Should you rent a villa or book a hotel?

Your decision will depend very much on your personal preferences and there are many aspects to be considered.  But it may be helpful for you to learn why we finally prefered to stay in the Villa la Madonnina. For several years we spent our vacation in one of the best  hotels on the Amalfi coast, the hotel Santa Catarina in Amalfi. Its a wonderful hotel in a perfect position with excellent service. In our view its difficult to find a better one worldwide. But then we started to stay in the Villa la Madonnina. First we rented it, now of course its our vacation home. 
Here are the main reasons why we now prefer the villa.
Enough space: Space is luxury, especially on the Amalfi coast. We like the large terraces in the villa, the two living rooms, the unique rock corridor. We like the different places to have a chat, have a drink, take a sunbath or sit in the shadow. Both the rooms - or even a suite in a hotel-  and the private space outside are small in a hotel compared to the space we have in the villa.
Undisturbed: in the morning we can sleep as long we want without being disturbed. Often people have different sleeping habits, in the villa this is no problem.
Privacy: In the villa the privacy is not limited to the sleeping room or the suite. You have the dining, the living area and the large terraces for yourself. Due to the rugged coastline of the Amalfi coast and the limited space available even luxury hotels look crowded.
Informality: You need not to be perfectly styled before you enter life in the morning and have breakfast. You can move around like you want.
Flexibility: In a villa you can do both going out for a meal or stay at home. We like to go out for dinner to different places and we do it very often. But sometimes we prefer to stay at home and cook or have at lunch only a picnic down at the sea or on the terrace. We found that in a hotel you are less motivated to explore the wonderful world outside the hotel. Many stay in the hotel for lunch and even take their dinner there.
Service:  We are not very keen to do work in the household when we are in vacation. Therefore we have a housekeeper coming 5 days a week for 4 hours.  Items from the grocery store can be ordered by phone and will be delivered to the villa without additional charge. Other services like cooking... are also available. See in the services section.
Children: Children very much like the space and the informality of the villa, moving around and explore the pool and coast. Often they perceive hotels like a "golden" prison.
Furniture: For many years I was a frequent business traveler staying in excellent hotels all over the world. Over time I started to dislike the perfect but impersonal way the hotel rooms are furnished by designers. In the Villa la Madonnina we feel like at home: very  individual and in a different way stylish. You feel and see that the furniture, the paintings, the sculptures and accessories are not bought at one shot but collected over many years with care and love to improve the family home.
Price: Its very much depending on the number of persons and the quality of the hotel you compare the villa with but often you will find that the total price is lower for the villa if you add up the costs for the hotel room and the add on you pay for telephone, Internet, having lunch, dinner, services... The cost for usage of the telephone in the villa is the same as we pay to the Telecom Italia without any add on. I dont know how you feel, but I am not exited to find that the telephone cost luxury hotels charge to me are a multiple of the cost they pay to their provider.
Also you should take into account that the combination of features of Villa la Madonnina  (access from the road, a few steps from the parking to the villa, access to the ocean, sweet water pool and a lot of space and a inside like a luxury family home) is very unique at the Amalfi coast.
Bad or cold weather:  We found that staying in a hotel with bad weather is really annoying. The hotel suite gets fast too narrow and we never liked to sit in the hotel lounge for longer than an hour.
The Villa  la Madonnina is built as a whole year family home which is comfortable and enjoyable both in sunshine as well as with bad or cold weather. You can still sit outside in the loggia, dry and well protected to enjoy fresh air and watch the waves. You can read a book or newspaper and listen to music in the very cozy drawing room. You can play cards... using the game table or you can prepare an excellent meal in the large kitchen.. and enjoy your life.
 
Reading these arguments you will understand why we prefer the villa.
Julia and Frank

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