Continental Terme Hotel, Ischia, Italy – review written 14 August 2016

The Continental Terme Hotel on the island of Ischia, pronounced ‘Iskier’, a short hydrofoil ride from Naples, is quite simply one of the best hotels in the world – ever.

I’ve stayed in many hotels and most have been really good. Let’s face it, I love staying in hotels, even bad ones, but this establishment scored many brownie points and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to anybody.

Why was it so good? First, let’s deal with Ischia. It’s an amazing island about 40 to 50 minutes by hydrofoil from Naples. You fly in to Naples, take a taxi to the port and board the hydrofoil to the island. Once on dry land you are no more than a 15 minute drive, by bus or taxi, to the Continental Terme where you’re within easy reach of the island’s main shops, there’s two mini supermarkets close by and regular buses will take you all over the island.

The food and beverage operation is another good reason for booking the Continental Terme. Waiters at breakfast, lunch and dinner wear smart, white uniforms and take pride in their profession and the food they serve.

The quality of the food is off the scale. There’s so much choice for breakfast it’s unreal.

I had lunch once, preferring the daily three-course dinner menu, which was always to die for as it consisted of three courses and a wide range of serve-yourself salad items and different olive oils and dressings. Dinner was the high point of every day, so don’t miss it.

The accommodation was spacious and air-conditioned, there was a minibar containing bottles of still and sparkling mineral water, the television and WiFi worked perfectly.

The Continental is not conventionally laid out. It wasn’t one huge ‘office block’ affair with floor after floor of long corridors and rooms on either side spaced into infinity. Rooms are scattered tastefully over a wide area and are concealed by shaded gardens, creeping foliage and palm trees.

Somebody said it was the largest hotel on the island, but if so, it wasn’t bragging. There was nothing brash about the Continental. It has five thermal pools. Make sure you try them all.

There’s a wide variety of spa and beauty treatments on offer, such as full body massages, which I chose to ignore, and mud packs and stuff that women enjoy.

For those in a less than healthy state physiologically, the Continental has a full medical facility manned by doctors. I stumbled across it by accident and started thinking that perhaps the Mediterranean diet wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I’m joking, of course. The food in Italy – anywhere in Italy – is fantastic.

The Continental caters to a wide cross section of humanity – the old and the young, those with kids and those without, honeymooners, everybody, even people who rely upon dialysis machines.

There’s nightly entertainment too.

I loved this hotel so much I didn’t’ want to leave. A week is not enough and, as I write this, I yearn to return on the next flight out of London Gatwick. What an amazing hotel. Well done to Leo Hotels.