Amalfi, Italy
Feb 8th, 2004, 02:59 PM
#3
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Thanks for the info! The Santa Caterina rooms look lovely and special.
The San Pietro looks fabulous, but have not heard good reviews. Would you suggest staying also at Villa Cimbrone also? Thanks.
The San Pietro looks fabulous, but have not heard good reviews. Would you suggest staying also at Villa Cimbrone also? Thanks.
Feb 9th, 2004, 01:41 AM
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I have to put in a big second for the recommendation above for the Santa Caterina. Such a breathtaking location hugging the cliffs full of bougainvillea and orange groves. I personally like being outside of the villages, and it is any easy 10 minute walk downhill to Amalfi (the hotel also has a shuttle to the village). There is a very nice pool built right into the rocks on the Med -- you can also jump or dive right into the sea from your lounge chair. The pool area gets sun all day. The pool area and sea around the hotel are totally private as the cliffs provide privacy on either side. The food and service were excellent. Lunch at the terrace restaurant with a cold bottle of white wine is perfect. Can't say enough good things about this hotel.
As for Le Sirenuse, it is beautiful, and I love Positano but don't think I would want to stay there as it is too crowded and noisy in town, plus the access to swimming in the Med is not as good. It seems to be politically incorrect to say this on this site, but I would not stay in Positano. It is spread over a hill and you have to do a lot of walking up and down fairly steep hills to get around. Most importantly, I think it gets much more crowded than Amalfi or Ravello and it would not be as relaxing. It is great for shopping, lunch, dinner and strolling. I just think at night you would want to be in a more secluded and quiet place, and if you want to have a day or so just lounging at your hotel pool or beach, then you might be better off elsewhere. The beaches in Positano are much more accessible by the public, and you are really swimming in the harbour with lots of boat traffic. I think Positano is beautiful to look at from the sea, but the views out across the water as not as interesting to me as they are from other places, like the Santa Caterina.
The Villa Cimbrone looks lovely from the website. The other great hotel in Ravello is the Palazzao Sasso. My only comment on Ravello is that it is not a great place to base yourself if you also want to see other towns along the coast. It is high up in the mountains (which makes for the spectacular views), but you have to come down every day to start a day trip to Positano, Capri, etc. If you stay here, I would do it at a time when you aren't also trying to plan day trips to other parts of the coast. Also, you can't swim in the Med from Ravello.
My Italian friends feel that the St Pietro was a great hotel once but that it is resting on its laurels which it earned when the father was running the hotel (it is now being run by the sons). However, it has gotten good reviews from people on this board.
As for Le Sirenuse, it is beautiful, and I love Positano but don't think I would want to stay there as it is too crowded and noisy in town, plus the access to swimming in the Med is not as good. It seems to be politically incorrect to say this on this site, but I would not stay in Positano. It is spread over a hill and you have to do a lot of walking up and down fairly steep hills to get around. Most importantly, I think it gets much more crowded than Amalfi or Ravello and it would not be as relaxing. It is great for shopping, lunch, dinner and strolling. I just think at night you would want to be in a more secluded and quiet place, and if you want to have a day or so just lounging at your hotel pool or beach, then you might be better off elsewhere. The beaches in Positano are much more accessible by the public, and you are really swimming in the harbour with lots of boat traffic. I think Positano is beautiful to look at from the sea, but the views out across the water as not as interesting to me as they are from other places, like the Santa Caterina.
The Villa Cimbrone looks lovely from the website. The other great hotel in Ravello is the Palazzao Sasso. My only comment on Ravello is that it is not a great place to base yourself if you also want to see other towns along the coast. It is high up in the mountains (which makes for the spectacular views), but you have to come down every day to start a day trip to Positano, Capri, etc. If you stay here, I would do it at a time when you aren't also trying to plan day trips to other parts of the coast. Also, you can't swim in the Med from Ravello.
My Italian friends feel that the St Pietro was a great hotel once but that it is resting on its laurels which it earned when the father was running the hotel (it is now being run by the sons). However, it has gotten good reviews from people on this board.
Feb 9th, 2004, 09:34 AM
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Hello: Every one was so much help. I thank you for the information. We will probably stay at the Santa Caterina, but I must admit the pictures of the San Pietro look fabulous. We could always go for a lunch. They won't guarantee you a suite either till you get there, which is really unusual for a hotel.
We are probably going to fly into Rome from Zurich as we want to go back to Zermatt, love it there for the hiking etc. then spend a couple of days in Rome and get a flight to Naples. I cannot think of an easier way to do it, as there are no non stop flights anywhere outside of Italy to Naples. Or could you get a driver from the hotel to pick you up at the airport in Rome? Or too far? lol
Again thanks for the helpful info.
Joanie
We are probably going to fly into Rome from Zurich as we want to go back to Zermatt, love it there for the hiking etc. then spend a couple of days in Rome and get a flight to Naples. I cannot think of an easier way to do it, as there are no non stop flights anywhere outside of Italy to Naples. Or could you get a driver from the hotel to pick you up at the airport in Rome? Or too far? lol
Again thanks for the helpful info.
Joanie
Feb 9th, 2004, 09:54 AM
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You don't mention the length of your stay. If it is for a week, I would suggest 3 days in each location.
As has been mentioned, Positano is an active town. Lots of walking and more things to do.
Amalfi is smaller in the activity sense and is an easy access point for Ravello.
We did this last year near end of our third week in Italy and it proved to be a welcome area to rest.
Cicerone IMO has understated the ambience of Santa Caterina. A wonderful hotel with a gracious and accomodating staff.
Buon viaggio!!!
As has been mentioned, Positano is an active town. Lots of walking and more things to do.
Amalfi is smaller in the activity sense and is an easy access point for Ravello.
We did this last year near end of our third week in Italy and it proved to be a welcome area to rest.
Cicerone IMO has understated the ambience of Santa Caterina. A wonderful hotel with a gracious and accomodating staff.
Buon viaggio!!!
Feb 9th, 2004, 10:11 AM
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Hello:
We are thinking about 4 / 5 nights at one hotel in that area on the coast, and do day trips from there. So, I want to pick the most exclusive and nicest hotel to stay in. The Santa Caterina sounds like the one. Thanks.
Joanie
We are thinking about 4 / 5 nights at one hotel in that area on the coast, and do day trips from there. So, I want to pick the most exclusive and nicest hotel to stay in. The Santa Caterina sounds like the one. Thanks.
Joanie
Feb 10th, 2004, 12:52 AM
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I have a few suggestions:
1. If you don't want to spend any time in Rome on this trip, it might be cheaper and easier to fly into and out of Milan rather than Zurich. You can get to Zermatt from Milan by train in 4 hours, which is the same as the train trip from Zurich to Zermatt, and it would certainly be a beautiful ride. Take a look at rail.ch, the website for the Swiss national railways. You can fly to Naples from Milan in about an hour. (You could also skip Switzerland entirely and go hiking in the Dolomites or south Tyrol, or go to the Lake Como area, all easily reachable from Milan.)
2. If you do decide to fly into and out of Rome, you can hire a car and driver to pick you up at the Rome airport and drive you to the Santa Caterina, would take 3-4 hours. You could also take a train from Rome to Naples and have the driver meet you at Naples train station. Run a search here for recommended car services in Rome and/or Naples, one I have used several times is Positano Car Service ([email protected]) which was recommended on this site. IMO to spend a few days in Rome and then fly from Rome to Naples is more a hassle than driving or taking the train to Naples; and I don't think the flight would save you any time over a car or the train, given the location of the airports and how much earlier you need to arrive for flights, etc.
3. Zermatt is beautiful, but don't sell the other pars of Switzerland short in terms of hiking and scenery. The Engadine is really gorgeous and not as heavily touristed. It is easily reached by train from Milan or from Zurich. In Graubunden/Engadine, the main tourist places are St Moritz, Chur, Klosters, and Davos, there are very nice secondary cities like Pontresina. A good guidebook for hiking in Switzerland is called "Walking in Switzerland" published by Lonelyplanet. It rates hikes by difficulty, gives the approximate time each walk would take, and gives directions for getting to a from a walk by public transportation. You can buy it on the lonelyplanet website at loneplanet.com.
4. There is a very good walking guide to the Capri & the Amalfi coast published by Sunflower books. I first read about it on this site, and thought it was very useful. Their website is http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/walking_titles.htm. They rate hikes by difficulty and time it takes to complete all or each section, and give good directions on how to reach each walk. They publish many other walking guides to various places in Europe.
Hey mmr41 , didn't mean to understate the Santa Caterina, certainly one of my very favourite hotels! I guess I didn't want to oversell it either?
1. If you don't want to spend any time in Rome on this trip, it might be cheaper and easier to fly into and out of Milan rather than Zurich. You can get to Zermatt from Milan by train in 4 hours, which is the same as the train trip from Zurich to Zermatt, and it would certainly be a beautiful ride. Take a look at rail.ch, the website for the Swiss national railways. You can fly to Naples from Milan in about an hour. (You could also skip Switzerland entirely and go hiking in the Dolomites or south Tyrol, or go to the Lake Como area, all easily reachable from Milan.)
2. If you do decide to fly into and out of Rome, you can hire a car and driver to pick you up at the Rome airport and drive you to the Santa Caterina, would take 3-4 hours. You could also take a train from Rome to Naples and have the driver meet you at Naples train station. Run a search here for recommended car services in Rome and/or Naples, one I have used several times is Positano Car Service ([email protected]) which was recommended on this site. IMO to spend a few days in Rome and then fly from Rome to Naples is more a hassle than driving or taking the train to Naples; and I don't think the flight would save you any time over a car or the train, given the location of the airports and how much earlier you need to arrive for flights, etc.
3. Zermatt is beautiful, but don't sell the other pars of Switzerland short in terms of hiking and scenery. The Engadine is really gorgeous and not as heavily touristed. It is easily reached by train from Milan or from Zurich. In Graubunden/Engadine, the main tourist places are St Moritz, Chur, Klosters, and Davos, there are very nice secondary cities like Pontresina. A good guidebook for hiking in Switzerland is called "Walking in Switzerland" published by Lonelyplanet. It rates hikes by difficulty, gives the approximate time each walk would take, and gives directions for getting to a from a walk by public transportation. You can buy it on the lonelyplanet website at loneplanet.com.
4. There is a very good walking guide to the Capri & the Amalfi coast published by Sunflower books. I first read about it on this site, and thought it was very useful. Their website is http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/walking_titles.htm. They rate hikes by difficulty and time it takes to complete all or each section, and give good directions on how to reach each walk. They publish many other walking guides to various places in Europe.
Hey mmr41 , didn't mean to understate the Santa Caterina, certainly one of my very favourite hotels! I guess I didn't want to oversell it either?
Feb 10th, 2004, 02:19 PM
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Thanks for all the info! There are some good suggestions there. You are right, too many flights, it is awkward any way you look at it getting to the Amalfi. We drive ourselves in Switzerland and have driven to Lake Como and Venice and stayed at both. I just think driving all the way down from Zermatt might be too much and especially on the Amalfi coast.
The only reason I was thinking of southern Italy other than Vienna or Greece is I have seen pics of the coast and it looks so beautiful and would have that lovely mediterranean weather. I know most places are now overrun and commercialized , which is a shame. We always go off season to avoid most of the crowds.
I am not sure weather Rome is worth seeing either. We have not seen Florence either. Thanks again, you have been so helpful. Joanie
The only reason I was thinking of southern Italy other than Vienna or Greece is I have seen pics of the coast and it looks so beautiful and would have that lovely mediterranean weather. I know most places are now overrun and commercialized , which is a shame. We always go off season to avoid most of the crowds.
I am not sure weather Rome is worth seeing either. We have not seen Florence either. Thanks again, you have been so helpful. Joanie
