Hi
I’m also just back from the October trip (Jill it was lovely to meet you by the way) and I agree entirely with your comments re the hotel, although I was one of the lucky ones to get a really nice room and big balcony!
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip as it offers a great mix of historical interest (Vesuvius and Pompeii) together with stunning scenery featuring the Bay of Naples, Capri and the coastal road (which you’ll travel along a few times if you do the optional extras, all of which I recommend by the way).
Even if you do all of the extras, you’ll still have the best part of 4 half days completely free to do as you wish so this trip is not as hectic as some of the others JY offer. The town square, marina and most other places of interest are all within 10-20 minutes walk of the hotel so as Jill says, it’s well placed for your free time.
If you go I definitely recommend using a free afternoon to visit Herculanem, which was also destroyed by Vesuvius. It’s a simple train ride from Pompeii and easy to get the train back to Sorrento afterwards.
Hope this helps!