The restaurant down by the beach is so much fun... and has the most fantastic food! The upstairs terrace over-looking the sea is great for cappucino's and a pastry in the morning. I love that this quaint little hotel has a small lift (elevator), as well, since there are sooo many, many steps down to the beach in this part of town. Very, very friendly staff (and owner's). Although we have never actually stayed as guests in the hotel (we usually rent a villa just across the way), they are always so welcoming to us for our breakfasts, lunches or al fresco nibbling with cocktails on the lower level by the sea. Probably the best times we've ever had were right here at this charming restaurant by the beach in Hotel Vittoria!!

It takes about 140 steps down to reach the lovely lobby of this hotel, but once you are there, you really don't have to leave unless you want to, everything you need to have a beautiful holiday is on-site. The superior rooms all have a stunning view and we felt this was worth the extra cost. Our room was beautiful, very fresh in white and blue, with a large bathroom complete with hair dryer and a full-size bathtub with shower. The french doors opened on to a very large furnished terrace, overlooking the gorgeous sea, where we enjoyed a fabulous Chianti (only 5 euro for a half-litre from the restaurant downstairs), under the stars, with yachts gleaming in the moonlight below us. So romantic! The hotel has an elevator which whisks you down to the private beach, where you can rent chaises and umbrellas for an amazing day of sun, sea, and relaxation. There is a seaside bar that makes fabulous fresh-squeezed lemon juice on ice and you can get one of the best Italian pizzas at the pizza take-out beside the bar. We enjoyed one of these pizzas on our terrace one evening, an inexpensive yet very lovely dinner. Breakfast was fabulous, coffee was wonderful, and the view from the dining room is spectacular, a wonderful way to begin your day. The restaurant downstairs also overlooks the sea, and has a lovely menu with very reasonable prices. We had a tasty dinner one night which included seafood and pasta plus appetizer, wine and dessert, for about $48 euro plus tip. The village of Positano is walking distance away, or you can catch the local bus at the cave at the top of the stairs, and for $1.40 euro you can have a tour of Positano, hop off where you would like to explore or shop, and then walk or buy another bus ticket back to the hotel. The hotel is easy walking distance to several other great restaurants and lots of shops. The staff were very friendly and the hotel has a lovely atmosphere about it, very inclusive for all age groups and situations, it is romantic for couples, a great place to bring children, and a lovely place to simply relax in the whole time you are there. Single travellers would feel very welcome and safe here. The walkway to the elevator is not creepy as some have suggested, it is a lovely walk past nature paths and a ravine, is well lit at night, nothing to be afraid of, although you could probably have a staff member walk with you if you were concerned, the staff are very helpful and friendly. You cannot beat the sea views, but only the superior rooms have a sea view, the other rooms do not. Great value in this enchanting area of Italy. Only downside was no Internet, although the staff in the lobby were great about doing searches for us.

I read the write ups and description of Hotel Vittoria and thought it can't be so bad but really it is a long hike from either town or the beach below. You really don't want to leave anything in your room. You have to walk along the cliff path - fine not too far - then in a dark tunnel, up an industrial lift which had no lights when we were there. Then out of the lift along a short path into another lift for one flight. Out of the lift another short path, through a gate and into the hotel room. We had one towel each and I have never seen such a small TV!! Strangely there was a kitchen with a cooker but no gas! There is no internet anywhere in the hotel, you have to do the whole lift thing and go to the hotel below. It is expensive for what you get. On the plus side, great views.

First of all, no matter where you go in Positano be prepared to either walk a whole lot or pay a whole lot for a cab. This hotel has it's own little beach that it shares with Hotel Puppetto and is amazingly beautiful!!!!!. But to get there you need to take an elevator down to a ramp down to another elevator to a pathway. I don't know about other hotels in the middle of town (like Hotel Pasitea) but it seems like there have to be easier places to stay for beach access. If you want to get to the main center of town it is a hike- beautiful, but a hike.
In terms of the hotel though: the room is HUGE and if you get the seaside view (for 150 euro/night) it is breathtaking. The balcony has a little table and two chairs and you can sit out and see the mountains and water and town and wow. Breakfast is delicious, coffee is made to order, the fruit is the ripest, freshest fruit I've seen in my life and there's this lemon marmalade that might make you cry it's so good. The staff is great- Patrizia helped us figure out how to get everywhere we needed to.
Some words of advice:
- The restaurant attached to the hotel sucks. They have a cover charge which I think is annoying since you're already paying to stay at the hotel. Go to Chez Black.
- At the beach when you lay down and the guy asks you if you've already paid for your chair, just say yes.
- Don't keep any snacks or leftover food or even empty pizza boxes in your room. You will get ants. We had that problem, the staff came right away with bug spray and killed them all; but an avoidable problem.

Feel free to email me if you have any other questions, especially about how to get to Positano.