I absolutely loved Hotel Le Palme! Staying in this quaint, clean and beautiful house added to the charm of my stay on the Amalfi Coast.

1. Room: We were upgraded to their nicest room. It was spacious, sparkling clean and had everything we needed such as a fridge, living room, air conditioning and a large bathroom. The room was cleaned from top to bottom everyday and we never had any problems with our accomodations.

2. Staff: Perfect! The two wonderful ladies that run the hotel are incredibly accomodating, kind and take pride in their hotel. They were able to answer all our questions regarding tourist activities, beaches to visit and accomodated each of our requests.

3. Services : Included in the price we paid was the breakfast.
It was fantastic. Every morning we were served a traditional Italian breakfast with delicious homemade desserts, fresh toast and wonderful coffee. What made it even better was the view from the terrace! I cannot describe the views from Le Palme. The ocean blends into the sky and you can't tell the difference. All you see is endless ocean and the beautiful town of Amalfi.

4. Price: My friend and I were traveling on a budget so we definitely paid the most at Le Palme (approximately 40 euros each per night). Nevertheless, it was worth every penny especially since the breakfast was so elaborate.

It is important to note that Hotel Le Palme is located about 20 to 25 minutes from the town center. That is because the hotel is situated in the middle of the cliff. There are 2 mains ways of getting to the hotel. Either you can climb from the stairs that start at the port. There are close to 400 to 450 steps, all an uphill climb. Or, you can take the SITA buses that head in the direction of Pogerola and get off at Hotel Excelsior. From there, you must walk down exactly 300 steps (we counted!). While the steps are exhausting, you get to walk through the wonderful lemon groves that can be found along the Amalfi coast line. It smells great! Please do not be put off by the steps. Le Palme is great and if you would like some free exercise and incredible views the stairs are not that bad. It can be annoying at times to go up and down but just make sure you take everything with you when you leave in the morning to go to the beautiful beaches or sightseeing.

I hope this review helps. Le Palme was probably the best hotel my friend and I stayed at while traveling throughout Europe.

It is a privilege to be the pioneer reviewer of Le Palme Holiday House, considering we could not find a blessed review anywhere online for this place, but decided to take a chance and book it anyway. We were in no way disappointed.

I’ll try to make this comprehensive and as honest as possible for all you interested travelers disappointed with the lack of info on this former mystery hotel. Plus I have a lot of time on my hands…

Travel background – 21 yr old male college student from New Jersey, traveling with 3 other gentlemen of similar age all on a budget. We are all currently spending our spring semester abroad in Madrid. This marks my 1st time in Europe and 1st time in Italy as well. Why go to amalfi? Unparalleled views over the Mediterranean, the wine, the limoncello, a stronger sense of culture than Rome, Florence, Venice, etc. (Still very touristy during the summer), and of course, adventure.

General disclaimer: Firstly, you should probably be in good shape and posses a semi-adventurous spirit to stay at the Le Palme. It is an IDEAL place for young couples & honeymooners, and college students on a budget, especially those that are considering the 2 hostels in Atrani (town adjacent to Amalfi) but wanted somewhere more livable with an incredible view and an interesting/cultural experience at the expense of a strenuous 15 minute walk down to Amalfi. Also, as the owner will tell you (as he told us after we got a minor scolding for waking up the only other couple in the hotel) his place is hotel, NOT a hostel. So I would def. NOT recommend this to larger groups of travelers looking for that binge-drink-in the room hostel experience.

Location: The hotel is located up on a cliff overlooking Amalfi. The best way to get there is to take a cab to the Excelsior hotel or take the SITA bus and get off there. We got ripped off by our elvis-haired taxi driver, we were later told that cab from Amalfi to the hotel should cost no more than 10 euros, haggling is a must with these drivers. NOTE:: When booking this hotel you should definitely notify them the approximate time that you will be arriving, so the owner can meet you and escort you to the hostel like we did, otherwise you WILL have a difficult time finding this hotel. There are no signs marking the 10 minute downhill descent to the place; however the walk is beautiful and you do actually walk underneath several “lemon groves” as advertised on the website, which we thoroughly enjoyed. On a downside, we carried our luggage (11 days worth) down the stairs to the hotel which was thoroughly exhausted, even for 4 twenty something college guys… The hotel website says they do arrange for porters to help carry you luggage, so it may be a good idea to email the hotel and ask ahead of time.

Walking Distance to Amalfi – A strenuous 15 minute walk from the hotel to Amalfi, very scenic though.

Hotel “transfers” – Well..this hotel does provide a bussing service from the hotel to Amalfi and vice versa, however this entails the owner (Salvatore, great guy) piling us tightly in his car on his way to his restaurant in Atrani. He never charged us. He also gave us his telephone number to call him if we needed a ride at any time, so I guess that is always an option, albeit a less reliable and more expensive one for those with international cell phones.

The Hotel: Tiny: 8 Rooms and the owner resides there with his family, all very nice people who speak only Italian for the most part. (The owner, Salvatore, speaks enough English to answer your rudimentary questions and is a very nice and accommodating person from our experience) Salvatore has a very cute grandkid (about a year old or less) that would play around us while we were eating breakfast or lounging on the roof of the hotel, cool cultural experience. There are about 4 or 5 comfortable lounge chairs on the turf roof of the hotel with incredible views; we hung out there for 2 or 3 long & relaxing hours and later ambled down to the town of Amalfi for lunch.

Accommodations: When we first arrived as 4 guys in 2 private ensuite rooms, the owner had record of only one reservation. Despite this mix-up, he was able to accommodate us very well by adding an extra bed in a suite and lowering the price. We stayed there for one night quite comfortably. The décor of the room was simple: white walls adorned with a few choice watercolors. Fairly spacious bathroom with all the works, although no shower curtain… NOTE: The white canopy that hung over the queen size bed screamed that we were staying in a budget honeymooners suite, but we actually find it quite comical being 4 frat guys… Had a fully-equipped mini-bar. Also, we loved the shared balcony just outside the door to our room. The view, although slightly obstructed by trees, is incredibly serene.

Price: 42 Euro per person per night for a private ensuite. Steeper than the Atrani hostels (around 20 Euro per person/night I believe…) but we felt that the views were 100% worth this price difference. Besides, try finding an actual hotel in Amalfi for cheaper…

Breakfast: Included. Very good assortment of breakfast foods. Quisont, small piece of apple cake, coffee, and biscotti.

Noise/Nightlife - Just like the quaint town of Amalfi, Le Palme grows eerily quiet after 10 PM; however, that did not stop my friends and I from sitting on our deck sipping Italian whine and listening to Clapton and starring out over the dark & tranquil Mediterranean, simply one of the best nights I’ve had in Italy.

Things to do - Walk around Amalfi and Atrani, EAT, rent scooters (a little risky and pricey if you ask me…), boat ride, day trips to: Ravello (offering a fantastic view looking down at Amalfi), Pompei, Positano, Sorrento, etc. etc. and simply sitting on the roof of Le Palme with a bottle of Chianti and some good company. Warning:: The location of the hotel is not the best for making such day trips…I would suggest staying in Sorrento as a home base for making the longer day trips as we did. Additinally, we only spent ONE NIGHT in this hotel, I would think the walk to and from Amalfi would be physically taxing after several days of staying there…so either limit your stay to only a few nights or hit the stairmaster before booking…

Summary: For us, this place was a gem. Reasonably priced given the: excellent accommodations, scenic yet long and strenuous walking distance from Amalfi, spectacular views, good-kind service, excellent breakfast, and altogether rewarding natural/cultural experience. Stay at Le Palme.

PS I believed we booked this hotel on hostelbookers.com, ironic ally.