RichardJ

I credit the success of our trip Sept 22-Oct 3 to everyone who has contributed to this forum. Arriving in Rome, we headed straight to the Europcar counter. We have booked through Kemwel on six different trips and each time it's so easy. I encourage everyone to call them or log on to their website (www.kemwel.com) while looking for rental cars. What we did not anticipate was the bumper to bumper traffic jam on the only road (the Raccordo) which connects to A1 autoroute. After 1 hour, we traveled ony 1.5 km! Our 4 hour trip turned into over 7 hours. Finding Positano and our hotel at 10 PM at night in the rain was the biggest map reading challenge we have ever faced. We were totally exhausted and the desk clerk at the Miramare only spoke a few words of English. Our biggest concern was the loud, overwhelming music on the beach. All we wanted was to sleep and as we realized, noise travels up from beach at all hours, every night. We had room 214 and our friends were in the annex. The two annex rooms @195 E are actually larger than the rooms in the main building. We paid 240 E. For the price difference, we had robes, a safe, a band of colorful tile in the bathroom, a larger balcony and a better view. The annex room view looked out to sea whereas our view looked down to the beach and sea. The annex is quieter because there are only two rooms in the building and have screen on their patio doors which ours did not. The annex room had the same high domed ceiling, antiques and even a huge walk in closet. When we made reservations we knew we would be moving to a different room for the final two nights. The room next to the reception was smaller, 270 E and very noisy. We loved the complimentary boat ride and were suprised that so few guests took advantage. In fact, we went to two different days to see both directions of the coast. The breakfast was served in the most magnificent room with a view to die for and a huge bougainvilla spreading it's branches on the ceiling of the room. After surveying pottery in all of the town, we voted Ravello as the best (and most expensive!) followed by Positano. We were most disappointed by the pottery shops in Vietri so I would recommending skipping that area. Paestum was just amazing and worth the 2.5 hour drive from Positano. We ate at the restaurant at the entrance to the ruins and were anticipating outrageous prices when we saw the fancy dining room, complete with live orchid centerpieces. To our surprise, it was the most reasonable of the trip--most pastas @ 4E. Our day trip to Ischia was interesting. We hired a private driver at the ferry dock. He gave us a very thorough tour of the island, taking us to a great beach restaurant for lunch. Our weather was perfect the entire week but it had rained often the week before so we were very lucky. The no see ums and mosquitos were so bad we stopped by a farmacia to get bug repellent @ 8E. The citronella was virtually useless making us decide to never travel again without a deet spray. The restaurants, were all in the good category, the views from the restaurants were more amazing. Il Fornillo the veal was very good, Da Vincenzo great pasta, Cafe Positano best view and Donna Rosa (Il Pertuso) the most elegant and expensive. Over all we voted Cumpa di Cosimo in Ravello the best meal during the week--very authentic, reasonable and worth the trip just to eat at this restaurant. The Miramare side of town is far superior to being located on the Sirenuse side. Last year we stayed at the Hotel California on the other side--only two restaurants nearby (Brunos which is only so-so and Max which is completely overpriced) and there is no comparison to the Miramare--the Miramare is close to a perfect hotel. We were all sad to sad goodbye to the hotel staff and hugged Rosita--she is as wonderful as everyone has described her. If you consider the Miramare, each room is a different size so make sure you ask in advance for a large balcony and room.

We were told that it costs 430 E for a taxi ride from Positano to the Rome airport. Our car rental for 7 days was just over $500 US for a compact wagon which was comfortable and accommodated luggage for 4 people. Driving to Rome was not difficult as we had researched the best route to avoid the Raccordo (driving ring around Rome)on mapblast before we left home. We took A1 to #24 which took us directly to the Europcar Villa Borghese return location. No one told us that this location is underground which we learned the hard way on our trip last year. We were so glad we took a taxi from the Villa Borghese to our hotel. Thanksfuly we opted not to drive to the Hotel del Senato next to the Pantheon. This hotel has the best location possible. I requested a room on the back side as the piazza is noisy 24 hours a day. A view was not necessary as we had just come from Positano with the best view in the world. We had room 316 with an ornately painted ceiling. We did not complain but the A/c would not turn off and we woke up each morning with 65 degrees. We had emailed the Angel Tours in advance and signed up for the 2.5 hour walking tour the night we arrive. The tour started at the Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Campo di Fiori and Jewish Ghetto. We also took the Angel Tour to see the Colosseum and Forum. For 25 E per person per tour, we felt it was money well spent. The guides are native English speaking and well versed in history, only allowing 10 people per group. OUr day at the Vatican was just fascinating, especially the Scavi tour. Our only disappointment was not being able to see the Sistine Chapel. It closes early on Saturdays which we did not know. We also got Villa Bourghese Gallery tickets in advance. Good thing because it was sold out when we arrived. We returned to a restaurant we discoverd a year ago, off of Piazza Navonna called Osteria del Pegno. The address is Vicolo di Montevecchio, 8 off of Via del Coronari. The restaurant is lit by candels, reasonable and serves the most delicious food. Definitely give it a try.

TexasAggie

Great detailed report. We stayed at Hotel California last year and the noise there drove me nuts. Will have to consider Miramare when we return to Positano in 2007.
Thanks for sharing

travel_princess

We are leaving next week and staying at the Hotel Calf. and now I am concerned. Had heard good things about it. Do you noise will be an issue this time of year?

TexasAggie

We loved everything about Hotel California except the traffic noise but our room looked directly over the road and it was in high season so there were lots of noisy vespas. I'm also a very light sleeper so that didn't help. I can't imagine you having any noise issues since you will be there well out of tourist season and can request a room not at street level
You'll love Maria, the owner. She is absolutely fabulous!

RichardJ

We stayed at the Hotel California mid-June 2004. As the hotel is located on the only road, the traffic is unavoidable. It does slow down from midnight to 6 am. We slept with the door and window closed which greatly minimized the sound. We were in Positano this year from Sept 23-30--it really cools down at night. You will need a jacket at night and won't mind sleeping with the window closed but take foam ear plugs just in case. Maria is warm and gracious. She really likes you feel like family. Try to get the upper corner room--the view is worth the extra charge. I asked for eggs in the morning--for an extra charge I had my favorite breakfast. People claim that they stairs at the Calfornia. This is not exactly true as there are multiple flights inside. Make sure that you walk over to the other side to check out the restaurants.