Oh wow how I miss Positano already! I think we all started missing it days before we left LOL.
The cutest, quaintest, cleanest and happiest of towns, Positano sits on the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The town is quite breathtaking either way you look at it- from afar on a boat or looking down from atop the Path of the Gods hike.
Positano oozes charm from every corner, every shop, every meal and every set of stairs. The people are so friendly, happy and kind. Vendors sit in their shops and never pressure you to buy. Restaurants accommodate your every request and Positano canines follow you up and down the quaint streets to make sure you’ve found your way to the city center.
Sounds like something out of a Disney movie, right?
Absolutely!
Seriously, our wedding week was an absolute dream. I can honestly say other than the normal family and friend drama that comes out of all weddings (yikes that’s a whole other ten posts haha), we did not have one glitch in any of my carefully laid plans. 🙂 Even the weather cooperated and was sunny all week with the sunniest days being our boat trip to Capri and wedding days!
Our villa was incredible! Whether you want to get married here or just want to travel with some friends, I cannot recommend Villa San Giacomo enough!
The staff? INCREDIBLE. WONDERFUL. SWEET. KIND. REAL. Everyone works so hard there and is so friendly.
Our luxurious stay began the moment our car dropped us off two streets below the villa (the villa is only accessible via a few flights of stairs, miniature car or mule hahaha). Two seriously strong and friendly porters greeted us and began the workout of taking ALL of our luggage and that of our friends and family, to the villa. No wonder these guys are in amazing shape– geez!
We were greeted with smiles, drinks and LOTS OF ATTENTION. We could not believe how fantastic the villa was. I mean, we were all taken by surprise because even the pictures online do not do it justice! You know how more often than not, the photos make a place look way better than it actually is? Well, Villa San Giacomo’s website is the opposite– the photos don’t even come close to the villa’s actual splendor and charm!
I guess you can say we basically felt like princes and princesses all week long! Chiara, the villa manager is a sweetheart. Guiseppe, the world’s greatest and most patient personal chef (when you’re dealing with my health freak family that is!!) was just fantastic to us all week long. He changed his dishes and menus for us each and every day based on what I said we wanted. Lauro, the perfect man really, was amazing at getting us anything we needed, ALL THE TIME. And I cannot say enough how about how wonderful Carla, the villa’s reservation manager is. 7673926498 emails later, she was still super friendly and responsive to me.
I honestly do not have one complaint except that I wish I was back there of course!
One of the many great qualities about the villa is its layout. There are three main floors. You have four guest suites on the top level. The kitchen, dining and family rooms are on the main level along with the pool and villa entry. The remaining four guest suites are on the lower level. It’s great how the middle floor separates the eight bedrooms from eachother so people have some space! That made it feel way more intimate.
And everyone had an amazing deck and view! All rooms face the ocean so it’s not like anyone gets a bad room or view haha. I could have stayed in any room… but lucky us, we got the top end room with the largest balcony, a second balcony and largest bathroom since we were the bride and groom, yeah!
The pool is always set up for your pleasure with towels and lounge chairs facing the sun and to die for view of Positano, the sea and the beach. The garden is one level up and has stunning views of the ocean. This is where we would have our ceremony. But more on that later!
If you’re an even larger group, you have access to the villa’s recently renovated attic suites. They have four total, two on each side of the stairs that connect to eachother so guests will have to walk through the first room to get to the second one. These come at an extra daily cost, but they’re super cute and would be great for kids and teenagers. The windows are small but each suite has its own bathroom and looks brand new.
Our villa came with all of our staff, daily breakfast and one cooked meal per day. Our chef even gave us a cooking class (before dinner) on how to make gnocchi. LOL- he wouldn’t serve it to us though!
We chose dinners the majority of the time because we were always out exploring during the days. The food is an extra cost but seriously, it’s super reasonable. And anytime you want something like wine or a snack, all you have to do is ask! The following morning it will be there!
Now I know villas are NOT cheap but here’s the deal: when it’s your wedding, they do not charge you a location fee! That makes it an amazing deal right there. Also, if you’re staying in the villa with 7 other couples and do the math, for 8 days and 7 nights your costs are super minimal! A hotel just cannot beat that math! And if you book during the low season like we did, you save an extra large sum of cash!
There are so many options of where one can stay in Positano. First of all, it’s SMALL. Literally, there’s one city center, one beach, one small plaza and one church. You cannot get lost and we proved this because even my Dad (who has been known to lose his way out of a paper bag) was able to find his way in and out of town!
You can choose from a bed and breakfast, room rental, casual hotel, five star hotel or villa like ours. And within these choices there are even more choices and price ranges to choose from. Positano is friendly to everyone and every budget rest assured!
We chose Villa San Giacomo because of our wedding and all of the family and friends we wanted there to celebrate with us. My second choice would most certainly be Le Sirenuse Hotel, this insanely goregous hotel with the best imported French oysters EVER!!
But no matter where you stay, the view is incredible and so is the workout. Don’t plan on wearing high heels your entire stay ladies, because your ankles won’t last long! Positano is basically stairmaster city. I think we climbed 109837765498 steps when the week was over! I admire the ladies who live in Positano- they’re all in reasonably good shape and have firm, lifted booties!
No doubt because of those stairs LOL.
With that being said, eating just became a whole lot easier and guilt free! The fresh pastas and pizzas, the seafood and gelato… everything was to die for. I am literally salivating just thinking about it!
Just remember all of those calories you burn every time you walk to a restaurant, shop or the beach!!!!
My favorite restaurants are right in the center of the city, adjacent to the beach. You really don’t need any names because when you arrive, you’ll see them all right away. It’s really quite nice actually, when you don’t have to make a reservation based on any recommendations in advance and can just “show up.” Now that’s not to say the restaurants don’t fill up quickly, I just mean you don’t really need to “plan” anyting. Yes, remember me miss OCD crazy trip planner? Well, it’s oh-so-nice when you can just walk around and find a restaurant with zero planning pressure.
And don’t forget about the shopping! I recommend you purchase some yummy limoncello and scented lemon soaps. Since the Amalfi Coast is lemon capital of Italy and probably everywhere else in the world, you cannot go wrong with anything scented lemon.
Oh yes and the SHOES!! Ladies, gents, teens, kids— go buy some loafers while you’re in Positano. The quality is great and everything is made in Positano or in the surrounding areas of Amalfi. For under 100 euro we found some really beautiful loafers and super comfy too! Trust me, I walked many, many stairs in them if you recall? I practically lived in my white pair the entire trip and they didn’t even give me a blister!
Saving the best (or worst, yikes) for last, Positano has one amazing hike you can do. Well, let me put it this way, you DAREDEVILS can do it. Since I am terrified of heights, I only lasted about half way up! Miles up from the sea or so it seemed, with no guard rails, and a rocky path, you can hike what the Amalfians call their “Path Of The Gods.” Now I’ll admit, the view is breathtaking and you do run into some pretty cute goats, cats and shepherd dogs, but not even the animals could distract me from my shaking hands and body every time I looked down!
Total drama queen I know hahaha but ever since I was a child I was just terrified of heights!
I did however absolutely love the cats, donkeys and dogs at the top of that hike!! Anton kept telling me they were there to keep me calm and give me therapy!
And with that last piece of information, nighty night! I look forward to sharing more about our villa and wedding week, soon!!
xx Shanna