Top 10 Nervi Hotels

We spent a week exploring the region and spent two nights at UP. Although we booked an apartment due to lack of availability on the website of another room type we asked if we would be moved to a room closer to ground level due to accessibility but they didn't seem to want to make any accommodation for us even though the ground level apartments were available on our second night. We were promised a free bottle of wine on arrival which turned out to be a half bottle, several menu items were never available and if you stay here, there's really nowhere else to go - the drive to La Gard Freinet is on a very narrow, winding, unlit road so distances are deceptive. Desserts were not at all good - he worst tiramisu I ever had. They get their bread and cheese from sister property St Roux - perhaps they should get their desserts from there, too. Music plays non-stop at this place which isn't exactly conducive to relaxation, even in wet, cold and windy weather they seated everybody on the terrace under plastic instead of inside the restaurant. As for the apartment itself, it was massive, but the bed wasn't, the lighting was poor and difficult to operate, the shower and sink didn't drain and the extractor didn't work, the soap bottles didn't dispense, there was black mold on the shower tiles, the tiny TV was awkwardly positioned, only one coffee pod per person per day, and on the second day despite arriving for breakfast at 9:00am (service ends at 10:30) there was hardly anything left. The staff in the shop didn't know anything about what was in there, wine tastings were overpriced (and seemingly non-existent), and the property's own wine was more expensive at UP than at area restaurants. I understand it's probably difficult to get staff due to the property's remoteness (I saw some turning up at 5am), but unless and until they address these issues I cannot give the place, as otherwise attractive as it is, more than 3 stars.

This hotel has not been invested in properly, considering it’s wonderful location, gorgeous architecture and characterful setting. Such a shame. Firstly, the “dinner” options are very limited - only two options for each course, and even when it was suggested that my children could not eat either a seafood risotto or Veal and sweetbreads (!) the waiters offered no alternative. So my children went hungry. The risotto was inedible and overcooked porridge. When we didn’t eat any of it and complained the waiters shrugged. When I suggested I wouldn’t pay for it because it was inedible, I was told by the manager that they “had 61 covers that night and nobody else complained”, basically saying that my complaint didn’t matter!! This really soured the experience for all of us, and made me notice many other “service” problems from our three night stay. For example, the ‘included’ breakfast buffet was tired and very limited in terms of fresh fruit and healthy options. If you wanted a couple of fried eggs, you could order them for an additional €5! When we asked for a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine we had bought to keep in the empty minibar fridge, I was told to ask the barman, who said “bring it back immediately!” As if I was going to steal it! The pool towels were provided in a nice basket to take down from your room - a nice touch til you read the note on the basket saying “we will count the towels in your room every night and if any are missing, the cost will be added to your bill” Honestly, if you are paying €300 or more for a night in a supposed 4* hotel, surely you trust your guests not to steal the tired pool towels? Such a shame. This hotel could be really nice if the service and overall attitude towards guests were upgraded to 21st century, international standards.