Amalfi Coast
 

We are finalizing our trip to Italy this spring. Still up in the air on best town to stay in. Ravello too small and tough to get in and out of every day? Positano too touristy and too many people? Sorento? Amalfi? Capri? Found a hotel named Montasero Santa Rosa...looks like not in a very convenient location for food, shopping. Anyway, would love any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you. Any suggestion on hotels in Positano?

I prefer Amalfi over Positano, but a lot depends on what you intend to do while you're there and how many days you have. Staying put or doing a lot of exploring in the area? Using the public transportation or relying on car/taxi/driver?

Wherever you choose, if you want helpful hotel recommendations, we need to know your budget. No point in suggesting a $$$$$ hotel if you're looking for $$$.

In Positano, check out the Poseidon

IMO, Ravello is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and it is absolutely stunning after daytrippers leave. It is not particularly convenient, but if you are going in spring, it might not be too bad.

I liked Amalfi a lot.

For my tastes, spending a night on Capri is better than day-tripping there, but in spring, ferry schedules would, I think, be dependent on the weather, and I’m not sure I would want to be stuck there if weather forces the ferries to stop running.

As Jean said, it really depends on what you want to see and experience while in the area. And when you plan to go.

Between Amalfi and Positano I prefer Amalfi (Positano is beautiful and needs to be seen of course but I don't find it as nice a town once you are in it). But where is best to stay depends on things like how long you are going to be in the area and where else you want to see. I actually really like staying in Sorrento (have based there 3 times). I do day trips - by both bus and boat - to Positano/Amalfi/Ravello. Also boat trips to Capri and Ischia. And by train to Pompeii and Naples. But if you are only going to be there two or three days then probably Amalfi would be best.

Visit Ravello. It iS beautiful. Good place for lunch, but the OP is correct, it is too small; only worth saying there in July/August if you have an interest in the music festival. We normally base in Sorrento, but if you want to stay on the Amalfi coast, we think that either Amalfi or Positano would work for you.

The Ravello Music Festival starts on 1 April this year.
https://www.ravelloarts.org/festival...-season-launch

Whether it is "too small" would, I think, depend on what one hopes to experience.

I know I'm in the minority here but I'm with Murph77 on this one. We have stayed twice (once in May 2001 the other in June 2014) in Positano at the Hotel Eden Roc. We really liked the hotel and the gorgeous view from our balcony. Positano did not seem overly crowded to us either time we were there. We like Amalfi a LOT and I'm sure it would be a great place to stay but we prefer Positano. The hotel is quite a hike up/down steps from the beach area but we think worth it for the view. See links below for some pics of our 2014 trip. There are captions if you click on each picture or play as a slideshow. If you are really brave and/or crazy, I've also posted a trip report of our 2014 visit. I think page 5 is the beginning of our time at the Amalfi Coast.

https://john183italy2014.shutterfly.com/pictures/305
https://john183italy2014.shutterfly.com/pictures/357
https://john183italy2014.shutterfly.com/pictures/391
https://john183italy2014.shutterfly.com/pictures/416
https://john183italy2014.shutterfly.com/pictures/473

I liked Ravello a lot, and it was not too small. I split my time between Ravello 3 nights and 2 nights in Positano. On an other trip I stayed 5 nights on Capri, and I could have stayed easily longer.

Thank you all very much all of the suggestions. My hotel budget is $800/night give or take. Thinking now Amalfi or Positano. So any hotel or restaurant suggestions would be appreciated. We've only been to Europe once and went to Rome, Tuscany region, Venice, Lucca, Portofino, Lake Como and Paris. If anyone needs any suggestions about those places I'd love to repay the favor you've all done for me. Thank you, again.

We loved Positano and stayed at Le Sirenuse. Fantastic. You might also look at Hotel Marincanto, as well. Both are at the top of Positano so not likely too feel crowded...amazing views.

If you really want a getaway and not crowded then take a look at Monastero Santa Rosa. It's way up high above Conca dei Marini but they have a free shuttle to Amalfi.

My budget could not afford the Sirenuse in Positano, but we stayed in an apartment steps away, and we had lunch there. Service impeccable, great views, beautiful property.

Endorsing Positano and La Sirenuse
 

My wife and I stayed 5 nights in La Sirenuse on our honeymoon, an we heartily endorse both it and Positano. However, while an $800/night hotel budget should stand you in great stead elsewhere on the Amalfi Coast and on Capri, I think rooms at La Sirenuse may be fetching as much as $850 a night these days. If you're willing to pay $800, though, I wouldn't let that be a deal-breaker.

La Sirenuse is quietly elegant (owned by a Neapolitan Marchese) and not huge. It is high up in the town, backs up to the main road at the very top, and there's parking there. Road noise isn't a problem because the hotel then descends in tiers down the steep slope, so your rooms face the sea, not the road. But it is nice not having to walk a significant uphill distance to get back to your car. The pool is a decent size, and the restaurant was excellent -- very sophisticated. You can take cooking classes there.

Also, La Sirenuse is just legendary. The writer John Steinbeck stayed there in the early '50's. Google "John Steinbeck" and "Positano" and you should be able to turn up his article.

We much preferred Positano to Amalfi or Sorrento. Amalfi is bigger than Positano, and Sorrento bigger than either. Sorrento would work somewhat better as a base for exploring the area, but the Gulf of Naples, in my book, isn't as stunning at the Gulf of Salerno. (Sorrento is known for selling beautiful music boxes, by the way.) We covered the entire area with day trips from west of Naples to the Greek temples farther down the coast at Paestum (very well-preserved) and were willing to spend a little extra time on the road (maybe 1/2 hour) for the delights of being in Positano. The shortage of parking there limits to some degree how badly overrun it can be by tourists. Also, there's a boat that runs to Capri from the beach. And there's a sea cave called the Emerald Grotto just east of Positano along the road to Atrani that gets a fraction of the tourists who go to see the Blue Grotto on Capri, but the colors are also very stunning and you can spend some time inside there enjoying the colors and the quiet without feeling like you're on an assembly line. On the other hand, if you want to see Italians operating at a peak of efficiency, the Blue Grotto is not to be missed!

In Amalfi, there's a hotel called the Luna Convento which as I recalled is squeezed between the road and the sea that dates back to the Middle Ages and also hosted a number of movie A-listers back in the 50's, possibly including Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman (maybe during the adulterous phase of their romance).

Ravello is stunning and not to be missed, but the drive up there/down from there is about three miles of very sharp switchhbacks which take time to navigate, and thus reduce its usefulness as an operating base for excursions. And it is so small, that it would be very quiet in the evening and would have far more limited dining options. Again, a lot of celebrity A-listers have .lived or visited there, ranging from Richard Wagner and Gore Vidal (residents) to all sorts of shorter-term guests. I think many of these have stayed at the Villa Cimbrone, But when we were there, they would let you tour the garden and take in the views even if you weren't a guest.

As noted above: you can't ultimately lose anywhere on the Amalfi Coast/Capri.

Hotel Poseidon, Positano. Heavenly.