chris45ny

I am looking for a hotel with a pool (for my husband) where we wouldn't have to go up and down hundreds of steps to get to the beach and/or restaurants and shops in town. Dates September 9-16, 2015. Budget-trying to keep it at $300 USD per night or less. I have found some by searching but I just can't figure out if the accessibility is what I'm looking for. These are the ones I've looked at so far-Hotel Villa Franco, Eden Roc, Palazzo Murat Hotel, Hotel Poseidon.

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

Rubicund

My personal favourite is the Palazzo Murat, as it's in the town itself, a short way down the pathway and not perched on the hill above. However, your budget may be a problem there.

In any case, as Positano is built on a hillside, to get to the beach or shops means that there are lots of steps in between. Shops, cafes and small boutiques line the walkway down to the beach from the main street and the stretch to Palazzo Murat is shallow steps. Beyond the hotel and down to the beach, the steps get progressively steeper and there are lots of little side alleys with shops in too.

tuscanlifeedit

I would vote for the Poseidon. I have mentioned it on this board several times and told tales of how wondrous our time there was. Can't repeat it all, but will answer any questions.

tuscanlifeedit

Ooops, backing up. Very nice pool but there are steps to and from the lower and upper town. Not sure how to avoid steps in Positano and still get the benefits of seeing and being in the town.

tower

Chris, is it "cold in Colden" these days?

we enjoyed the <b>Buca di Bacco</b> immensely. It is on beach level, no stairs. Beach is not the nicest or sandiest in Europe, but lounging in a beach chair can be relaxing. No pool...so I imagine that's a deal- breaker for husband. But the room selection is capital..many rooms have terraces or balconies with sweeping ocean views. The hotel restaurant is excellent (other choices nearby) and breakfast buffets are over the top. I believe it's still within your budget....it's on our Top Ten list worldwide and hasn't been nudged off of it yet. Enjoy your visit!

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=B...=UTF-8&VR=3430

ekc

Covo di Saraceni is practically right on the beach and it has a pool, but I doubt it fits in your budget. In fact I doubt any of the hotels you listed are in your budget.

$300 USD equals 240 euros at today's exchange rate, which is not a large budget during the high season in Positano (and September is still high season).

So you may need to sacrifice something, likely the pool, and increase your budget.

sandralist

Your budget will go much further if you get an apartment rather than a hotel, and if your husband has difficulty with steps and if you are planning day trips to Capri and Ravello, have you considered staying in the town of Amalfi, or in the village of Atrani?

http://www.summerinitaly.com


http://www.altracostiera.com/loc.asp?l=2&idloc=4

chris45ny

I have spent hours looking at hotels and apartments but only in Positano. These 3 fit our budget. All prices include VAT and breakfast. Hotel Posa Posa, has a pool, around 2000 euros for the week. Hotel Pupetto, located on a private beach, no pool, almost no steps to get to main part of town for 1260 euros. Villa La Tartana, no pool, close to Spiaggia Grande Beach, downtown by foot 3 minutes away for 1330 euros. The places all have decent reviews. Is any one of these in a better location?? Will do a few day trips-Ravella and Capri for sure.

sandra-I'll look at the other towns you mentioned. I only picked Positano because my cousin was there May 2014 and loved it. It's not my husband that has the problem with steps. It's me and only going down, not up. If I didn't have to go down any steps this would be a piece of cake!!

ekc

Hotel Pupetto is charming, but not in the main part of town, but it an easy walk with few stairs. I believe the hotel has an elevator down to Fornillo beach.

Hotel Posa Posa is quite high in town, although accessible along Via Pasitea. So it is a gentle incline down/up to the pedestrian=only part of town starts, where you will have to go down/up stairs to get to the beach and ferry dock.

If you want to be in the center, Villa La Tartana is certainly well located and there is just one staircase of maybe 20 steps to the beach.

Surfergirl

My family took two separate rooms at the Villa La Tartana a few years back and absolutely loved the place and the staff. Each room was different. My son and sister in law had a nice room on a lower floor with a small balcony that overlooked the front of the hotel down to the beach.

Our room had an exquisite view, and it was, I guess, considered a junior suite, but the living room I think was bigger than the bedroom portion . . . it was HUGE! The only thing small was the bathroom.

Here's the one downside to this property, and take heed: while it is virtually STEPS from the beach, the hotel and reception are located on the first floor of the building (not the ground floor), and there's a healthy flight of steps to get to reception. Then, all of the rooms are located on different levels up small staircases and down corridors.

To me that was quirky and quaint and part of the hotel's charm. To anyone with mobility problems, they won't think it quirky or charming, but wondering why they booked a place with so many floors and no elevator.

Grandma

I've stayed at the Poseidon and found the steps down no problem…. but since then have knee problems so understand where you are coming from. We walked down but took the local bus back up to the hotel. Perhaps you could do that in reverse….. tho it's quite a climb. The buses are an experience too -

chris45ny

Besides the 3 I mentioned above I also found these which are within our budget.

Eden Roc, Hotel Villa Franco, and Hotel Bougainville. So now I'm torn between these 6 places. Some have a pool and are more expensive than the others with no pool. I've found 3 with a pool and 3 without a pool. My husband says he doesn't absolutely have to have a pool. He will happily swim in the sea. I can lay on a sunbed by the beach or by the pool.

Positano is proving to be hard for me to make a choice and I guess it's due to all the mobility concerns. Which of these is the best choice for someone who has issues with an abundance of steps?

sandra-I did look at Amalfi but wasn't able to find anything that worked for us in terms of our dates and/or budget. I know Positano is more expensive so I've upped our budget to 2600 euros for the week.

tower-The Bucca looks great but I think it wasn't available for our dates. I'll check again. Thanks.

I'm sorry to be such a pain but I want to enjoy our stay here and not end up being miserable because I picked the wrong place for us. Thanks. Any help appreciated.

WWK

I love Hotel Poseidon, but if you have any kind of mobility issues, you won't be happy there. There are lots of steps back and forth to town, but also lots of steps to climb INSIDE the hotel just to get to your room. My husband who has some hip issues had trouble with it during our last visit a year ago.

Of the other hotels you posted, I'd go with Eden Roc or Villa Tartana. Hotel Puppeto is on Fornillo Beach, but the rooms are not that nice.

WWK

I wanted to add that Hotel Poseidon does have a tiny elevator, but it is often in use and only takes you to the second level of the hotel. If your room is higher than that, you will still have lots of stairs to climb.

Rubicund

I think that you've got to be realistic with Positano in view of the mobility problems that you have. As I said earlier, the town is built into a cliff and is very steep from top to beach level. It really doesn't matter whether or not not your hotel has steps internally, externally or to reach it, as to get the best out of Positano you have to be able to negotiate the walkway down to the beach from the main street.

If your hotel is on the beach, then you have to go up, if it's on or around the main street, then you have to go down. Unless you can use the road that the porters use to get luggage up and down from sea level, you can't escape steps. Once you've found your hotel and before you book, ask them what arrangements they can offer for getting down to the beach area. If as you say, you're OK with going up steps, then you could come up from the sea level.

If none of this works, then Positano is the wrong village for you and you should look at elsewhere on the AC, possibly Amalfi if you can find a place that you maybe missed on your first search.

WWK

I agree with Rubicund. Although I don't think it's nearly as beautiful or charming, have you thought about Sorrento, which has much flatter terrain?

In the summer months, there's a boat between Sorrento and Positano that takes about 40 minutes. I'm not sure if it runs in September or not. There's also a bus ( SITA) that runs from Sorrento to many of the towns along the Amalfi Coast. Or, you could hire a private driver to explore some of the coast towns for day. Trip time by car from Sorrento to Positano is about 30 minutes, depending on traffic.

chris45ny

I found this place in Praiano-Hotel Margherita. It has a pool. I've sent an e-mail to the hotel asking about steps to the beach and in to the town. This may be a better place than Positano for us. I'm hoping the terrain is flatter. If not I'll follow up on WWK's suggestion to look at Sorrento.

sandralist

The other possibility might be Ravello, which is mainly flat, but it has no beach access unless you take the bus down to Amalfi. It is inconveniently located if you are planning a lot of sightseeing along the coast.

My suggestion would be to isolate what it it is precisely that is drawing you to stay many days in a row in that part of Italy. If you really plan to be active every day, visiting Capri and different towns, and maybe Pompei, then perching in Positano given your need to protect your knee might be the best perch. Maybe Sorrento + a pool is what you need. But if what is drawing you to the area is the spectacularly beautiful views and a dream-like pause of relaxation with swimming and cool drinks and deeply relaxing and enjoying each others company in perfect quiet, then maybe Ravello or Capri would give you that with no knee injury. Something you might consider is finding the right spot in Capri for 3 or 4 nights, then take the ferry to Positano for 1 night, just to get that treat of the nighttime views. Then on to the next leg of the trip.

sandralist

Sorry! I really screwed up one sentence. I meant to say that if you are planning to do a lot of active sightseeing, Positano may NOT be the right perch. Sorrento might be better if you are using a town as a "base" for daily excursions elsewhere.

chris45ny

sandra-We intend to do some sightseeing. Day trip to Ravello for gardens. Day trip to Capri for the Blue Grotto (I know it's extremely touristy!) or just time in town with a boat ride around the area of Capri. Haven't decided if we would do Pompei from Rome or from the AC or even go there at all. Really just want to relax with 2, maybe 3 days of sightseeing and 4 days lounging on the beach or by the pool. I suppose I could research Capri. My cousin did stay there for 2 nights at Punta Tragara and also in Ravello at Palazzo Avino for 2 nights.

AC wasn't on our radar until my cousin raved about her trip and I saw the pictures. I love scenic places like that. We stayed in Oia, Santorini but our place had a pool and we had a rental car which we drove to the beaches on the opposite side of the island. Best of both worlds-great caldera view and a pool and a car for those lovely sandy beaches!

I really appreciate your suggestions and taking time to help me in what is appearing to be the most difficult week of our Europe trip! Planning where to stay on the AC has not been easy.