Forte Hotel

This hotel is rated a 4 star hotel and at best it is a 2.5 or 3 star hotel. I decided to book this hotel direct after seeing very high reviews on it. However the website site is quite deceiving because there are 2 Hotel Forte’s in Vieste almost side by side. One is new and the other (where we stayed) is like stepping back into the 1970’s. The reception staff seemed quite helpful when we arrived with parking and directions but when asked about the town centre we were told that it is a very small town and not a lot of shops. We walked into town about 23 mins and it was amazing with lots of little lane ways and shops and restaurants. The views in the town are amazing. The walk in is long but on a slow incline. In the town there are lots of stairs but also ways around them. Back to the hotel. Parking easy just across the street in an open public car park. Two lifts in the hotel (one strictly for staff) the other for the guests which was very slow. The breakfast area was large and you were allocated a table where you had to stay for the rest of your stay at the hotel. The Breakfast offer was ok but the room and area was a little grotty. The bar was open from early in the pool area but you couldn’t get a red wine. Even after the pool bar closed and the inside bar opened you couldn’t get a bottle of wine to take back to the room only a glass. We ended up going to supermarket and buying one. We asked for 2 glasses and got plastic cheap plastic glasses. The best thing about this hotel was the balcony with sea views but trying to get have a wine on the balcony was a little difficult as there was no room service at all but there was a bar and a restaurant. I asked about the laundry service and was told there was one in town. We had breakfast at the hotel once and then went across the car park to the Beach Bar La Bussola which had great coffee and food. All in all our worst stay in Italy outside of Rome. Don’t stay there.

The check in was a breeze. Francesca was extremely helpful to work with. She’s fluent in English, and helped us with everything, like directions to the town and parking. There’s a big parking lot in front of the hotel. While the room is a little dated, it is compensated with nice balcony overlooking the sea, and the best Buffett Breakfast in our Italian tour. We also requested 2 extra pilliows as there were only 2 pillows. Thanks Francesca. Will be back.