Just a short review on the above holiday as one was already posted on the forum a while ago and it was this review which resulted in me going on this holiday! The journey from Naples Airport to Grand Hotel San Michele is approximately 4 hours - a long journey, but not too bad with comfort stops. We had one stop on the way there and two stops on the way back. San Michele is a lovely hotel set in acres of magnificent grounds. I had a lovely bedroom called the 'garden room' which was not in the main building but down a flight of about 42 steps. The guided walk through the gardens and the estate on day 2 was lovely. It was a hot and humid day, but the pace was relaxing. At the end of the walk we ended up in the host's kitchen (I have forgotten her name) sampling delicious wines, liquers, olive oil and jams, which are all produced here. You can buy these products from the hotel reception. I bought 3 jars - chilli jam is delicious with cheese and I have already used it to make sandwiches to take to work! All the jams were served for breakfast so you had plenty of opportunity to try them all. I love fresh figs and there were plenty available each morning at breakfast. There were 3 choices of starters, mains and dessert for dinner. Be aware - first course was big and I personally could not eat both first and main courses. They were happy to serve a nice salad with mozarella if you wanted it instead of first or main course or if you fancied it, you could have two first courses. Nothing was set in stone. We were quite lucky with the weather. We had thunderstorms, but mainly in the evenings or during the night. When we visited Diamante, the weather was a mixture or sunshine, rain and a mini tornado. The hotel runs a minibus service to Cetraro for €5 return. I enjoyed all the excursions. There are plenty of steps and steep slopes to negotiate on most excursions and also the hotel. Good for getting fit! There is a lift which takes you to the private beach where there are plenty of sunbeds to relax. You have to pay €5 for a towel for the swimming pool or the beach or you can take your own if you wish. You must try the lovely Italian homemade icecreams whilst out and about. They are delicious. I found Calabria to be a lot cheaper than other parts of Italy. Walk through the Sila National Park was lovely. Despite the rain on the way there, it was quite hot and sunny whilst we were there. On the way back we stopped to view the giant trees which were hundreds of years old. Very fascinating indeed. There were 25 of us in the group - 19 women and 6 men - and everyone was very friendly. We all got on well. Sandra was our tour manager. She was quietly spoken, friendly and helpful. The return flight was delayed by 2 hours due to Italian Traffic controllers strike, but everyone remained cheerful. A great holiday with wonderful people. Calabria is lovely and I thoroughly recommend this holiday.
Jaya
