A Slice of Heaven

If you're looking for 5-star accommodations in the middle of all the action, this place is not for you. If you're looking for God's Country, away from the tourists, with serene views, relaxing atmosphere, phenomenal and courtesy staff, personal attention and food that words cannot describe, then this is your place. It's not convenient to the bigger cities in the area (Pompeii, Sorrento, etc) but it is conveniently located to everything via a vehicle or bus. I spent a week at Casale Villareno with a group of friends and Guglielmo, proprietor, has done an amazing job with the property. He and his staff did more for us in that one week than any Hilton or Ritz would ever do. We were not just guests, we became family. The attention to detail, the personal touches, food, wine, accommodations, conversations, and so much more are indescribable. This was by far my best vacation ever! Thank you again to G and his staff! I look forward to coming back soon.

Simply fantastic

Following a week in Rome, we wanted our second week to be more chilled and relaxing and Casale Villarena was the perfect antidote to full-on city sightseeing. Giuglielmo is a perfect, charming host and treats you like long-lost family - well supported by Mariateresa and Antonio. Our room (La Vetara) was perfect for a family of four, with two bedrooms (1 double, 1 twin) and two bathrooms, a large kitchen/diner/living room, and a fabulous large balcony with views of the mountains and sea. There are beautiful cliff walks from the property, a great village shop full of local produce, and a steep 15-20 minute walk down to the beach at Marina del Cantone (quite a climb back up!). The pool is a great size, perfect for the kids to make friends but also quiet at other times for us to take a relaxing dip. But the highlight of Casale Villarena has to be the food - we are foodies and ate at some great restaurants in Rome, but the meals here are something else. The key is to go with the flow and let Giuglielmo guide you - whatever he recommends is likely to either have been bought that morning by him (fried fish, prawns, chickens from a friend that farms them), or from his gardens (stunning figs, tomatoes, lemons, aubergines, peppers etc). Proper simple family meals, cooked perfectly and eaten looking over the sea as the sun sets - doesn't get much better than that! Also the special nights he put on - pizza night on the terrace with pizzas cooked in his 200 year old wood over, the seafood barbecue he did one night where we have never eaten so much, or watching/tasting as the kitchen staff made fresh mozzarella. It was a week we will never forget (and we still have some of his homemade limoncello left to remind us!) - thank you Giuglielmo and all the team.

Brilliant small hotel. Book early as there are not that many rooms!!!

This is a brilliant, friendly and wonderfully quaint little Italian guest house/hotel. Gueliemo and his team makes you feel really part of his family, and the whole staff are friendly helpful and above all happy in their jobs. We even spent a few nights sitting with G and the team having a few drinks because the weather was rainy whilst we were there. I cannot give more praise! (Hope you enjoyed the Olive Oil Gueliemo?!). We have been twice now and will be back next year again. Love this hotel!!!

Nice long holiday

We found Casale Villarena in the Secretplaces website. We discovered already a few other Secretplaces hotels and we can say that Casale Villarena is definitely top :-) A perfect place to discover the Amalfi coast, Pompeji, Capri and much more. We stayed 14 days. So we had plenty of time to make trips and to rest. If you stay here you have to take time for "dolce far niente". I wouldn't recommend to stay at this beautiful place and make a trip every day... The appartment (we stayed in Casa Simi) was very very nice - plenty of space, calm and very clean. Highlights: Boat trip with Guglielmo, beach Recommone, Pompeji, swimming pool and garden in the Casale, Pizza and Gelati in Marina del Cantone, the dinners in the Casale, and of course the very friendly staff. Guglielmo is a perfect host, entertainer, boat driver, and dancer ;-)

super cuisine , superbe vue et super accueil

ce 11 juillet 2013 , en suivant vos conseils sur trip advisor , j'avais décidé d'emmener ma femme Micheline ( pour son anniversaire ) et bien sûr ma fille adorée Juliette .C'est le 3° séjour que nous faisons dans la région et cette fois nous restions 2 semaine et demi dans la région de Sorrente et Ischia . Hé bien , j'ai été sublimé ; cela a été notre meilleur repas du séjour et Gugliemo le patron a été aux petits soins avec nous et nous a même racompagné à notre hôtel à Sant Agatha ( il passait par là pour faire une course ).En fait , il ne faut pas demander la carte mais bien leur demander ce qu'ils ont a proposer ce jour . J'ai mangé mon meilleur spaghetti aux fruits de mer du séjour et Gugielmo a préparé un gâteau d'anniversaire surprise ( offert par la maison ) pour micheline( je n ' avait rien demandé à Gugielmo , je lui avait seulement signalé l'anniversaire de ma femme ) . Les prix étaient très démocratiques : la moitié des restaurants qui se trouvent 1Km plus bas sur la plage de Marina Cantone ; Bravo , forza Gulgielmo e il suo staff , buon proseguimento

Wonderful food and location

For the second time, I visited Casale Villarena - last time with my daugther, this time with my husband. Once again, the welcome was warm from Guglielmo and the team and they continued their high standard of hospitality throughout the stay. The location is good and the views from the terraces breathtaking over the blue sea, the mountains and across to the little islands. You can easily catch a bus to Sorrento (1 hour, for €1.30) or take boats on organised or bespoke trips from Marina del Cantone. The village is quaint with two shops and a small characterful bar, so you can get almost everything you might need.There is a larger mim-market 25 mins walk up the hill at Termini if you are without a car. Note it's worth visiting here just for the panorama of Capri! The views from Casale Villarena's terraces are lovely and the grounds beautifully kept with lovely lemon trees on each level. The pasta was amazing - the ravoili and spagetti with clams and tomatoes - although my absolute favourite was spagetti with anchovies, wild fennel and walnuts - yum. If you are staying in Marina del Cantone or Temini you are just a short uphill / downhill walk though amazingly scenic walkways from this lovely restaurant.Yes the shape of the menu is slightly changed from previously, and perhaps two choices of starter is limited - but the words on the menu sometimes don't accurately describe the wonderful food that you receive - and usually starters are easily enough to feed two! We did find the wine choice rather limited and would have appreciated a wider price range - with half bottles available, so we stuck to house wine and the fabulous limoncello.The Sunflower landscapes book of walks and tours was enormously helpful to find our way around. The beautiful Ierano penisula stretches from the side of the village, and there is an amazing walk - wear at least trainers - to a secluded beach at Ieranto - about 1 hour's walk from Nerano. Tops tips: it is hilly, so bring good walking sandals, especially if you haven't hired a car. Buy some water shoes for the pebbly beach.

A friendly, relaxed warm and welcoming hotel and restaurant

A huge thanks to Guglielmo and the team for making our stay very special. After many hours of travelling we received a warm, calm welcome. And even though pizza wasn't on the menu and it was almost ten o' clock at night, they made it especially for my 8 year old who had been dreaming of Italian pizza for months. Each night there is a themed evening where guests can enjoy, relaxed, local, food and can get to know each other (or not if they prefer). Nothing is forced and the pace is slow and gentle. The owner has great attention to detail and offers generous portions. Children can play in the small play area and it is safe for them to be away from the parents for a while.The setting is beautiful and the gardens are overflowing with lemon trees and Bougainvillea. We hired a boat and spent a memorable day with Guglielmo visiting Positano and various islands. Lastly, Internet connection is on and off, typical for the area. Rooms are clean and functional. We rented the flat with 2 beds and a kitchen which we found ideal for a family of four.

Casale Villarena- a great sensory experience!

I can still smell the lemons, taste the wine and food and daydream about the views! We went with our 2 daughters 18 and 21 and loved every minute. Despite there not being much to do in the evenings this did not seem to matter as we were out and about to Positano, Capri, the local Marina, Sant Agata and of course Pompei during the days so enjoyed taking time over the evening to either cook in our appartment or to go to the villa's restaurant. I would recommend the wine and cheese evening as this is held in the cellar just underneath the church and Guglielmo also showed us his organic garden which is a delight. It was clear the he is passionate about the people and the Villa and he is well supported by very friendly staff-Antonio and Terri and the Italian gardener. We hired a car to get around locally which worked well as the roads were not too busy and the buses let you know with their horns they are coming around the bends! I would recommend it as a relaxing haven and great location to experience this beautiful part of Italy. The only watch out I would have is careful not to be ripped off in tourist traps or go with the expectation to pay a lot of money for certain things. We paid 50 euros for 4 of us for sun loungers and umbrella on the main beach in Positano and on talking to some of the other tourists they had similar experiences on Capri. At the Villa they have an adorable little tabby cat who had recently had kittens which my daughters fell in love with even if on the last day we watched her catch a lizard and crunch it leaving its tail to wip around in the grass-yuk!!

Ideaal!! The place to be!!!

Een week lang verwend worden door bijzonder aardige mensen. Wie wil dat niet?? Uitstekend appartement, fraaie ligging, mooie uitzichten, rustige omgeving, schitterende wandelingen en tochten. En iedere avond smullen van heerlijke italiaanse gerechten, bereid door Nonna Rosa!

Perfect location

We loved it. Authentic and charming. Nice food. Excellent service. This all thanks to Guglielmo and his team. Not to forget the panoramic view. You can go with the boat to capri, with taxi or car to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello. With the car or bus to Sorrento, from there to Napoli and Pompeij Just book it and enjoy it