Hotel Baia del Sole

What People are saying

Rest on the sand beach and excurcion to the ancient Greek

FTV2014 on 18/09/2015 09:54

Hotel is standing just on the sea. There you may rest as couple of any age so with the family with granny and children. Room is very clean, bathroom is good, we have big balcony with a sea and sunset weiv. Around Hotel is garden with place for children and tables with chairs and parasols for rest. It is possible to left your car in a roofed parking place. Every day we have breakfast and it is possible to have very good home made lunch. It ispossible to visit many interesting places : Paestum archeological park and museum, Cilento National park, very attractive city Agropoli.

There's more to Paestum than ancient greek temples!

Ted B on 11/07/2015 18:56

I have known about the 3 ancient greek temples at paestum since my days as a student of ancient greek and latin. A visit to the temples has been on my personal "bucket list" for more than 20 years now, and so when i was planning this year's trip to Greece and Italy, Paestum was one of the places that i just knew i had to visit.

But while i was doing my research for the trip, i realized that there was another side to this area -- one that isn't much talked about in the guidebooks -- the beach! I have previously been to sorrento and the amalfi coast - beaches there are nothing special - mostly pebbly and usually quite small. So I was quite excited when i saw pictures of the fine sandy beaches at paestum!

That settled it for me, not only would i visit the temples, but i would spend a night (or two) in the area so i could satisfy my other holiday passion -- long afternoons lounging on the beach! I chose Hotel Baia del Sole for price and because it was right on the beach (i figured if i chose a hotel closer to the archaelogical site, i might not have the energy to drag myself to the beach and back after a hot morning visiting the temples).

My plan was to take the train down from Naples in the morning, visit the site and then spend the afternoon on the beach and leave the next morning for the next stop on my trip. HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - the Paestum train station is right next to the archaelogical site, but the beach (and the hotel baia del sole) is probably about 2 miles away! I had eyeballed it on google maps and thought it would be a long walk, but it turned into a long, hot deathmarch. The streets are narrow, with no sidewalks and quite a bit of traffic zooming by. And here i am, dragging a big ol' wheeled suitcase like a moron. This was entirely my own fault, and i am telling you here so that you do not repeat my mistake. If arriving by train -- make sure to contact the hotel and have them arrange a transfer to the hotel. If somehow you still manage to arrive w/out transport arranged, you can probably find a local willing to drive you at the parking lot of the archaelogical site. Just walk over and ask for a taxi. Thats what i did after visiting the archaelogical site and i didn't feel like walking back - a local gave me a lift. You should expect to pay 7-10 euros (and its worth it).

All of that aside, the hotel baia del sole is a great little gem of a hotel (or really, its a pensione -- a small family run hotel). Roberto, his brother (or brother-in-law?), their wives, children and even grandma run the hotel as a family unit. You will probably even run across them having a family meal together in the hotel dining room! You can expect the 'family' treatment when you stay with them.

The hotel itself is a little older, probably built in the 1970s, and it shows signs of slightly hap-hazard expansion and remodeling over the years. The room is spacious, with a tiled floor. There's a large balcony facing the ocean, tho' from the layout they're not entirely private, so plan on making friends with your neighbors if you're here for longer than 1 night. The bathroom is smallish and basic - there's a sink, toilet, bidet and an open showerhead & plastic tray for the floor. I.e. no shower stall. If you're not careful, water will get everywhere. Everything was clean and functioned properly, plus im an old hand at funky european showers now, so i was not phased.

Now, I was going to talk about the site & temples, but there's plenty on them elsewhere -- all i will say is give yourself about 2 hours for the site, maybe another hour for the museum.

But it is the dual-nature of paestum that i think i found most interesting. One the one hand, you have the archaelogical site - full of busloads of foreign tourists (mostly american and british) making a day-trip to the site. On the other hand, you have the town, and its beach resort that is almost entirely italian. I couldn't help but laugh at the poor sods who had spent a couple hours on the bus to get to the site, spent their time out in the hot sun trudging over the site and then have nothing to look forward to but another couple of cramped hours on the bus back to sorrento or naples.

I've always wondered "where do italians go when they want to get away?" and the beach town of paestum is one answer to that question. Its very quaint, reminds me a bit of a small new jersey town my family used to visit -- small hotels, plenty of rooms to let, camping and a small town complete with its own mini golf course ;). So when i spent the night at the hotel baia del sole, i got to experience an italian-style vacation on the shore and i quite liked it. First off, I was the only american to be seen (and probably the only non-italian as well). VERY little english was spoken, but between my pidgeon italiano and google translate app, i managed well enough. People were quite interested in me and i got to interact with quite a few everyday italians on holiday (as opposed to those who work in the tourist industry). I understand that most tourists (or at least most american tourists) want to see the 'storybook italy' of quaint towns and villages, but if you want to get a nice slice of real italian culture as it exists -- you might want to try staying at the beach resort town at paestum (and the hotel baia del sole).

That aside, back to the review. The hotel is right up next to the beach and you have your choice -- there's a free beach (with no amenities) or a pay-beach, 'lido california'. There are more beaches, but those two are right there next to baia del sole. I tried the free beach at first, but without umbrella or lounger, i did not enjoy it. If you have your own beach supplies, i would recommend it. I then went over to the lido california - cost 20 euro for 2 loungers and 1 umbrella for the day. Since i was by myself, i got 1 lounger and 1 umbrella for 10 euro. Beach was fantastic, tho' found the drinks a little expensive. Not sure if you could bring your own in or not, but i would try if i ever returned ;).

Because it was not quite in-season yet, the hotel wasn't serving dinner, but a short stroll into town and i found a pizzeria that was quite good (right next to the mini golf).

Breakfast the next morning at the hotel was home made cornetti and really fabulous cappucino. I told the owner that he could open a bakery in america and become a millionaire with those cornetti!

I only got to spend the one night at hotel baia del sole because of scheduling concerns elsewhere on my trip. I think 2 nights would have been perfect, but even 1 night was enough to get to see the temples and a good long afternoon on the beach.

I did seriously consider dinging them 1 star for the price -- i paid 50 euro for a single for the night with breakfast. In Greece, a place like this would cost 30-35 euro. However, this is not Greece and this hotel was actually the lowest price for the area. So other italians are paying these prices and not complaining, so its not really fair for me to do so.

Just to sum up, if you want to see the temples at paestum, you really ought to think about spending a night (or two) in the area, so you can enjoy a true italian slice of vacation as well. If you just want 'storybook italy', you might want to skip it. I had a great time and if you think like me, i can't recommend it enough!

basic clean quiet

Ftepk on 15/07/2014 22:20

A simple but most enjoyable place. The rooms are basic but clean and we had a view towards he sea. Bathroom is the most space efficient we have ever experienced – but adequate. Breakfast is simple but nice. Very friendle people. Situated almost on the beachsea and with some small shops and bars at walking distance. Very quiet and relaxing. And of course close to the amazing archeological site of Paestum.
Tip: do not trust the GPS or Sat Nav in your car – ask around for directions: nobody speaks English but everybody is ready to help.