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 sun bath 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
OUR POINT OF VIEW: is it better to stay in a villa or a hotel for vacation?
