Hotel Blanc

As we'd backpacked Italy for a month, this review is more for people who will find themselves in a similar situation. We can't comment on the hotel from a generalised experience because we didn't have one. **REACHING THE HOTEL** From Napoli Centrale (the central train station in Naples) you need to buy *regional* tickets from the tabacchis (little shops) inside the station. You will need to purchase tickets for Casoria and we think the station is called Casoria-Afragola but double check. It is a local train that can get EXTREMELY busy at peak times but a blessing is that Casoria is the first stop on the journey and takes approximately 10 minutes. All departure times and locations are on the departures boards located at the top of most platforms. Once you've arrived at the station you need to call the manager and he will then come and pick you up in his car. We would advise you contact the hotel before hand to make them aware of your estimated arrival times and it does absolutely no harm to learn a few basic italian phrases to aid in communication. Getting picked up from the train station and dropped off at the airport the next morning was completely free of charge which is amazing considering how cheap the room was. **THE HOTEL** The hotel itself was very clean and comfortable and the staff all lovely. English isn't common place so learn some phrases, not only will it help but it will also enamor the staff to you which is always good. The hot power shower and cool air conditioning in the bedroom was the most unbelievable treat after a month of campsites. The bed was wonderfully comfy and the room was spacious with a t.v and a variety of Italian t.v channels. Although the hotel is close to the airport it is surprisingly well sound proofed. Our booking confirmation did state there was a restaurant and breakfast was included in the price but when we tried to inquire about this we were directed to a nearby entertainment complex (which was no big deal as it had some tasty restaurants there and we ate well). This is very likely a mis-communication error on our part as although we were pretty handy with the basic phrases, anything more was beyond us so you may want to find the manager (who speaks English) to find where the restaurant is. The electricity in the room is triggered by the room card and is on a timer so if you wake up and it's turned off you just pop the card out and in again (no big deal). The price was around the £40 mark for the night which is just crazily cheap and there is no tourist tax which is a lovely bonus. We recommend you try the pizzaria-ristaurante nearby on the entertainment complex for well priced tasty food. All in all it was great for us. The manager was helpful and the service was incredibly cheap and of a good standard. It seems other people have had issues with the in-house taxi service but for us we just emailed prior to our journey to make them definitely aware and then rang the manager at the station and it was all fine. As it is so close to the airport would definitely stop here again before travelling.