More about Il San Pietro di Positano
Fabulous
by A TripAdvisor Member
My husband and I and our two teenage daughters stayed at Il San Pietro di Positano in July 2005. We loved it. The rooms were comfortable. The vistas from the hotel rooms and the patios incredible. The landscaping amazing. The beach terrific. The service courteous and helpful. The food from the hotel's own garden terrific. My only complaint would be the management of the pool area, but after an initial discussion over "assigned" chairs with the beach staff, the rest of our time at the beach was fine. Il San Pietro has regulars and they work the beach staff quite well. You just have to play the same game. None of us, including my teenagers, wanted to leave the hotel, we wished that we had stayed there longer.
Stunning views and great service
by A TripAdvisor Member
When asked by my husband where I would like to go for my birthday, I replied Positano. It was always a location I most wanted to visit, but up until now had never done so. My husband booked us into the Il San Pietro for 7 nights and I can only say the stay was fantastic.
On arrival, which was late on in the evening, we were asked if they could send food to our room,which overlooked the beautiful Amalfi coastline, which they did together with a basked of fresh fruit.
All the staff were very friendly, and nothing was too much bother.
On the morning of my birthday, the waiter brought a bottle of champagne to our table together with the beautiful basket of flowers that my husband had arranged through the hotel.
In the evening we had booked a table for dinner and the food and service was excellent.
The whole week was great and we would definately stay at this hotel again and would recommend it to all of our friends.
Never Again - Paradise No More!!
by TripAdvisor Member FirstClassLuxury
I have never posted a review before but I felt compelled to do so. I just returned from my 10 year anniversary trip to Italy and stayed at some INCREDIBLE places (Capri Palace and Spa, Villa d'Este, Danieli). I stayed at the San Pietro 10 years ago and it was fabulous. We have talked about returning for 10 years and this was the perfect occasion. There is no question that this place is breathtaking BUT they dont understand the concept of service. If you are a Four Seasons / Mandarin Oriental fan you will be REALLY disappointed. The "special room" gimmick really left a bad taste in our mouth. Instead of giving us a nice room in the deluxe category we booked, they showed us the smallest/darkest room they had and then showed us the expansive special room.
We made reservations at the restaurant for our anniversary (I did this 7 weeks in advance). We when arrived at the restaurant they had no record of it AND gave us a "back" table. When I requested one of the seven empty tables with a view, we were told they were reserved for their "regular" diners. Unless tourist from three different countries are there weekly, that was a lie.
The rooms are a bit dated and the bed is HARD AS A ROCK!! What a terrible experience. The bathroom was dated and the toiletries are similar to what you would fine at a dollar store. The water pressure was terrible and the faucets were full of rust (when we were checking out I heard another customer complain that the jacuzzi and light fixtures didn't work).
The breakfast was a joke. We were looking forward to being awaken by a silver tray of goodies but nothing we ordered came right! We asked for iced tea and got a nice cup of Hot tea. We asked for croissants only but each time we got the standard basket. Dont expect them to listen. My husband has been in love with this place because during our last visit, the chef would make him anything he wanted. This time he asked that they add shrimp to a pasta already on the menu and they did not want to do it. In fact, when the dish arrived, it was completely different from what he ordered. Nevermind the fact they never told him what they were going to prepare.
I've never heard of a hotel that charges 650 euros a night (yes we paid that CRAZy price) that lack attention to detail (terrible evening turn down service, charge for morning papers, etc).
BUT here is the kicker....When I mentioned that I wouldn't come back and we were disappointed with our stay, the woman replied " OK. Have a nice trip back home". My husband could not believe it!!!!!! Next time I will go back to the Sirenus or stay at the Capri Palace (there everything was SUPERB!!!)
This was a very sour way to end an amazing trip. BTW, when I spoke with a few of my Italian friends (including the drivers we had while in Italy - non were surprised at our comments-they had heard them before) they all said San Pietro has a very bad reputation and is going down hill. They have very few repeat customers. I guess that's why Sirenus is rated higher now. I wish I had known before. NEVER NEVER NEVER again.
Great Honeymoon
by TripAdvisor Member L72
We stayed here for 5 nights this August on our honeymoon. The setting of the hotel is spectacular and we had a fantastic time.
The hotel is a great place to relax and enjoy the views over to Positano. We had no problem getting good beds at the beach area and found the service/food at the beach to be very good. The hotel also provides complimentary boat tours along the coast.
The terrace is heavenly and is a great place to have a cocktail and watch the sun set over Positano. We ate in the restaurant each night. While the food is not cheap, it is also not expensive for a 5* hotel. Both the service and the food were good, but above all the atmosphere of the restaurant was superb.
Our room, which was a standard room, was a reasonable size and like all the rooms had a balcony with a sea view.
The location makes this hotel great - with the terraces, the beach, the tennis court and the gardens (where they grow some of the tomatoes, fruit and vegtables that they use in the restaurant). The hotel has much more space than other hotels in the area, which for me gives it a significant edge. The prices are not cheap, but I do not begrudge what we paid. In summary, it is wonderfully relaxing place with a unique atmosphere and I highly recommend it for a special holiday.
Honeymoon Critique
by TripAdvisor Member jjfaye
My new wife and I stayed at the San Pietro for 5 days as a way to finish our honeymoon in italy. Looking back on it, our stay there was wonderful, and the hotel is a true marvel in its positioning and its views of Positano, Priano, and the entire coast. Entering from the road and taking an elevator down to a lobby, and then taking an elevator even further down -- through the rock! -- to a beach was an experience in itself. Having breakfast in the room each morning, overlooking the water, was a treat. The restaurant's food was very good, not too overpriced for the area, and so we ate there twice over 5 nights.
All of those positive comments aside, I agree with many of the negative things posted on this site recently, and want to add a few more so that fellow travelers can benefit from my experience. Everything I say here is written from the standpoint that we paid 500 euros per night -- a price I may never pay again for a hotel room again in my life. We've stayed at many top-notch hotels before, Four Seasons and the like, and so I think I can properly compare this hotel with others in its class.
The service certainly leaves something to be desired. Its true they try to have you upgrade your room upon arrival, as another travel wrote on this site (for an extra 150 euros!). Its true that the owner doesn't even acknowledge you when passing, which normally wouldn't matter since I wouldn't know who she was, except for the fact that the New York Times Mag blurb about her -- picture included -- is prominently displayed on the front desk. Turndown service is not timely and at least once over five days didn't happen at all. They also take any beach towels you might have grabbed from the pool so that you could lay on your balcony beach chairs, never pausing to think that you might want them. (I resorted to hiding these towels in a drawer just so I wouldn't have to make a special trip to the pool to grab new towels the next day!). EVERYTHING costs money, and there is little opportunity to save. For instance, want some water? 5 euros. Want an inexpensive lunch at the beach? 30 euros. A drink at the bar before dinner? 20 euros for a couple. They clearly know that given the distance of the hotel from town (a very short free shuttle ride, but a ride nonetheless) you can't get any cheaper options very easily. We started picking up groceries (water, cheese and crackers, soda) in town to keep in the room. How about internet service? While they have wi fi in the lobby, borrowing one of their two laptops and paying 5 euros for 30 minutes seems a little chintzy for 500 euros a night. Besides the fact that it rarely worked correctly, we lost plenty of minutes for no reason, and there were times when we needed to wait for others to get off their machines. The beds are quite hard, and the phones and tvs are outdated for a 5 star place.
There is no question that the San Pietro is an amazing hotel in a place that everyone should see at some point in their lives. But it is a place that I will likely never go back to again -- the service certainly doesn't invite you back, and for the money there are much nicer places to stay. On a honeymoon money is no option, and all we wanted to do was stare at the ocean, enjoy our surroundings and each other. It was perfect for that, if thats what you are looking for. Otherwise, look elsewhere. Hope this helps!
Can't wait to go back
by TripAdvisor Member santabarbara
My girlfriend and I just returned from the most glorious five days at the San Pietro. All the way back we looked at our calendars trying to find another week in the next year that we could return.
The hotel's setting is to die for. One of the most spectacular in the world. The view of Positano, the surrounding mountains, and the el arco rocks of Capri can be described as nothing but eye candy.
I agree with the other reviews that the beds are somewhat hard. The overall hotel service is good but not great. We stayed at the St Regis Grand in Rome before we got to Positano and the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London at the end of our trip and I would rate those hotels service as truly great. However, taking everything into consideration our stay was excellent.
The resturant was excellent. Again, the views were fantastic.
The entrance to the sun deck from the elevator, that is bored through the cliff, is like a scene from a James Bond movie. Sitting on the sun deck peering into the crystal clear blue water is a sight that everyone should experience. The lounge chairs were very comfortable. If you like sitting in the sun and relaxing this is the place for you.
Being away from the hustle of the city is a plus. The hotel provides a 7/24 free shuttle to the city. When we would return from dinner we dialed the hotel on our cell and the driver came to pick us up within minutes.
During the day we would have the staff call a water taxi for us to be shuttled over to the city. To bad the shuttle company closes after it gets dark. I would suggest that the hotel look into a way to extend the service at night.
The hotel gives you a choice of having a complimentary continental breakfast in your room or in the dining room. We choice the former. The experince could not have been more relaxing. By the way the breakfast came within 15 minutes of calling down to room service. The room service guy brought your choice of paper and greeted us every day with a big smile.
Another nice amenity is a two hour complimentary boat ride along the coast and out to a local island. The boat anchors out at the island and guests are free to swim in clear blue water. The hotel serves complimentary refreshing drinks, fruit, and olives while anchored out at the island. Well worth the ride even if you are not interested in swimming.
The food down at the sun deck was good. No complaints.
When we arrived at our room we were greeted with a large complimentary fruit bowl.
The rooms were white tile and super clean.
I loved the gardens and especially liked the terraces in the canyon next to the hotel that grew vegatables for the kitchen.
I personally stay in hotels rooms over 200 nights a year. I am well seasoned traveler who really appreciates a hotel when it is truly unique. And this one is!!
Great service, great views - a very special place
by A TripAdvisor Member
We live in the New York metro area, and expect a lot out of the hotels that we carefully select. We did feel compelled to change our reservation at the San Pietro after we read some negative reviews on trip advisor, but luckily we didn't. Maybe the management went to the web site, or perhaps we went on an off time- October, but whatever it was we had the best service we have had!! The front desk for the most part was extremely helpful and the restaurant staff was great. In fact, we had no idea we were waiting too long to get our dinner because we were just so excited to be there, but we were told after eating our delicious dinner that it wasn't acceptable to them that we had to wait that long for the food to arrive, so they told us our entire dinner was on them. Wow-- how's that for service!! We didn't have the experience of switching to the "special room" that others have written about. In fact, we arrived late in the day and were given a very nice room. We didn't use the pool because it was too cold. But the spa was nice (great massages), and the free shuttle to town (just a few minutes away) was great too. Never had to wait more that 2 minutes! We loved our stay and hope you will listen to our review and enjoy a spectacular hotel with the best views in Positano with excellent service too!!
Forum Posts
best pool
by parks22
best hotel pool?
Re: best pool
by nicolaitan
welcome to vt. specifically answering your question, money is the answer for most questions and nowhere more so than in positano. the two most expensive hotels are the sireneuse and the il san pietro and each has a spectacular pool, the former overlooking the village and the latter overlooking the cliffs a mile east of town. and both are high rated five star places.
