Good morning!<BR>I am planning my honeymoon to the Amalfi coast and wonder where to stay? Positano vs. Amalfi? I am considering these 3 hotels...Santa Caterina, Le Sirenuse, or San Pietro. For anyone who has been, any recommendations?

Molly,<BR><BR>This topic gets covered frequently so I recommend you do a search on &quot;Amalfi&quot; or &quot;Positano&quot; and you will find lots of advice<BR><BR>You'll find each locale has its passionate supporters, which means to me that you can't go too wrong.<BR><BR>Personally, I would recommend Positano because it's more romantic and picturesque. It's also a better base for exploring places like Pompeii. Le Sirenuse is a wonderful hotel in a great location.<BR><BR>You'll find the other hotels have their supporters too--again I think you can't go wrong.

Thanks for your advice! <BR><BR>Has anyone ever stayed at an &quot;Inside View Room&quot; at Le Sirenuse? That is the most inexpensive room they have for Sept 2003, and I am unsure if it is worth paying 200 Euros more for a sea view. Thoughts?

Hi,<BR><BR>We didn't stay at Le Sireneuse, but did tour some of the rooms while in Positano. I would opt for the sea view if it's at all affordable because that's what Positano is all about- the views over the town down to the sea. The other option is to check into a more affordable hotel, several of which have been recommended here on the forum. I always rave about the Poseidon, which is certainly not in the same category as Le Sireneuse, but offers quite nice jr. suites, with terraces that offer amazing views down to the beach. Good luck, and have a great time!

If you are considering staying at Le Sirenuse, go for the view...it's your honeymoon. What will an extra few hundred dollars matter to you when you are old and remembering your honeymoon. In Positano I would rather stay at the best room in a 3 star hotel than the worst room in a 5 star hotel. It's not like going to Rome where you are out of your room all day going to a million sights and only use your room to sleep. My fondest memories of Positano are sitting on my terrace at Villa Franca, overlooking the sea and sipping my morning coffee, reading a book and planning the day. Regarding Santa Caterina, my friends stayed there and absolutely adored this hotel, would go back in a minute...again you have to book a room with a view. The nice thing about staying at Le Sirenuse, though, is you can walk out of the hotel and wander around the village without having to depend on the hotel minibus. Either way, you will have an incredible time.

We stayed on the AMalfi coast for three nights in May 2001. It (nameless hotel/town) was a delightful place, big comfy rooms, but a couple of blocks from the waterfront so the view from the lobby/livingroom was limited. None from the rooms had sea views. It was inexpensive. If I had it to do again, I'd pay $100 more per night to have stayed someplace with a view. It is a beautiful spot, and to wake up to such a gorgeous view can't get more romantic. Personally, next time I go back I'm staying somewhere with a view in Ravello -- which is remote from the rest of the coast, but hanging from the cliffs way up high with extraordinary views.

Hello~<BR><BR>my hubby &amp; I spent 5 nights in Positano and 4 nights in Sorrento. We used Positano as our base for the Amalfi Coast, and Sorrento for our base for bay of Naples and Capri. It worked out wonderfully! Sorrento is only 14 km from Positano, but is separated by a winding hilly road...which makes daytripping to the north a Positano a pain. We stayed at Le Sirenuse and Excelsior Vittorio. If you want my review and many others got to fodors.com/miniguides and look up the &quot;Rants &amp; Raves.&quot; If on a honeymoon (assuming you'll just want to snuggle a bunch, take quiet walks, and have romantic dinners), I would choose Positano. 5 days wasn't too much for us, but you have to be good at doing nothing; the Italians call it &quot;La dolce far niente&quot; (the sweetness of doing nothing). I agree with the others and go for the ocean view! What's the point in being there if you don't see the main reason for being there? Our French doors framed the fabled Siren Isles, &quot;I Galli,&quot; and we kept them open all night long. The crashing waves (there was a storm in Africa causing them) were hypnotic and put us in a deep sleep each night. We took several hikes, dined at fabulous restaurants, and hung out at our hotel quite a bit. It looks just like on the web sight; you won't be disappointed. They have free DVD library with a great selection. The spa is an exquisite jewel; small, but top notch. The double massage (2 therapists on you) is out of this world and quite an &quot;Event.&quot; (If you decide to do this, you'll know what I mean!) We decided to daytrip to Amalfi. The taxi charters from the hotel and town of Positano were OUTRAGEOUSLY priced, so we decided to take the bus. While waiting at the bus stop a Mercedes taxi pulled over and asked us if we wanted a ride. He first asked us $50 (which was a fraction of the taxi charter companies), but we actually negotiated him down to $20! This included picking us up later in the afternoon if you can believe that. We spent the day touring the Church, haveing lunch up at Capuccini Convento (a surreal, strange experience, beautiful, but like a ghost town. We dined alone under the outdoor pergola with an expansive view of Amalfi and the coast). Then we hiked up the canyon to the old paper mill museum, which we found quaint and very interesting(again we were the lone tourists). If you decide to go to Capri(we did this from Sorrento), it is possible to have a pleasant daytrip away from the crowds of tourists and cheezy souvenir shops. We spent the whole day hiking out to Villa Jove (Jupiter), to i Faraglioni, then finally back to town to sip a cafe before heading back. We had our picnic lunch (picked up on the way out of town to Villa Jove from a very nice take out place) right in front of the Arco Naturale....absolutely stunning and romantic! What time of year will you be going? We were there in November, so if you go during a busier time your experience could be very different. We went with no crowds, but the weather was just fine. Good luck!

Thank you for all your GREAT information! We will be going in September, and since my original post, we have decided to spend 2 nights on Capri, (Caesar August Hotel) and 4 nights in Positano at Il San Pietro. I am really excited, and I appreciate all the kind advice I have received.