Residenza Gennaro

We booked through Booking.com, and it seems they cherry-pick which reviews they publish. We couldn't stay because there were too many stairs. My husband had surgery after we booked, but Leonardo wouldn't compromise at all. The accommodation is high up on the mountain, so it's impractical if you want to be in the city every day.

This hotel was a huge letdown. They never told us there were 150 exhausting steps to get there, the coffee machine was filthy and clearly hadn't been cleaned in ages, and the old infrastructure made everything feel run-down and uncomfortable. The noise at night made it impossible to sleep. Never, never.

The sea view is great, but getting here with bags was exhausting even though my wife and I are fit and pack light. There are more than 100 steep steps from the nearest road, and over 300 from the Amalfi bus and ferry dock, which took us about 30 minutes, not the 16 minutes shown on the site. We only learned about the steps 48 hours before arrival, after the refund period had passed. There’s no way in from above or below without using the steep stairs, and loose, aggressive dogs were also a problem. See the photos. The air conditioning and WiFi were weak, part of the shower door was missing, the walls were thin, and there were no laundry facilities despite the listing saying there were. It also claimed there were “10 steps to the entry.” Hotels.com didn’t help with the misleading listing. We left two days early and got no refund or assistance. Check the Google reviews. Update: We did not walk from Amalfi center with large suitcases. We took a taxi to the road above the unit, where the bus also stops, then went down the many steps with two backpacks and a medium rolling suitcase. We never met the owner, so I don’t know why he made those claims. Instead of being clear in the listing, he blamed guests and misrepresented the situation. I’ve included a screenshot from Hotels.com saying there are 10 steps. It has since been changed to “10 stairs,” so they’ve now acknowledged the mistake.

The bus stop made the walk much easier. It’s a 2-3 minute walk from the property, and the bus costs €1.50 per person. If you’re driving, there’s free parking nearby, reachable by bus too. The walk up from the main road can be tough, though Amalfi has plenty of steps in general. We loved the breathtaking view, and our hosts were warm and full of useful local knowledge. It was a wonderful stay, and we’d happily recommend the place.