I need to preface this is my first negative travel review. Typically I provide glowing recommendations of my travel adventures but this experience was so jarring, so ugly that I simply cannot keep quiet and must share with anyone traveling to the lovely Italian island of Capri in the Gulf of Naples.
It was our last night in Capri and all my husband and I wanted was a special evening to commemorate the end of our wonderful holiday. Little did we know “special” was not a meant for us at the Caesar Augustus hotel restaurant La Terazza di Lucullo.
Instead we experienced a whole new meaning to the word “special” thanks to Francesco Signorini; the entitled prick “owner” of the Caesar Augustus property who acted like a spoiled 10 year old brat having a massive temper tantrum while all the hotel guests and restaurant patrons watched in horror. His tantrum was directed at us.
It all started as we were lead down the steps to our table to be seated for dinner. I had requested an outdoor table with unobstructed view to watch the sunset on the terrace of the restaurant. Instead, the hostess lead us past the desired location down another set of steps to a completely empty indoor room pool level that was dark and stuffy. Of course I protested and asked to be seated up at the terrace per my request with the other diners but was told by the hostess that every table up there was for “a special reservation”. I then inquired about the two outdoor tables outside the stuffy dark room and she said these were also for “special reservations.”
At this point I started to get upset and said, “We’re special, we have a reservation. Why can’t we have an outdoor table on the terrace that we requested”?
Refused by the hostess, in frustration we sat down at one of the outside tables to regroup and figure out our next move to call our hotel, the fabulous Villa Marina Capri Hotel & Spa and speak with owner Federica Guarino. While speaking with Federica to see what she could do to help the situation, Francesco Signorini looms over us with puffed up ego and bellows, “I am the owner, and you can’t sit at this table! This is the Tiberius table!!”
We explained the situation and even passed the phone over to Federica to provide support but instead of making any accommodations for us, Francesco emphatically states, “No, no, I will make a nice table setting for you here at the pool”.
Keep in mind the pool area is totally empty and void of any restaurant ambience whatsoever. His suggestion was to make a single table out by the pool lounges for us to dine at which of course we refused.
He was adamant that we take it, stating this is where his own parents (the real owners) dine.
Finally after exhausting all efforts to deflect our request, he finally succumbs into giving us the terrace table we wished for but that’s when the tantrum happened…
We sat down and were handed our menus at the table at the terrace while below Francesco Signorini set up the lone table poolside for I suppose the guests our table was intended.
I think he finally realized that it was not optimal for anyone to dine there other than his parents and that’s when he started shouting to us from the pool level up in front of all the terrace diners accusing me of being drunk (which he actually was) and making an enormous scene asking us if we’re happy now?! I asked him to please drop it but he would not stop berating us in front of all the guests.
Hotel owners Paolo and Patrizia Signorini should be absolutely appalled by their son’s rude obnoxious behavior and total lack of hospitality as hotel guests and restaurant patrons watched in horror as he made lewd gestures at my husband and I in a drunken rant to go “F*ck off” and ordered us to “Go! Get out ….get out now!!! Leave .. go, go, go…!”
Can you imagine?!
Finally we did get up and leave, and all the while he continued to shout at us and make lewd hand gestures, thrusting them up and down his crotch while everyone watched, stunned. Shocked and appalled we left Caesar Augustus and ended up back at a restaurant where we had our favorite local dinner, La Zagara in the island's capital Anacapri. Since we'd dined there only once before, it was so amazing how the staff knew exactly where we sat previously, what we drank, and what we ate, and they treated us like royalty. What a stark difference in treatment! True gracious hospitality at its finest - La Zagora is a must when on Capri.
There are many, many beautiful places to watch the sunset on Capri. Just please do yourself a favor: Do not go to the Caesar Augustus hotel and La Terrazza di Lucullo restaurant. They do not deserve your patronage.
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