The catch at Il San Pietro di Positano
Five things sit between the photographs and the stay. The hotel publishes almost all of them itself, and none is a reason to pass on the cliff, the cove and the starred dinner, but each one decides which room, which month and which evenings suit you.
On our shortlists
- Best beach hotels on the Amalfi CoastA lift through the rock to a cove for guests, and a free boat trip
- Best quiet hotels on the Amalfi CoastCut into the Laurito cliff, with a cove kept for resident guests
- Best hotels with a view on the Amalfi CoastEvery room has a private terrace facing the sea
- Best hotels for food and drink on the Amalfi CoastZass, starred, cooking from ten garden terraces; Carlino by the sea
The entry Classic room is about 22 m², and that includes its terrace and bathroom.
Every room has a private terrace facing the sea and no two are furnished alike, but the Classic rooms are about 22 m² with the terrace and the bathroom counted in, and they have a shower rather than a bath. The Deluxe rooms, about 26 m², add a table and armchairs outside and bathrooms in Italian marble or local terracotta tiles. Sunbeds on your own terrace start with the Elite rooms, from 40 m², which also have large bathrooms. For one night on Tuesday 8 June 2027, for two with breakfast, the Classic was €3,531 and the Elite €4,665, a step of €1,134.
What to do. If you plan to spend afternoons on your own terrace, book the Elite Room or above. The Classic suits a couple who will be at the beach club and the pool all day.
Positano is a shuttle ride away, not a stroll.
The hotel stands on the Laurito headland, about 1.5 km east of Positano's centre on the SS163 coast road. Spiaggia Grande is 33 minutes away on foot along the road, so evenings in town rely on the hotel's free shuttle, which runs to and from Positano at all hours, or on the water shuttle from the hotel's dock, which leaves at set times between 9:15 and 22:15 when the sea allows. By car the centre is about 13 minutes off-peak, longer in summer traffic. The one restaurant within a short walk is La Taverna del Leone, 6 minutes along the coast road.
What to do. Ask at the front desk for the water shuttle times on arrival, and use the road shuttle after dark; it is free at any hour.
The hotel is built down the cliff on ten levels, so expect steps.
Carlino Cinque built the hotel down the cliff on ten levels, following the shape of the hillside, with its entrance by the chapel of San Pietro on the coast road. A lift cut through the rock runs from the lobby to the hotel's cove in about 45 seconds; the other way down is a path of 400 stone steps through ten terraces of organic gardens. Between the levels there are stairs, and some rooms are reached up several steps. Guests must be 10 or over, which the hotel puts down to its position.
What to do. If stairs matter, say so when you book and ask for a room close to the lobby and the lift.
Zass, the starred dining room, is closed on Sundays.
Zass holds a MICHELIN star under Alois Vanlangenaeker, the hotel's chef since 2002, and it is the reason many guests stay in for dinner, with a menu that changes three times a year and a cellar of more than 600 labels. It opens from Monday to Saturday, takes a limited number of outside diners, and asks men for long trousers, with no shorts or trainers, and everyone to leave mobile phones alone. On a Sunday evening the starred dinner is off. La Taverna del Leone, 6 minutes along the road, and Next2 and Da Vincenzo in Positano, 10 and 11 minutes by car, all serve dinner that night.
What to do. Reserve Zass for your first free evening between Monday and Saturday as soon as the room is booked, and plan Sunday night elsewhere.
June to September costs about three times the opening weeks of April.
The hotel opens from April to October. In 2027 the first nights of the season, from 9 April, were about €1,155 a night for two in a Classic room with breakfast; mid-April about €1,310; late April and May about €2,500; and from June to the end of September about €3,530 to €3,590. Positano's tourist tax, €5 per guest per night at five-star hotels in 2026, is charged on top from April to October. Meals and drinks in the hotel's restaurants and bars are priced to match the rooms, and guests often remark on them.
What to do. Come in late April or May for the gardens at well under the summer price; the free boat cruise starts in May.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants to walk out of the door into Positano's lanes and bars every evening, anyone travelling with children under 10, and anyone planning a trip between November and March, when the hotel is closed. Also anyone for whom stairs are hard work, and anyone who wants a big room at the entry price.
Who should book it anyway
Couples who want the sea, the gardens and a starred dinner without moving. Il San Pietro has been cut into its cliff since 1970 and is still run by the family that built it; a lift through the rock takes you to a cove with a sun deck, sea platforms, a bar and a tennis court kept for resident guests, a free two-hour boat cruise with a swim stop leaves the dock every day but Sunday from May to mid-October, and the MICHELIN Guide gives the hotel three Keys. Book the Elite Room for the sunbeds on your terrace, come in late April, May or September, reserve Zass early, 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
- 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 Tramonto d'OroPraiano
Rooms are compact: the Superior with a partial sea view is 20 m², and the sea is seen only in part, from its 4 m² balcony
- 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 Il San Pietro di Positano
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)5 min by car
The coast by roadPrivate vintage Fiat 500 tour from Positano or Praiano
From €2995(140)7 min by carPickup included
The coast from the seaAmalfi Coast and Positano small-boat trip with snorkelling
From €994.9(2,700)13 min by car
The golden hourPositano sunset cruise to the Furore fjord, with prosecco
From €704.8(310)13 min by car
Questions people ask
Good questions about Il San Pietro di Positano
What are the downsides of Il San Pietro di Positano?
Five things sit between the photographs and the stay. The hotel publishes almost all of them itself, and none is a reason to pass on the cliff, the cove and the starred dinner, but each one decides which room, which month and which evenings suit you. The entry Classic room is about 22 m², and that includes its terrace and bathroom. Positano is a shuttle ride away, not a stroll. The hotel is built down the cliff on ten levels, so expect steps. Zass, the starred dining room, is closed on Sundays. June to September costs about three times the opening weeks of April.
Who should not book Il San Pietro di Positano?
Anyone who wants to walk out of the door into Positano's lanes and bars every evening, anyone travelling with children under 10, and anyone planning a trip between November and March, when the hotel is closed. Also anyone for whom stairs are hard work, and anyone who wants a big room at the entry price.
Our verdict
A cliff, a lift to the sea, a boat and a starred dinner, all without leaving the hotel. Check availability for an Elite Room.
Last checked: October 2026