abcdc

Hi all,

As our trip to Italy next May slowly takes shape, we've decided on 3 nights on Capri. I admit to being a bit baffled as to where to stay ... chiefly, what are the pros/cons of staying in Capri Town v. Anacapri or Marina Piccola? There seem to be great properties in each locale, but we want to hit the "sweet spot" of having relatively easy access to restaurants and other activities but a beautiful, tranquil, and luxurious property to return to (or not leave at all, should the mood strike). Capri fans, any suggestions?

Many thanks!

TuckH

Lucky you - we stayed only one night.

It was at a B+B halfway up Monte Solaro (Anacapri) with a beautiful view. In our two days there, we covered a lot of the island. I don't think it matters where you stay (geographically) - just keep looking for that "sweet spot".

Marina Piccola? NO.

Dayle

Hi abcdc,

I visited for 2 nights in Sept, which was definitely still high season. May should be slightly better in terms of fewer crowds.

Stayed in Anacapri at a hotel I would not recommend, Bellavista, far past its prime. Horrible breakfast, stale packaged muffins and watery hot chocolate. Not the usual, real Italian breakfast.

If I were to ever visit Capri again, I would take a boat directly to Marina Piccola (completely avoiding Marina Grande) and stay in a small property or villa rental outside the town center. Probably wouldn't even venture into the town at all. Most likely I would try Ischia instead!

Most enjoyed a boat tour around the island, the chairlift up to see the views, and a hike out to Villa Jovis.
Personally, I don't shop at designer boutiques, so the town wasn't my kind of place.

Had a great lunch at Villa Verde ristorante!

Buon viaggio!

BoulderCO

Last month we stayed at La Minerva which was in Capri town but on the outskirts overlooking the sea. Very quiet out of the way location and a great hotel. We stayed there based on the great reviews on Trip Advisor and we were not disappointed. One of the best hotels we have stayed at in Europe. I think this hotel would meet your requirements. Website is www.laminervacapri.com

gabriele

La Minerva, as mentioned, is very nice and in a quiet location close to Capri town. Both Capri and Anacapri are very busy during the day. Capri has more--and generally more upscale (with a few exceptions)--shopping, restaurants and hotels. We loved Anacapri, which was smaller and seemed a bit friendlier and I would love to try staying there on my next trip (we stayed near La Minerva). I would definitely not stay near the marina -- not at all charming, in my opinion. But you can't miss by staying at La Minerva.

i_am_kane

La Minerva was our choice for our second visit to Capri.

We would go back to this hotel in a heartbeat.

abcdc

Wow, I'm definitely impressed by the number of Minerva fans! I had initially passed because it didn't have a pool. Although the online booking engines are saying it's sold out (possible as it's only 9 rooms), I was looking at Villa Le Scale in Anacapri. Any thoughts there?

i_am_kane

abcdc,

Why don't you contact the hotel directly? Signor Esposito is wonderful to deal with.

[email protected]

BoulderCO

To address your other concern - no, La Minerva does not have a pool but you can pay 10 Euros a day to use the pool at the hotel next door. It was only about a 100 meters away and looked very nice. I would also suggest contacting the hotel directly through their website. I believe they have 19 rooms, not 9.

RCLCOLPB

We stayed at La Tosca in a quiet area just south of Capri town, based on favorable reviews on Tripadvisor. We were very pleased with it--nothing fancy (no TV or safe), rated only one star for some reason, and certainly no pool, but the owner is delightful and helpful, it has pretty views of the water and rocks, and we thought the location was ideal. 125 euros in early October.

Anacapri is nice too, and there are very frequent buses between Capri and Anacapri. But we were happy we ended up in Capri town because we could go to a broader selection of restaurants and enjoy Capri town easily when there were many fewer tourists there than during the day.

Len

Hana

We honeymooned on Capri in 2003. We stayed at the Hotel Luna - absolutely gorgeous hotel!

Short walk from the main square of Capri, gorgeous grounds with an amazing view of the Faraglioni! Excellent pool and facilities. Quiet, away from the crowds and close enough to walk into the town for dinner every evening.

I highly recommend it! We walked down the beach club at the Faraglioni and spent the day there sunning and swimming on the rock platforms - a highlight of our honeymoon.

Enjoy Capri!

tripgirl

we loved the Casa Morgano.

Not sure of your budget, but Casa Morgano is a bit pricey, but very worth it. Easy stroll into town.

staff are great, especially roberto who wanted me to come work for them!!!

knoxvillecouple

Another vote for La Minerva. We spent two nights there in September 2005 in a superior deluxe (I think that was the designation). Huge bedroom and bathroom (with a jucuzzi) with a window facing our own terrace/patio overlooking the Faraglioni. Also a LARGE walk-in closet. The hotel is small ("boutique"?) but very personable, and the decor is incredible.

I'd also suggest contacting them directly. You won't go wrong with it.

KC

i_am_kane

KC,

I think we may have stayed in a deluxe room at La Minerva also. I separated my trip photos, and put La Minerva in it's own album on KodakGallery.

But, the last time I attempted to add the La Minerva photo album link to Fodors, I inadvertently gave everyone access to all my photo albums. So, I called Fodors and they deleted the link at my request.

I'd like to post the photos so abcdc can see the actual room and bathroom (lovely), but don't know how to separate this one album. A picture is worth a thousand words (so the saying goes).

I've asked this question before on this forum, but never got an answer.

knoxvillecouple

Hi IAMKANE

Wish I could help, but I haven't a clue how to go about doing that. The best that I've done is to put our 2005 trip photos on yahoo, but then yahoo closed their site and moved it to flicker I believe. In any case I didn't take any pictures of our room at La Minerva. Think I was too busy luxuriating to think about my camera.

The pictures on La Minerva's website are pretty accurate though.

KC

i_am_kane

KC, It was so nice of you to respond to my last post.

On KodakGallery, I can send an "invitation" to an e-mail address for one or many of my photo albums. That's easy.

The tricky part for me is isolating just one album and putting the link into one of these threads. I think I will call KodakGallery's Help Desk and ask them.

abcdc

Hi all,

Thanks so much for all the responses! We actually decided to stay at Villa Le Scale in Anacapri -- excellent reviews everywhere and we decided the quieter location would be nice. I'll let you know how it goes.

Iamkane - I use shutterfly, but what I think you can do is email yourself an invitation to your specific album, then cut and paste that link into a post. You can also require people to sign in to view your album, which would probably deter anyone with ill intent.

Thanks again!!

sfarah

I also enjoyed my stay at Casa Morgano. Lovely hotel on beautiful via Tragara.

i_am_kane

Thanks, abcdc. I'll try that.

altajoe

I just got a chance to see your OP and applaud your choice of Villa Le Scale. We stayed there a while back and it was fantastic. IMHO it is exactly what you're looking for.

I can't wait to read your review.

A few thoughts:

Head over to the Caesar Augustus around sunset and have a drink on the deck.

Try to get to Da Paolino for dinner.

See if you can get Giovanna to make Eggplant Parm for lunch.