Piazza Olmo is the point where the island divides. From here one road drops towards the Ciraccio and the Chiaiolella, another bends towards Punta Pizzaco, a stairway plunges down to the Chiaia. It is not a handsome square: it is a junction. But sleeping at a junction, on an island where everything is done on foot, changes the day.
The Insula has ten rooms and a pool. It is a small four-star, run like a house: a transfer from the harbour if you ask for it, a boat and a scooter arranged by reception, massages that come to you instead of a spa to cross. It costs from 180 EUR, a figure that on the island puts the property just below La Suite and well above everything else.
Ten rooms, and what that means
Ten rooms means two things. The first is that the service is personal: whoever opens the door to you is probably the same person who books your boat and tells you what time the last hydrofoil goes. The second is that in summer there is no space. On an island that receives thousands of people a day in August, ten rooms sell out months in advance. If your trip is in July or August, this is a booking to make in winter, not in May.
The rooms have panoramic balconies. We have not verified which ones look onto what, so I am not promising you a specific view: ask about it when you book, by room number, and get it confirmed. On this coast the difference between a balcony over the greenery and one over the bay is real.
Nor do we have verified check-in and check-out times. Ask when you book: if you arrive on the morning hydrofoil and leave on the evening one, being able to leave your bags gains you half a usable day.
The pool and the garden
The outdoor pool with a garden and a pool bar is the main argument for this address, along with the position. At Procida you can count the pools on one hand: here and at La Suite, essentially. It matters above all in the middle hours of July and August, when going down to the Chiaia and climbing the steps back up in the heat is a decision you take once a day, not twice.
The pool bar sorts out a light lunch without putting your shoes back on. But dinner is worth having out: the fishermen’s village is a few minutes downhill and its restaurants are the reason you eat well on this island. The restaurant guide lines up the addresses that really hold up.
The 180 steps down to the Chiaia
This is the practical fact that counts for more than any service. From the Piazza Olmo area the Chiaia beach is reached by going down a stairway of about 180 steps. The sources vary between 182 and 186: count on about 180 and think no more about it.
Going down it is five minutes. Coming up, at four in the afternoon in August, with the parasol and the big bag, it is a different matter. The Chiaia has no road access: there is no taxi that will bring you back up. The two real alternatives are the boat service that links the beach to Marina Corricella, or choosing a different beach. If you have delicate knees, a pushchair or somebody with reduced mobility in the group, the Chiaia is not your beach and this is not your base: look at the Chiaiolella, which has direct road access.
In exchange, the Chiaia is the most sheltered bay on the island, with shallow water suited to children and very little crowding precisely because that is the only way in. The steps are the filter, and that is the reason the beach stays liveable.
Transfer, boats and scooters
The transfer from the harbour is included on request: you ask for it in advance, not on arrival. It is a small service that solves the biggest problem of landing at Marina Grande, which is walking uphill with the cases while the quay empties out.
The property also arranges boat hire, scooter hire and in-room massages. On boat hire it is worth comparing: on the island you can find a six-metre boat with no boat licence from 170 EUR a group for the whole day, as we describe on the page about boat hire without a licence. Ask the hotel its price and compare, instead of taking it for granted that going through them is the better deal.
On the scooter, a local warning: in summer Procida restricts the movement of non-residents’ vehicles, and the bans change from year to year. The up-to-date rules and the bus routes are in getting around Procida. The island is a little over three kilometres long: on foot and by bus you can do everything.
Is it worth it?
Yes, if you are after a small property with a pool and you are happy with a central position that does not look onto the sea. The ratio between the 180 EUR starting price and what it offers is fair for the island’s level, especially considering the transfer and the hands-on management.
No, if your aim is to wake up above the fishermen’s harbour: for that you sleep at the Hotel La Corricella, accepting its steps, or at La Casa sul Mare at Terra Murata, which has the view from above. And no, if you are travelling on little: the same island can be slept on from 50 EUR at the Tirreno Residence. The full picture is on the page about where to stay at Procida.