Positano · Italy
Where to stay in Positano
A village that tumbles down the cliff so beautifully it became a myth.
Decide how many steps you will climb in a day, then choose the area. Rooms near the main beach save the legs and cost the most; rooms off the upper road or in the hamlets above save money and spend it in stairs. For a first visit, the lower slopes on either side of the main beach are the sensible base, as long as the luggage question is settled before you arrive.
Stays · Positano
Where to stay
Splurge
Hotel Montemare
four-star clifftop hotel
A four-star hotel set into the cliff on the road above the beach, with a spa and wellness centre, a restaurant and terraces looking straight down the coast. The position is the product here: the water is below the rooms rather than across a road from them.
spa and wellness centrerestaurantroom serviceconciergeterrace
Rates on request
Mid-range
Hotel Royal Prisco
three-star hotel
A three-star hotel on the main road threading down through the town, with a hot tub, a bar and a tour desk, and the beach reachable on foot down the stepped lanes. The practical middle of Positano: central, serviced, and without the cliff-edge premium.
hot tubbartour desk24-hour front deskair conditioning
Rates on request
Good value
Pensione Maria Luisa
two-star pensione
A two-star pensione above the quieter of the town beaches, plain rooms and a sun terrace, run as a guest house rather than a hotel. The honest Positano baseline, and it leaves budget for the boat.
sun terracerestaurantair conditioningluggage storageairport transfer available
Rates on request
Search every stay in Positano with your datesCompare prices on Trip.com
Looking for a private house rather than a hotel? Tell the desk your dates and your party.
Booking links are affiliate links: if you book through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the main beach
Spiaggia Grande, the big beach below the church, is where the ferries tie up, the restaurants crowd the sand and the village is at its busiest. Staying close means the beach, the boats and dinner are all a short walk down, and the walk back up is short too. In summer it also means the day crowd under your window.
Fornillo and the western side
A path around the headland leads to Fornillo, the smaller beach on the western side, quieter and more relaxed than the main one. The houses and hotels above it climb steeply, so a room here trades a calmer beach for more steps between the room and anything else.
The eastern road
On the eastern side, the road out of the village runs along the cliff above the water, with hotels built into the slope below it and views back across the whole village. Getting in and out by car or taxi is easier here, and the beach is a long walk of stairs down.
The upper village and the hamlets above
Higher up, around the main road, rooms and apartments are cheaper and the views are wider. The local bus runs the loop through the village, which takes some of the sting out of the climb. Above that again, Montepertuso and Nocelle sit on the mountainside, quiet and close to the walking paths, a bus or a long flight of steps from the sea.
| Area | Suits | The trade |
|---|---|---|
| Around the main beach | A first visit, dinner on foot, the ferries | Price, and the day crowd |
| Fornillo and the west | A quieter beach | More steps to everything |
| The eastern road | Arriving by car, the view of the village | A long climb down to the sea |
| The upper village | A kitchen, a longer stay, a smaller bill | Stairs or the bus, every time |
| Montepertuso and Nocelle | Walkers, quiet nights | The sea is an outing |
Where to stay
Splurge
Hotel Montemare is set into the cliff on the road above the beach, with a spa, a restaurant and terraces looking straight down the coast. What the money buys is position: the water is below the rooms rather than across a road from them, and the view is the one people come for.
Mid-range
Hotel Royal Prisco stands on the main road that threads down through the town, with a hot tub, a bar and a tour desk, and the beach reachable on foot down the stepped lanes. It is central and serviced without the cliff-edge premium, and the tour desk earns its place in a village where boats are half the point.
Good value
Pensione Maria Luisa is a two-star guest house above the quieter of the town's beaches, with plain rooms and a sun terrace. It is run as a pensione rather than a hotel, and the saving leaves room in the budget for a day on the water.
Comparing current stay and experience options across your exact dates is worth doing before choosing an area.
More on Positano
Before you go
Enquire
Planning Positano?
Tell us roughly when and how many of you, and we will reply by email. We only pass your details to an operator if you ask us to.