I'm off to Naples in July for a week with a friend. Does anyone have any recommendations for a hotel, preferably on the seafront? Don't want to spend a fortune, but would insist on air conditioning and a private bathroom.<BR><BR>Thanks for your help.

We were in Naples two weeks ago- it did not really look to us like a place that we would want to spend a week. I am sure that there are prettier parts than what we saw. But it basicly looked very densely populated and run down- like bad parts of New Orleans. We stayed on the island of Procida and went through Naples four or five times, so there is probably a lot more to it than we saw. However, that was definitely our first impression.

Try the B/B Parteno or the 4-star Hotel Miramare, or the "classic three" Hotel Vesuvio, Hotel Excelsior, or Hotel Santa Lucia. All of these properties are on the lungomare.

I would not recomend staying in Naples, venture further down the coast and you will be rewarded.

Not true, not true!!!! Naples is an extremely interesting city for its churches, architecture and fabulous museums. It also has excellent public transportation options for the entire Bay of Naples area. Yes, the city is extremely noisy, chaotic and undisciplined, but it also offers huge rewards for those interested in the above points. Of course, if you are primarily seeking a resort, you should go to Capri or Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast, or Ischia.

Make Napoli a place to visit from your Hotel in Sorrento. We can recommend Hotel Minerva with a breath-taking view, (ask for sea-view balconies ) private bath, A/C for about $80-$100 per night. Getting back to Naples is easy, either by ferry (7/day, 30 mins. About $6 in 2001. Have a day at the beach, Punta del Capo, a 10 min bus ride. Great view with a ruin of a Roman Villa.

Either follow GAC's good recommendations or consider spending part of your week in Naples and the rest somewhere nearby, i.e. Sorrento/Amalfi Coast, Capri or one of the other islands. Naples is fine, but there's so much more to see in the region. I would count Capri and Pompeii amongst the "must sees."

Thanks for all your responses - much appreciated.<BR>

The waterfront area of Naples is very beautiful and from there you can walk to the area of the Royal Palace and Opera House. We stayed at the Hotel Miramare and really liked it. The rooms have a sort of "quirky" decor but were well equipped. They serve a nice breakfast on the rooftop. The staff was the nicest and most helpful we had at anyplace in Italy. They arranged for us to get a private driver to take us to Pompeii and to several of the Amalfi Coast towns. You might want to consider doing several days in Naples and then a few days in either one of the towns such as Positano, Amalfi or Sorrento. Or spend a couple of days on Capri.