Royal Hotel Sanremo

Laurence and I often like to break up our time at home in the South of France by a visit to somewhere new along the coast so this Easter we took a train to San Remo and checked in at the Royal Hotel. The Royal Hotel is the definition of old school luxury, charm and attentive, discreet and friendly service. You are made to feel special from the very first moment you step in the door. We stayed in a Junior Deluxe Suite which was worth it just for the terrace and the amazing views of the grounds, the incredible pool and the sea beyond. Almost every day we said to each other - this may have been our first visit but we will definitely be back - so what are you waiting for go and treat yourself!

This hotel is absolutely stunning, a beautiful art deco building with tasteful furnishings. Our room was so spacious with a stunning sea view and two balconies, exceptionally clean with a lovely turn down service each evening. The hotel is very close to a beautiful safe beach where swimming in the clear sea is an absolute must, the hotel has vouchers for sun beds but to be honest if you don’t need the changing room it’s cheaper to pay directly, you get a small discount if you say you are a guest at the Royal. The hotel staff are incredibly helpful especially the people that look after the pool area where clean towels are provided daily. The salt water pool is a beauty with stunning views and extremely comfortable sun beds. The free use of the tennis courts was fun albeit we got bitten a lot in that area so spray before you play! The only downside are the prices of the drinks, they are ridiculously expensive, €10 for a small coke and €15 for a glass of wine. Much better off leaving the hotel for food and drink, we found some amazing restaurants in the area, our favourite was La Canonica which we visited twice. We also caught the train to Monaco for the day, really reliable and reasonably priced rail network throughout Italy. Overall a beautiful holiday in a beautiful hotel.

The hotel is beautiful, as are the staff and the area. Everything was outstanding. 10/10 for whoever employs these people. We’d have spent much more money and the atmosphere would have been great at the bar, but it was always empty because it was a rip off. I like spending money but resent being taken advantage of. Same at the pool. Don’t eat or Drink here. Walk down the steps to eat and drink at Maona. Go meet Tony Michele and the family. Amazing value for money down there. Spiteful drink prices forced us down there. We are glad they did.

This is a lovely art deco Hotel, in front of the beach, with a lovely salt water pool, and adequate rooms. However, the bathrooms are very small there is nowhere to put your toiletries and there is only one sink. There is a coffee machine in the room, but you are only given two capsules. I have to ask for more there are no teas and just one selection of green tea. Breakfast is poor. We have stayed at many 5* hotels and even three and four star hotels where the breakfast is much better. In addition to this at 10:30 exactly, and this is EXACTLY!! everything is taken away without you being told the buffet is finishing. The man cooking the omelettes and eggs disappears. They should tell you that breakfast access finishes at 10:20, so you have 10 minutes to get some food…not at 10:30. The waiters seemed preoccupied and coffee took 10 minutes to reach our table. And again at many 5* hotels it stops at 11 am. The beach they have is expensive and crowded. They tell you that they have all their beds in the second row fully booked, they cost €40 but not one person is in their bed and we have had to pay to sit in the fifth line. Lastly, we explained to the reception team that we sat in a police station for six hours yesterday reporting a theft not associated with the Hotel. 6 hours so we were unable to spend any time in the hotel yesterday. We explained this to the reception team… they looked sympathetic!…and our flight is 10 pm tonight… but they would not allow any late checkout at all and told us that the room was occupied that afternoon. We find it hard to believe, especially as it’s such a large hotel and breakfast was in no way full. All in all not the experience we expected from such a beautiful hotel.

Our second stay here about a year after our first stay. It is a fantastic hotel experience. Old world elegance, fantastic staff, a lovely town a short walk away and the Mediterranean just down the hill from the hotel. I cannot recommend this hotel enough.