The catch at Hotel Tramonto d'Oro
Hotel Tramonto d'Oro is a family-run four-star of 38 rooms on the main road through Praiano, and its catches come from that position: rooms built small on a steep coast, a beach far below, and a season that starts before the pool does. None of them outweighs the rooftop pool and the view to Positano, but each decides which room and which month to book.
On our shortlists
The cheaper rooms are small, and the sea view starts several rungs up.
The Economy Rooms have a window and no view of the sea, and the Standard Rooms add a small terrace that also has no view. The Superior Room with balcony and partial sea view, the cheapest room on sale for Tuesday 8 June 2027, is 20 m², and its partial view is seen standing on a 4 m² balcony. At €520 a night with breakfast in June, that is a compact room for the money. The sea in front of you starts with the Superior Room with sea view terrace, at €725, and the Classic Room with sea view terrace, 24 m² with a 13 m² terrace and sun loungers, costs €813.
What to do. If the view is the reason for the trip, book the Classic Room with sea view terrace, and treat the Economy, Standard and partial-view rooms as a bed for the night, with the pool and the roof terrace as the view.
There is no beach at the hotel: the nearest one is about 400 steps down.
Cala della Gavitella, the cove below the hotel, is reached from the church of San Gennaro down a stairway of about 400 steps, a walk of 6 or 7 minutes down and a long climb back in the heat. It has two beach clubs, La Gavitella and One Fire Beach, with sunbeds sold by the day and booked ahead, and both run boats to Marina di Praia, which is a 4-minute drive from the hotel. The rooftop pool is the hotel's answer, with loungers and umbrellas, and it is included in the stay.
What to do. Walk down in the morning and take the beach club's boat to Marina di Praia in the afternoon if you would rather not climb, then a taxi back; or keep the beach for one day and spend the others at the pool. Book sunbeds ahead in summer.
In summer the sun sets behind the mountains above Positano, not into the sea.
Praiano looks west along the coast, so the pool and the Rooftop Cafe face Positano, the Li Galli islands and Capri. From May to August the sun goes down behind the ridge above Positano, in June and July as much as 40 to 50 minutes before the official sunset time, and the sea and the town turn gold below it. In September and early October it drops behind the hills of the Sorrento peninsula, and only in the last days of October does it set behind Capri. While the hotel is open, the sun never sets into the open sea from here.
What to do. Be on the roof about an hour before the official sunset time, while the pool is still open (it closes at 8pm), and stay for the afterglow, when Positano lights up across the bay.
The hotel opens in mid-April, but the pool does not open until May.
For 2027 the first night on sale is 19 April and the last is 30 October; from November to mid-April the hotel is closed. The rooftop pool, the centre of the stay, opens only from May to October, every day from 8am to 8pm, so anyone who arrives in the second half of April has the terrace and the view but not the swim. Late April is also the cheapest time of year, with Economy Rooms from about €293 a night with breakfast.
What to do. Book from May if the pool matters, and take the low April prices only if a cooler week of walking and sightseeing is the plan.
June and late September are the dearest weeks, and the tourist tax is extra.
The hotel's rates rise from April to a peak from late May to June, ease in July and August, and climb again in late September. On Tuesday 8 June 2027 the cheapest room on sale cost €520 a night for two with breakfast; in August the cheapest rooms cost about €380 to €410, and in October about €300 to €410. Praiano's tourist tax of €4 per person per night, for up to 7 nights, is added and paid at the hotel; children under 10 are exempt. Every rate includes breakfast, parking with valet, the pool and the gym.
What to do. If the dates are open, August and early October cost less than June; whatever the month, book early for June and late September.
Who should skip it
Anyone who needs a large room for the price, a beach on the doorstep or step-free access to the sea, and anyone travelling in April for the pool.
Who should book it anyway
Sunset watchers, couples and anyone touring the coast by bus or car. The Esposito family has welcomed guests here since the Bar Tramonto d'Oro opened in 1952, and the hotel is still theirs, with a grandson of the founders cooking in the restaurant. The rooftop pool looks across the bay to Positano, Li Galli and the Faraglioni of Capri, breakfast is served on a terrace over the sea and the majolica dome of San Gennaro, parking with valet is free, and the SITA buses to Positano and Amalfi stop at the gate. Book the Classic Room with sea view terrace, be on the roof for the evening light, and the trade is easy to make.
The catch elsewhere on the Amalfi Coast
- Le SirenusePositano
The cheapest rooms, the Courtyard Rooms of about 22 m², look onto an inner courtyard with a limited view; the sea view starts at the Classic Sea View, on the lower floors
- Il San Pietro di PositanoPositano
The entry Classic room is about 22 m² including its terrace and bathroom, with a shower; the hotel lists sunbeds on the terrace only from the 40 m² Elite rooms up
- Caruso, A Belmond HotelRavello
The entry Superior Room with Garden is on the ground floor of the Garden Wing and looks over the garden or the village, not the sea; the sea view starts with the Deluxe Sea View Room, about €200 to €900 a night more
- Borgo SantandreaConca dei Marini
Among the coast's dearest: about €2,745 a night for a Superior room in June, with breakfast
- Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & SpaConca dei Marini
The entry Superior Rooms are 26 m² with a single sea-view window and a shower; a bathtub starts with the Deluxe Room and a terrace with the Queen Terrace Room
- Palazzo MuratPositano
There is no lift: rooms in the old palazzo are reached by stairs, the Deluxe rooms on the second floor, and the Standard Double Room, the smallest at about 20 m², is up two flights with a small terrace and no view
- Hotel Marina RivieraAmalfi
On the coast road: rooms at the front hear the buses by day, so ask for a higher floor
- Hotel Santa LuciaMinori
Rooms on the street side face the SS163 coast road and pick up traffic noise
- Palazzo PascalScala
The entry Classic Room is in the Dependance, an annex about 50 metres from the main building: about 18 m² with a window and a partial sea view. A private terrace starts with the Deluxe Rooms, about €105 a night more, and the palazzo's suites with the Superior Suite, about €200 more
Things to do from Hotel Tramonto d'Oro
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
Capri, by boatCapri and the Blue Grotto by small boat, with pickup in Positano
From €1604.8(290)10 min by car
The coast by roadPrivate vintage Fiat 500 tour from Positano or Praiano
From €2995(140)11 min by carPickup included
Cooking classCooking class and farmhouse lunch above Amalfi
From €1295(490)12 min by car
The coast from the seaAmalfi Coast and Positano small-boat trip with snorkelling
From €994.9(2,700)15 min by car
Questions people ask
Good questions about Hotel Tramonto d'Oro
What are the downsides of Hotel Tramonto d'Oro?
Hotel Tramonto d'Oro is a family-run four-star of 38 rooms on the main road through Praiano, and its catches come from that position: rooms built small on a steep coast, a beach far below, and a season that starts before the pool does. None of them outweighs the rooftop pool and the view to Positano, but each decides which room and which month to book. The cheaper rooms are small, and the sea view starts several rungs up. There is no beach at the hotel: the nearest one is about 400 steps down. In summer the sun sets behind the mountains above Positano, not into the sea. The hotel opens in mid-April, but the pool does not open until May. June and late September are the dearest weeks, and the tourist tax is extra.
Who should not book Hotel Tramonto d'Oro?
Anyone who needs a large room for the price, a beach on the doorstep or step-free access to the sea, and anyone travelling in April for the pool.
Our verdict
The Praiano hotel for the sunset from a rooftop pool, with a family welcome and the bus to Positano and Amalfi at the door. Check availability for a Classic Room with sea view terrace.