Il Pietro San Positano Review: a dreamy hotel in Positano

My week of call in May was one of the worst ones in my career so far. I was up every night until the wee hours of the morning dealing with many unpleasant phone calls. To say I was tired and grumpy was an understatement. Not much beats a vacation after a week of call. It's the perfect way for me to regroup and feel energized to return to work.

Lucky for me this week of call was followed by a two week vacation to Italy. The main purpose for my trip was a radiology conference in Florence. To make the most of my time away I decided to add on two weeks of vacation.

If you remember back to May Italy was having a lot of rain...and I mean A LOT. Parts of Italy were experiencing bad flooding. We were hoping this would pass for us but sadly parts of our trip were rain soaked.

From Canada the easiest place for us to fly into was Rome. We decided we would explore the Amalfi Coast for the first part of the trip then head up to Florence for the conference. From there we wanted to explore the Tuscan countryside then end our trip back in Rome.

Where to stay

After landing in Rome we took the train from the airport to the main train station. From here we took a train to Naples.

We were staying in Positano at the Il Pietro San Positano. There are a few ways to get to Positano from Naples. You can take a boat, bus or car. I was not comfortable driving in Italy so we got a car from the hotel to pick us up. Word of warning: the roads in Amalfi are very windy and single lane IT is easy if there is an accident or a large bus for traffic to get congested. Leave plenty of time to get to your destinations! I am definitely glad we did not decide to drive ourselves.

I had done a lot of research on where to stay in Positano and from the moment we arrived the hotel exceeded my expectations. The natural beauty of the property is breathtaking. From the hotel’s location you get gorgeous views of Positano.

Upon arriving we were offered their signature welcome drink to sit and enjoy in the lounge. I can say I was instantly happy and relaxed. The welcome cocktail was delicious, it was prosecco with fresh raspberries.

After enjoying our cocktails we got a tour of the hotel and shown to our room. All the rooms at the hotel have unique and beautiful decor. Our room faced away from the Positano town center but it still had a gorgeous view.

Our bathroom had a tub with a view of the adjacent hillside and ocean. The hotel has its own brand of bath products.

The hotel gives you a complimentary beach bag and flip flops which is such a useful gift (can’t tell you the number of times I have forgotten to bring beach sandals…including this vacation).

Upon check out you get a gift box of soaps which smell amazing. All these small touches are what made this hotel stand out.

Where to eat + Drink

Terrace Bar

The hotel has a gorgeous bar in the reception area. The reception space extends onto an outdoor deck which (if it was sunny) would have been a gorgeous area to enjoy drinks and a snack.

The cocktails come with amazing snacks however you cannot order food to the bar.

The cocktail list was extensive with many unique options. My favorite part about Italy is the extensive prosecco based drinks.

L’alcova bar

L’Alcova bar is located at the entrance to Zazz restaurant. This is a gorgeous bar and a great place to enjoy a pre or post dinner drink. This is also the bar where the hotel hosts its cocktail class.

Restaurants

Zass

Breakfast

Breakfast at Zass is a hotel highlight. The restaurant itself is gorgeous and aesthetic with all the flowers and greenery. The views of the Mediterranean are stunning. Add on delicious food and you are in heaven.

The pastry selection at breakfast is indulgent and amazing. Even though I am not much of a breakfast person I still tried out so many things. The pistachio croissant was one of my favourites. They had donuts, cakes, tarts, cheese, fruit AND warm food you could order.

Add on unlimited breakfast mimosas and you are set to enjoy your day.

Dinner

Zass restaurant is the Michelin starred fine dining restaurant at the hotel. Breakfast and dinner are served at Zass.

We had dinner at Zass on our first night. We started our evening off with a glass of Rosé Prosecco. As a starter the hotel offers you a slice of pizza. How amazing is that! The pizza was simple with roasted tomato and garlic and was delicious.

We started dinner with sea bass carpaccio. This was the perfect light a fresh started for the meal.

For the main course we had the lobster tagliatelle. This was the perfect pasta to start my Italian food journey. The pasta sauce was nice and light. The lobster was slightly sweet and perfectly cooked.

For dessert I had a chocolate hazelnut torte which was perfection. Creamy and crunchy it was a great way to end the meal.

Carlino

Carlino is the hotel’s more informal waterfront restaurant. We never ended up eating here due to the stormy weather but I can only imagine how amazing a meal here would be with the views.

Hotel Features

Gym

One of the best features of the hotel is the outdoor gym. There are spin bikes and weights you can use outside while looking at the stunning views of Positano. Due to the rain I used the indoor gym which was still great.

This image is courtesy of the hotel website. The outdoor gym area was closed during our visit due to the rain.

The property also has a great walking path which tastes you by the waterfront, across the lawn and up along the cliffside gardens.

Morning pilates

I love starting my day off with a workout. Every morning the hotel offers pilates. Usually pilates is held outdoors on the downstairs lawn. Since it was raining during our stay we did pilates downstairs at the beachside restaurant. I enjoyed the classes and got a good stretch and workout from them.

Tennis Court

If you play tennis this is the hotel for you. There is a tennis court set into the rock face with amazing views of the Mediterranean. Use of the court is complimentary.

Private Beach + Dock

I did a lot of research on hotels in Amalfi before selecting Il Pietro San Positano. One of the reasons I chose this hotel is that it has a private beach. After looking at pictures of Positano and how busy the beach could be I decided it was best to find a place with easier beach access.

Another reason I chose this hotel is that it has a private boat dock.

Every morning (besides Sundays) the hotel offers a free 2hr boat ride along the coast from the dock. Unfortunately the weather was quite stormy when we were there and all boat rides were cancelled.

We had also booked a private boat ride to Positano and I love that you can get picked up at the hotel dock.

Pool

The hotel also has a gorgeous pool and deck. The pool faces the opposite direction from Positano but has amazing views.

Cocktail class

There are not many drinks I associate more with Italy than a Negroni. Before the Negroni existed however there was a cocktail called the Milano-Torino. The hotel has a cocktail class were you learn about the Milano-Torino and two difference variations: the Milano-Torino with orange and the Americano.

The Milano-Torino is equal parts Campari and Sweet Vermouth. The Milano-Torino with orange has an orange twist added. I have to say I never realized the difference the addition of orange peel could make to a drink but tasting these back to back the addition of the orange essence and peel was striking. I preferred the version with the orange peel. The Americano is equal parts Campari and Sweet Vermouth topped up with soda water with an orange peel. According to the bartender this drinks was created and named because of its popularity amongst American tourists. It was fun seeing and tasting the evolution of these cocktails.

Pizza Making

The hotel offers a pizza making class at Zass. Since the process of making the dough is long they teach you how to make it and then you use pre made dough to make the pizza. Afterwards you get to enjoy the pizza you made!

Italian Lessons

Since we were rained in we took full advantage of all the hotel activities. Our Italian class was a lot of fun (made even better after the cocktail class) and taught us some great basics to use during our trip.

To say our stay at Il Pietro San Positano was fantastic is an understatement. The hotel is stunning and the service was impeccable. We were lucky the hotel had so many activities to keep us entertained given the rain.

I am already planning my next trip to Positano, hopefully this time with better weather.