We recently headed to Sorrento for my birthday and Adam booked us in at the Relais Blu which is located in Massa Lubrense, just to the west of the city. Nestled in the side of the hills that overlook Naples Bay and the Island of Capri, Relais Blu offers beautiful views and a tranquil environment to relax. It took about an hour and twenty minutes to get here from Naples Airport and the roads that lead to it offer stunning views of both the Gulf of Naples and the Amalfi Coast.
A Review of Relais Blu
The Room
Let’s start with the most important part of any hotel stay; the room. Our room was light and airy with beautiful views of the Gulf of Naples and just off to the side, the island of Capri. The bed faced the window and it was lovely to just lie there in the morning watching the boats heading past to Capri.
We were in a double superior sea view room which was rather large and came with a whirlpool bath and waterfall shower. in the bathroom. Other amenities included WiFi, a safe, minibar, Sky TV and of course air-con.
Breakfast is also included in with the price of your room and you can choose to have this on the terrace restaurant overlooking or delivered to your room.
The Hotel
So I’ve briefly mentioned breakfast but I thought I’d give a little more detail. If you have it on the terrace you’ll be treated to made to order omelettes, eggs or pancakes and can then help yourself to a buffet including cereals, fruit, lots of lovely Italian cakes and bread for toast.
As the hotel is literally built into the side of the hilly terrane, the facilities are spread out. It’s about a 7-minute walk to get to the infinity pool from your room and you have to go up to the top level of the hotel to get to it.
But let’s talk about that infinity pool. I’ve never laid by a pool that has been so tranquil and had such a beautiful view. The pool also has a built-in jacuzzi and easy access steps to get in and out. There’s also a pool bar and you can order food and drinks to be delivered to your sunbed. No money changes hands at the hotel and everything is charged to your room to be settled at the end of your stay. There’s also plenty of shade if you’re not a sunbather with lots of umbrellas available.
One of the only downsides to this hotel is that if you don’t have a car, it’s not an ideal base for Sorrento. Taxies were €30 each way and it soon added up.
The Restaurant
Adam has confessed that one of the reasons he booked this hotel was to eat at the restaurant on my birthday. There are two restaurants on-site and we only ate at one of them – ‘Il Relais Blu’ – a Michelin starred restaurant from famed Italian Chef Roberto Allocca.
There are three tasting menus to select from all with matched wines to go with them. Menus are constantly changing as Roberto Allocca is famed for using the very best of the fresh produce available at the time. Our menu was the following:
- Roasted Lobster with potatoes, snow peas, crispy raviolo and crustacean zabaglione
- Oyster Risotto with celery, fresh cheese and green apples
- Mezzi Paccheri Pasta with anchovy’s tartare, sea asparagus and hazelnut milk sauce
- Filet of Red mullet with pine seeds crust, whelks ragout and escarole sauce
- The Duck – breast glazed with honey, leg confit on aprocit bread
- Pre Dessert
- The Peach – a chocolate peach, mousse filled with red wine flavoured jelly, almonds and ice cream
Our tasting menu was seven courses and was €100 each. We opted for the matched wine which was €55 per head. If you are thinking of doing it, the whole table has to have the same menu and the matched wine.
We really enjoyed the food and as per usual, even though the food does not look filling, we were uncomfortably full by the time we went to bed. While the food was excellent, the service wasn’t the greatest and there were a few times we looked at each other as if to say ‘what on earth?’. The main ones were when they served food while I was in the toilet (never experienced this in a Michelin starred restaurant before) and took my wine before I was done without asking.
Final Thoughts
Overall we really loved staying at the Relais Blu Hotel and it was certainly the perfect birthday treat. I think when we head to Sorrento again (because it will be a ‘when’ not an ‘if’) we would probably stay somewhere a little more central but that does not take away from anything the Relais Blu had to offer and would definitely recommend it to people.
It’s also a wedding venue and would honestly be perfect. I can think of no better backdrop to get married in front of.
If you’d like to see more of our trip to Sorrento including Capri and Pompeii, check out my vlog from our time there. There’s also a room tour if you’d like to see more of the Relais Blu.
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