This review is part of my main Amalfi Coast itinerary & travel guide! I’m also posting video tours of each hotel on my Instagram stories (now also viewable on desktop if you log in to IG).
I did a ton of research on lodging in Positano, from apartment rentals to hotels in a wide range of price points. Most hotels there accommodate only 2 guests per room, occasionally 3, so if you’re traveling with more then you can save a lot by renting an apartment. We ended up booking the Buca di Bacco (see other guest reviews) – a moderately priced, centrally located hotel with stunning Positano views from both their guest rooms and common areas!
Value
I looked into the iconic, celeb-favorite hotel Le Sirenuse out of curiosity, then came across Buca di Bacco, which is literally situated right below them on the hill with similar views for much less. It still isn’t cheap (sea view rooms start at 300 Euros), but to give you an idea, the top-tier room at Buca costs less than the lowest-tier inner room at Le Sirenuse (with no balcony or sea view). We were pretty happy with our stay and I’d say its a good relative value for the area!
Location
A main draw for me was that this hotel is located right on the base of the hill, overlooking the main Positano beach and about a 3 minute walk to the boat & ferry docks (making it super convenient for day trips)! For first-time visitors, I’d recommend staying toward the base or middle of the hill. My family stayed toward the top thinking they could handle it, but the daily climb turned out to be more than they had bargained for!
The hotel is also right by the main pedestrian part of town, plus we discovered a hidden stairway off the 2nd floor that lets you climb directly up the hill to Le Sirenuse in minutes (you do need to ring their buzzer and have a restaurant reservation or room there, in order to enter this way).
rooms:
This hotel has vibrant, coastal-style Italian decor and tiles that vary from room to room. It’s a look that can easily go wrong if outdated, but each of the rooms we saw appeared clean and fairly updated.
There’s 46 rooms total, ranging from Standard with no sea view (240 Euros low season / 280 high season), to Deluxue rooms with large sea view terraces (600 Euros low season / 700 high season). Due to limited availability, we booked a night in a Standard then switched to Deluxe, but had the chance to poke our heads in a few other room types!
Best Value rooms: In my opinion, the Standard sea view rooms #22 through 26. Price-wise these are the hotel’s second cheapest rooms, since they technically don’t have a private outdoor space. However, these are located along a tucked-away garden terrace with a wonderful 180 degree view (we shot this blog post on that terrace). I never saw anyone else there other than the guests staying in those five rooms, and they were usually lounging on their chairs drinking in the scene. These rooms are also great if you’re traveling with another couple, since they can book a room next door on the shared terrace! Avoid: Rooms 19 and 20, which have a building obstructing the view – saw several complaints online from disappointed guests!
Highest-tier room: Deluxe rooms
I might’ve gasped a bit upon seeing our room! These come with the largest sea view terraces and an amazing shower alcove with window overlooking the ocean. Upon booking, I requested room #48 with a big “L” shaped terrace and ornate blue decor.
Lowest-tier room: Standard rooms with no sea view.
We stayed in room #14 the first night, which was comfortable except it’s situated right over a pedestrian walkway. I heard commotion from drunk passerby late at night trying to climb back up the hill – can you imagine! : ) Nick slept through everything like a baby, though. Despite being the lowest-tier room, this was a fair size with an updated bathroom, and french doors opening to a little balcony.
Even if you book a room without sea view, there’s a “solarium” roof deck with lounge chairs and aview of the Positano hills! We never saw anyone using this shared space, either.
Breakfast & Restaurant:
We loved how most hotels in the area include complimentary breakfast! We oftentimes neglect breakfast while traveling, but throughout this trip, sitting down together to a beautiful view with tea or coffee was a peaceful mental “reset” every morning.
The breakfast here is sit-down style with a self service buffet and coffee drinks made to order. There’s a large sitting area (both indoors and open-air), overlooking the beach with a view of the hill, or you can use a tray to enjoy breakfast back in your room. My first stop was always their juicer machine – the cara cara orange juice was so fresh and delicious! Most of the spread offerings are pastries or cold (cheese, charcuterie, cereals), with one warmer of bacon and scrambled eggs. It wasn’t extravagant (like Le Sirenuse or the Caesar Augustus … oh my) but a fine & filling way to start the day.
The hotel also has a restaurant open to non-guests that offers cooking classes as well. We ordered room service a few times out of convenience for lunch and dinner, but the food was nothing to write home about.
Service & other notes: It’s not a 5-star hotel or anything, but we always found the service to be friendly and helpful. The front desk would help with local reservations and also to make sure the porters got our luggage (they charge 6 Euro per suitcase) to/from the right locations.
– No pool at the hotel, however each room has a beach tote bag with towels.
– No iron in each guest room (common throughout Italy) but there’s a common “ironing room”
– The beds are on the stiffer side, although I heard they can add on a mattress topper upon request.
– We kept our balcony doors open so had a couple bugs fly in, but housekeeping brought some plug-in bug repellant which helped.
Another option – Hotel Marincanto:
Another hotel in a similar moderate price range that was a close contender is Hotel Marincanto (down the street from Le Sirenuse). I didn’t see inside their guest rooms, but the shared areas include a huge sun deck with 270 degree views (it was raining, but there’s usually lounge chairs on there) and a pool.
Hope this review was helpful! Next, I’ll be sharing some spots to grab food or drinks with more spectacular views around town.
This looks amazing! I’m currently planning a trip to Italy for next summer, and I’m having such a hard time booking hotels! Either they are all booked up already or they don’t book this far out in advance. How many months out did you book?
Thanks!
Jordan
Hi Jane! Thanks a million for taking the time to research all of this. Your readers definitely appreciate this review. I have a question for you. This may be a hard one, but I was wondering if you HAD to choose between Buca Di Bacco and Villa Treville (putting $$ cost aside!) which one would you have rather stayed at? Considering views + location + rooms. We are staying in Positano/Amalfi coast for 3 nights and can’t decide between the two!
Thank you.
I’ve missed reading your posts Jean, always so practical and fun! The Amalfi posts look so amazing, congrats to you both!
this was the one place i didn’t get a chance to go to when I was studyign abroad in italy and these gorgeous shots are making me wish I had!!
xx Jen
http://lilthoughtswithjen.com/
This looks amazing. Glad you guys had a wonderful trip 🙂 Bookmarking this for the future!!
Love your review of this hotel! Definitely want to go and visit.
May || https://themoderness.com/
I had explored Italy for 15 days but sadly we did not go to Positano! Definitely on my list. PS I am in love with this hotel!
With your help please..going to Amalfi Coast end of August 6 days with wife, Best hotel you recommend up to 900 euros per nite. YOUR recommendation nicest hotel luxuries with best rooms, beach access and food. Thanks
Hi! What a great review! Loved this! What about getting to and from positano from airport? What airport did you use?
Thank you! .
Hi Stephanie! Please refer to my first post here where I talked a lot about transportation from the airport to the hotel, and then in between the coastal cities: https://www.extrapetite.com/2018/05/amalfi-coast-travel-guide-itinerary-hotel-reviews.html
Positano is on my list1 I hope to visit this place one day! Is soooo amazing!!!
The shots are just beautiful. Thanks for the great review .
Jandrew
http://www.jandrewspeaks.com
❤️ Amalfi, the most magical place on Earth for me.
Thank you so much for this super thorough review! 🙂 Definitely very detailed, and it’ll be super helpful when planning a trip! All of your photos came out so beautifully! <3
XO, Elizabeth
http://clothestoyouuu.com/
Wow Jean, what a fantastic place to stay and how wise of you to select a hotel pretty close to the ferry for day trips. Italian coastline aren’t just amazingly beautiful, they can be very steep too! I loved all the photos of the adorable hotel a lot, especially the one of the shower with that amazing sea view. I think I’d shower far too long every day…Love, Lieske
Hi Jean,
I’m going there next week but a lot of these hotels are sold out on our arrival dates 🙁 We will be staying at Palazzo Murat. Did you get a chance to pass by this hotel when you were there? Btw, I’ve been following your trip to help us plan ours. You’ve been very helpful 🙂
Hi Quynh – Hmm I didn’t, but it’s truly hard to go wrong while you’re there. There are scenic overlooks everywhere and you’ll have an amazing time regardless of where you stay!
How do you pack so many hats with you? How do you even pack one hat without it getting crushed in your suitcase?
I only brought 2, but 1 hat would suffice for a vacation! I wore one on my head and packed the other. It’s actually quite easy … just put your first layer of clothes and shoes into your suitcase but leave a round gap in the middle that will fit the top of your hat. Next, put your hat in upside down wedged into that hole. Fill the upside down hat hole with other clothing to help “shape” it and then cover everything with the remaining layers of your clothes.
We stayed on top floor of Hotel Reginnala in Positano.Which has excellent view by seating in rooms private balcony.Hotel is costly but very near from all attraction and beach.Beach is just 350 steps down stair is opposite of hotel.
That sounds lovely! There’s so many scenic hotels in the area, it’s hard to choose!
Would like more info on less expensive hotel in Positano/Amalfi area, travel there in October
You can look into apartment rentals on Airbnb … each listing will usually have notes on how high it’s located up the hill (I recommend staying towards the lower-middle part of the hill for less steps).
Great recommendations
What a stunning hotel, Jean! Thank-you so much for the review, it looks like a great place to stay!
Happy Saturday!
Michael
https://www.mileinmyglasses.com
This place is too pretty! And the bathroom is goals!
https://thegoldlipstick.com
I love the simple blue design of the bedroom! It’s gorgeous! The views look beautiful as well
http://charmainenyw.com
I’m planning my 50th Birthday Amalfi Coast. Currently there 7 in my group. We plan on sending 4days. Can you recommend a hotel/tour operator.
Beautiful, simply beautiful! Better to go there when it’s not too crowded but it’s an amazing place!
Thank you for the insightful post! I am trying to convince my husband to do Positano for our honeymoon someday (we put it off to save money for a home purchase) and I’m always shoving my phone in his face to show him your instagram stories. This series will definitely become one of my favourite on your blog!
Thank you for the kind feedback, Lena! Happy to help convince the husband ; ) We also didn’t go on a honeymoon per se after our wedding so this definitely made up for that!
Omg I love this!!! Thank you so much, you’ve already done my hotel research because my hubby and I are planning to go there for vacation! 😀 Researching where to stay is a bit stressful, but you’ve narrowed it down like a pro! 😉 Your pictures are to die for! I can’t wait for more of your blog about your trip! THANK YOU!
Hi Ina – you guys are going to have such an amazing time! I’m happy to help! If you’re planning well in advance, you can also check out Air BnBs – most of the scenic ones were already booked by the time I started planning my trip.
So beautiful! I so want to go and visit!
Briana
https://beyoutifulbrunette.com/
The best guide to this magical place on earth! Love the details & beautiful efforts of this guide! 🌷♥️🌷