Hotel La Rosa Dei Venti ★

A budget hotel in the Amalfi Coast town of Positano

Positano is too famous for its own good, having long ago abandoned the fishing village ambience for a role as a chic resort town for the international jet set, full of bronzed bodies, five-star hotels, and overpriced seafood restaurants on the beach.

Few people realize that the old Positano still exists, just around the headland.

A narrow path carved into the cliff above the waves leads after a five-minute stroll to the secluded beach at Fornillo, a quiet neighborhood stacked up a steep cleft valley.

Halfway up its sole, stair-stepped street lies La Rosa dei Venti, a six-room B&B that, rather than closing in winter like many area inns, just drops its prices by €20 October to March.

All six rooms have that indispensable Amalfi Coast amenity: small terraces with fantastic views—in this case over Fornillo beach to a medieval tower built as a lookout against Saracen pirates.

"Tramontana" is the most elegant room—gold brocade bedspread, antique writing desk, a (nonworking) brick fireplace, patterned floor tiles, pull-out sofa—but most other rooms share at least some of those elements (though not Tramontana's magnificent floor-to-ceiling drapes).

The two rooms with kitchenettes—including "Sirocco," which sleeps four—cost just €20 more than a regular double.

How to get there: Get off the Amalfi Coast SITA bus at the first stop in Positano ("Chiesa Nuova"), then hop the Positano minibus and ask to get off per Fornillo.

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