marble but just has that nice finish to what hopefully will be a great vacation. Overlooking the water important.

Have spend some time looking at Naples hotels but having trouble. We have always avoided Naples in the past because does not get great reviews.

WWK

Yes, HOTEL EXCELSIOR on the waterfront has a rooftop terrace with stunning 180 degree views of Il Castello and The Bay of Naples. The rooms are beautiful, some with small terraces, and location is nice because it's pedestrianized, so very few cars allowed.

WWK

Forgot to add that the hotel also has a nice restaurant with similar views. Too bad you won't be there for breakfast, because it is out of this world.

sandralist

You should not leave your hotel at 4 in the morning. The airport in Naples doesn't really open until 5.30am, and it is only 20 minutes from the center of Naples to the airport. You do not want to be standing around outside in the dark Naples airport parking lot for an hour or more.

I have never stayed at the 4* San Francesco Al Monte, but it has beautiful views. Have no idea what the reviews are.

If you are traveling between now and the end of summer, almost all upscale hotels in Naples on weekends can have vary large weddings on weekends, which can be very noisy. If you are not spending a weekend night in Naple, but instead it's a weekday, it is not a concern.

Fra_Diavolo

Second the recommendation for the Excelsior.

Blueeyedcod

I like the Miramare. It has the rooftop terrace, stunning views of Vesuvius and loads of charm but without the crowds and weddings and the aloof staff. I've stayed at the Excelsior but would choose the Miramare any day.

http://www.hotelmiramare.com/en/

There is also the Hotel Romeo which has a Michelin star restaurant, rooftop cocktail bar AND a pool

WWK

We had a fantastic stay at The Excelsior. No doubt the front desk can be a bit aloof. But the rest of the staff, especially at the restaurant/rooftop bar was outstanding, and the rooms were some of the nicest we've ever had in Italy.

Sher

In August we had a taxi pick us up at 4:30 to take us directly to the airport and it was open.
Our flight was at 6:30.
I am not telling you what time you should leave but we did not stand outside.
Maybe things have changed.

Friends stayed at the Excelsior and loved it.

sandralist

Sher,

I don't think they have changed since last August, and it is possible that my winter-time flight made for a later opening of the airport. But it is such a small airport, I would not bother arriving until 5.30. Would you have made your flight if you arrived at 5.30?

Sher

sandralist. Yes, we would have made our flight. The airport is not congested like some.
But, never having departed from there before one never knows.

I will be using the Pisa airport. My flight is not until 9:30, thank heaven, and am wondering what it is like. It also seems rather small.

But my flight from Naples was to Frankfurt and my flight in Pisa is to JFK. I wonder if that will have any bearing on check in?

yestravel

We departed on a flight in the afternoon from Naples as the first leg back to the US. The flight was going to Frankfurt. This was in October. The airport was a mess! It was without a doubt one of the worst airport experiences I have ever encountered. Lines at security were very long and people were pushing and shoving their way to get to the front. We got to the airport with close to 3 hours before flight time and barely made our flight. Perhaps something was going on in the airport to cause such chaos.

sandralist

Sher,

Pisa airport is about the same size as Naples airport. Congestion depends on what time of year you are traveling. I am pretty sure everybody goes through the same security queues, no separate ones for USA fights, but I could be wrong. (If anything, the lines for USA flights would probably be shorter). One way to get a sense of how congested the airport will be at 7.30 am is to look at the daily flight schedules for the Pisa airport and see how many planes depart in the morning before 10am.

yestravel,

I can see why you had a memorable negative experience, but at 5.30 am, things are pretty sleep in the Naples airport. However, I recommend to the OP to do what I just suggested to Sher: Look up the website for the Naples airport and their daily departure schedule. Easy enough to see if a lot of planes are departing at the same time at that hour in summer.

kybourbon

>>>I will be using the Pisa airport. My flight is not until 9:30, thank heaven, and am wondering what it is like. It also seems rather small.<<<

sher - It doesn't really matter what everyone else is doing or how congested the airport may be, what matters is your airline's required check-in procedures (check-in, gate arrival, etc.) and whether you can comply. Assuming you are traveling Delta (only airline I know running flights to the US from Pisa), their check-in info says be at the airport 3 hours before the flight (international) and for some airports, they list even more time. Transatlantic flights typically start boarding one hour before departure although Delta operates a 757-200 on this route which wouldn't take as long to load as their bigger planes departing from other cities.

***SECURITY CHECK-IN REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TO/FROM NON-U.S. CITIES
The recommended arrival time at the airport prior to departure of international flights is 3 hours. When traveling to/from a destination outside the United States, you must be checked in at least 60 minutes before your scheduled departure time and it is required that originating passengers be at the gate and ready to board at least 45 minutes before your scheduled departure time. This minimum requirement applies to all customers checking-in, with or without baggage. Customers who fail to complete the check-in procedures by these deadlines will not be able to travel on desired flights and change fees may apply.***
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...uirements.html

Philip

Ooops! I think I left out a very important piece of information. Our group arrives April 18, 2016. I went to the Hotel Excelsior to look for rooms and it appears as if they do not open the patio bar until June 1. We don't want to eat dinner at the hotel, but as I said earlier, we do want a couple bottles of wine. Do they have other bars in the hotel? Could not tell from the website. Again, sorry about that.

Sher

kybourbon.
I was thinking of leaving the house about 6:15 or so. That would get us to the airport about 7. I don't like to be rushed for check in but I don't know about three hours. I will have to think about that. This means we would have to leave at 5:45 or so for the 9:30 flight. As I am thinking about it I think it seems excessive but I am not going to rule it out. I guess I will just have to work my way around thinking of leaving that early. I am going to definitely check the flight schedules as sandralist suggests. Thanks.

sandralist

I cannot take responsibility for your trip, but going to the airport 3 hours ahead of time because the airline says so is not something I would feel obliged to obey like a school child. They say that to cover themselves. In addition to looking at the Pisa airport departure schedule, you can also look at pictures of the Pisa airport on the web. It's quite a small regional airport.

http://123transfers.com/uploads/Tran...SA_Airport.jpg

kybourbon,

Would you really have posted what you did if bobthenavigator has said what I said? Your information is not anything any experienced traveler in Italy would follow, and I can't help but think you just saw "sandralist" and felt a need to undercut the post, whatever the impact on the actual traveler.

WWK

Philip,

The hotel has a restaurant on one of the top floors with a beautiful outdoor terrace, but I have no idea if that's open before June 1st. Why don't you e-mail the front desk at The Excelsior and ask?

Also just wanted to mention that some of the rooms have small but useable terraces.

There are also lots of bars/seafood restaurants directly across the street from the hotel near Il Castello. Some of those have tables in season close to the water, but I have no idea if they'd be available in the spring months.

Blueeyedcod

The terrace at the Miramare is always open. The owner will see to that for you. He lives on the premises and is a very hands on operator. I wanted to go up there in winter (January) to take some photos so he opened up the terrace and gave us a complimentary bottle of champagne as well.

The restaurants along the Via Partenope strip are also bars so you can sit at a table along there and just have a drink even if you don't want to eat.

I really love sitting with the locals at one of the drink/food carts that are further along. They have very un-glamorous plastic chairs and tables but you can get a ringside seat at the waters edge and watch the sun set behind Vesuvius, with a glass of wine/beer that costs about 1 euro.

Philip

Have sent two emails to HOTEL EXCELSIOR without response. Asked them if patio/bar was open during mid April. Oh well!
Will probably stay there anyway and use one of the bars on the water front. Thanks all.

Island45

We had a wonderful experience at The Vesuvio..had wonderful balcony views of the water...Staff was wonderful,,I don't remember an outside patio but there was a roof top restaurant and nice bar in the lobby. Again the staff was outstanding and so helpful...