[ POSITANO, ITALY] — This is my second favorite place in Positano. Hotel Miramare, one of the best boutique hotels in Positano. It’s a great hotel with super sweet family that runs it and that combination is why even all the barking dogs on TripAdvisor rank this puppy 5 out of 5 stars. You know you’re doing something right when you have a four star hotel pulling down five stars.

The hotel started out as rented houses in the 1930s, before Positano was an international tourist destination. Then the family turned it into a hotel that became a favorite of military coming up from Naples for some R&R during World War II. That’s what started Positano off, as returning sailors talked all about this amazing setting, longing to come back for more.

The Amazing Views From Hotel Miramare

It’s a hoof to get down the steps from the main road, but when you’re there, you are just clinging to the side of the cliff.

The Rooms at Hotel Miramare Positano

When you arrive in Positano, either by your own car or preferably a hired car, park in the nearest parking lot, then follow the signs down a narrow path, wheeling your luggage behind. You can call the hotel and they’ll send a porter if you’re packing large.

You can’t go wrong in any room. Miramare is expensive, but worth every penny, especially if you splurge for one of the rooms that has this shower overlooking the sea.

And Then There’s Positano, 286 Steps Below

Positano is all about the hills. You’re either Up the hill, on top of it, in the middle or at the bottom. So steps are a thing. The bottom might sound enticing, but the views are nothing — it’s like being a toddler at a tall person’s convention, you’re always looking up. You want the views. So brute it out and walk the steps. There’s a serpentine road the winds down the hill, but it’s longer and clogged with cars, scooters and chugging buses. So sometimes the steps are the fastest. Just consider it going to the gym.

There seems to be a pricing sweetspot in hotel prices, the higher you go, the better the views, the cheaper, but the harder the walk. Most hotels have shuttles, but you really don’t want to depend on the ride or a regularly scheduled hotel van that makes the rounds, up and down on the hour. Just hoof it.

All the great restaurants are on the bottom of the Positano hill (or a boat ride to another cove). All hotels are up the hill.

The Miramare is 286 steep steps up from the beach (yes, I counted). It’s fine going down, it’s the Up that gets you after a few negronis and a bowl of pasta.

More Information on Hotel Miramare Positano

Here’s the Hotel Miramare’s website. Here’s a review from The Venue Report. Here’s a list of the best hotels on the Amalfi Coast from UK Conde Nast Traveller. Here’s another post I made about Le Sirenuse, for when you really want to splurge.

More Information on Positano

Here’s the TripAdvisor page for Positano. Here is the official Positano tourism website. And Travel & Leisure’s Positano page. And the NY Times 36 Hours on the Amalfi Coast. This is a beautifully written piece from the wonderful Italy Segreta about celebrities and the Amalfi Coast. Here’s Conde Nast Traveller’s Guide to Positano. And the US CNT version of the story on the Amalfi Coast.