can anyone recommend reasonably priced, child friendly hotels in naples, sorrento & positano?

[bossykate]

hello everyone

i'm desperate to go abroad before baby arrives in july and thought an easter break to the amalfi coast would be just the ticket.

am hoping the collected wisdom of mumsnet can help me with suggestions for accommodation as i am drawing a blank at the moment.

thanks in advance

Bear in mind the Amalfi coast is steep...if you are pregnant those hills will be hard work.

Otherwise, its lovely!

We stayed in the Hilton in Sorrento about 3 years ago. We were without children then (last time I went abroad!) and had a lovely executive room (I had Hilton points).

No idea how much it is to be honest - probably not "resonable". However I did notice when we were there that it had family rooms. The pool is lovely too - actually 5 pools interlinked (with a nice bar where the waiter will bring you margheritas to your sun lounger).

We decided next time we go to that area we want to fly into Naples and get the ferry across the bay. If you hire a car (which is a great idea especially if pregnant) then a word of warning. The "motorway" junctions near Pompeii and the Sorrento turnings are tricky. They come up fast, are badly signposted and seem to take you off in odd directions. Lovely round there too.

Also take a packed lunch if going to Pompeii and plenty of water. The Romans didn't build many sandwich bars.

hi everyone

thanks for these responses, i will look into these options. does anyone know if sorrento is less steep than positano? we went to taormina a couple of years ago and managing the steepness with a buggy was a royal pita tbh. uhoh, second thoughts....

There is more of the town on the flat in Sorrento than in Positano which is very set into the gradient of the hill. For Positano think Clovelly only much, much steeper and more spectacular. Sorrento is quite touristy though. Some of the hotels in Sorrento which are a little way out of town, like the Grand Hotel Vesuvio, run a shuttle bus into town and there are ordinary busses from what I remember which run along the coast road. We stayed in the Bristol which was a little way out of town (10 mins up hill) but had a great view of the Bay of Naples from the pool and terrace (pre-kids, so no specific recommendations).

Amalfi itself seemed pleasant and we spent a few hours there whilst on a trip along the "Amalfi Drive". Also we were taken to a lovely spot in the hills behind it, about 20 mins drive, which I have unfortunately forgotten the name of.

try CV Travel - I think they have some very nice self-catering properties right in the heart of positano

just remembered - look at Palazzo Belmonte (also through CV Travel)Should suit all you needs.

palazzo belmonte can be arranged cheaper than CV Travel through Real Holidays www.realhols.co.uk

For self catering apartment on the Amalfi Coast can try www.indiv-travellers.com

sorry can't do links!

We have a lovely place that is just north of the amalfi coast that we go to every year at least once a year. It is about 45 min north of naples and 1 1/4 hours by train south of rome. It is in a town called Sperlonga and the hotel (it's self catering apartments) is: florenza . You can get cheap flights to rome and then take the train (we do this with 5 kids in tow). It's a family owned place and they are super friendly.

The only caveat is that although the weather will be nice, it may not be hot enough for sunbathing (same for amalfi coast). Could you could go a little later - like may? I went in August when I was 8 mo. pregnant and it was lovely.

thanks for all these extra suggestions mumsnetters are so kind

i'm off to the states for work for a week, so probably not much chance for surfing while i'm there - we'll see. i'll check them out as soon as i can.

thank you

Totally non-helpful reply:

Your post made me feel very wistful, as dh and I got engaged in Sorrento a long time ago - long before children, so child-friendly hotels were not a consideration.

I remember that Sorrento was kind of on two levels with the main town up above, and the harbour down below, and a big climb between the two!

I'm off to Lake Como with my sister in April - will report back - no help, sorry. Four children.