The catch at Le Sirenuse
None of this is hidden: the hotel publishes almost all of it itself. Each point decides which room to book, when to go and how to plan the evenings, and none is a reason to pass on the Sersale family's hotel above Positano.
On our shortlists
- Best design hotels on the Amalfi CoastFranco Sersale's antiques, a Nicolas Party mosaic, a Gae Aulenti spa
- Best central hotels on the Amalfi CoastAbove Positano's centre: Piazza dei Mulini 3 minutes, beach 7
- Best hotels with a view on the Amalfi CoastBalconies over Positano's houses, church dome and the Li Galli islands
- Best hotels for food and drink on the Amalfi CoastLa Sponda under hundreds of candles, facing Positano's church dome
The two cheapest categories have no full sea view, and both are sold only prepaid and non-refundable.
The Courtyard rooms, about 22 m², look onto an inner courtyard with a limited view, and only some have a small or French balcony. The Pool Terrace View rooms, 25 to 32 m², sit on the level of the pool terrace and see the town and the sea only in part. Both are sold on one rate only, paid in full at booking, with no refund and no changes. The sea view starts at the Classic Sea View, about 24 m² on the lower floors, with a 4 m² balcony. For one night on Tuesday 8 June 2027, for two with breakfast, the Courtyard room was €1,903 prepaid and the Classic Sea View €3,399 on the flexible rate.
What to do. If the view is the reason to come, skip the first two rungs and book the Superior Sea View, whose 8 m² balcony is twice that of the Classic and Deluxe Sea View rooms.
Positano is steps both ways, and the hotel has no beach of its own.
The hotel stands on Via Cristoforo Colombo about 45 metres above the sea, and a car or taxi can pull up at the door. Everything else is on foot: Piazza dei Mulini is 3 minutes away, Spiaggia Grande 7 and the ferry pier about 10, all down steps and steep lanes, so every return is a climb. The SITA Sud bus stop at Sponda, on the coast road, is 5 minutes uphill. There is no hotel beach. Spiaggia Grande is pebble, with a free public stretch beside beach clubs that charge for sunbeds and umbrellas. With luggage from the ferry, the hotel advises booking a porter through the concierge.
What to do. Arrive by car to the door if you have heavy bags, and book a porter if you come by sea. Treat the pool terrace as the place to spend the day and the beach as a walk down.
Children under 6 are not accepted, and few rooms take a third bed.
Because of its many stairs and high balconies, the hotel does not accept children under 6, in any room or suite. Older children need planning too. The Courtyard room, the Pool Terrace View, the Deluxe Sea View, the Junior Suite Superior Sea View and the One Bedroom Suite take no extra bed, and only some Classic and Superior Sea View rooms can take one. The Executive Sea View, about 40 m², and the Junior Suite Sea View, about 43 m², take an extra bed on request, and the Two Bedroom Suite Sea View, about 110 m² with three bathrooms, sleeps four, with a third bed subject to availability.
What to do. With a child of 6 or over, book the Executive Sea View or the Junior Suite Sea View and ask for the extra bed at the time of booking, as the hotel asks.
Summer costs more than double late October, and even the flexible rate is fixed in the last 30 days.
The hotel opens from late March to the end of October. For the Courtyard room, one night for two with breakfast was €1,155 on 13 April 2027, €1,903 on 8 June, €1,925 in mid-July and mid-September and €825 on 26 October. The Classic Sea View moves the same way: €1,496 in mid-April, €3,399 on 8 June and €1,166 in late October. The flexible rate on the sea-view rooms can be cancelled free until 30 days before arrival; after that the stay is paid in full and cannot be refunded or changed. Positano's tourist tax, €5 per person per night in five-star hotels from April to October in 2026, comes on top.
What to do. For the lowest prices of the season, come in April or the second half of October, and treat any booking as fixed from 30 days out.
The evening tables fill: La Sponda needs a booking, and Franco's Bar takes none.
La Sponda, the candlelit dining room, serves dinner every evening in season from 19:30 to 22:00 and is open to non-residents as well as guests, so a table on the night you want is not a given. Franco's Bar, at the front of the hotel, opens from 5pm from April to October, weather permitting, and takes no reservations, so at peak times there is a queue. Aldo's, the cocktail bar and seafood grill on a terrace over the sea, also takes bookings, and the Pool Bar is for hotel guests only.
What to do. Book La Sponda for your first evening when you book the room, and reach Franco's Bar soon after it opens at 5pm.
Who should skip it
Families with children under 6, anyone who finds steps hard, and anyone who wants a beach at the door or a quiet hideaway away from the town. Also anyone who wants the sea view at the lowest price, since the two cheapest categories have none and are sold only prepaid.
Who should book it anyway
Couples who want the Positano of the photographs. Le Sirenuse has been the Sersale family's hotel since 1951, grown around the old family villa above the church of Santa Maria Assunta, with the terrace pool among lemon trees and Nicolas Party's mosaic on its floor, dinner at La Sponda under hundreds of suspended candles, a spa by Gae Aulenti and a MICHELIN Key. Book the Superior Sea View for the 8 m² balcony over the town and the sea, reserve La Sponda with the room, come in April or late October for the best prices, and the climb back from the beach is an easy trade.
The catch elsewhere on the Amalfi Coast
- 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 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 Le Sirenuse
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)4 min by carMeeting point in Positano
The coast by roadPrivate vintage Fiat 500 tour from Positano or Praiano
From €2995(140)5 min by carPickup included
The coast from the seaAmalfi Coast and Positano small-boat trip with snorkelling
From €994.9(2,700)7 min by car
The golden hourPositano sunset cruise to the Furore fjord, with prosecco
From €704.8(310)10 min by car
Questions people ask
Good questions about Le Sirenuse
What are the downsides of Le Sirenuse?
None of this is hidden: the hotel publishes almost all of it itself. Each point decides which room to book, when to go and how to plan the evenings, and none is a reason to pass on the Sersale family's hotel above Positano. The two cheapest categories have no full sea view, and both are sold only prepaid and non-refundable. Positano is steps both ways, and the hotel has no beach of its own. Children under 6 are not accepted, and few rooms take a third bed. Summer costs more than double late October, and even the flexible rate is fixed in the last 30 days. The evening tables fill: La Sponda needs a booking, and Franco's Bar takes none.
Who should not book Le Sirenuse?
Families with children under 6, anyone who finds steps hard, and anyone who wants a beach at the door or a quiet hideaway away from the town. Also anyone who wants the sea view at the lowest price, since the two cheapest categories have none and are sold only prepaid.
Our verdict
The Sersale family's hotel in Positano since 1951, for couples who want the terrace, the candlelit dinner and a balcony over the town. Check availability for the Superior Sea View.
Last checked: October 2026