With so many luxury hotels in the world in spectacular settings, the affluent traveler has many choices. With that in mind, I do not think Il San Pietro in Positano is one of those that invites a revisit - maybe not even a visit for the first time. As others on the website have noted, Il San Pietro is no longer a small hotel of unique charm able to deliver discrete and personalized service at the highest level to the most exacting of international client. Instead, Il San Pietro is now a very beautiful but completely sterile “cookie cutter high end” hotel unable to deliver anything other than homogenized Relais & Chateaux service. Yes, it still occupies a privileged perch with its own “private beach” accessible by an elevator through the rocks. And yes, it is possible to reserve a large exquisitely furnished suite with enormous private “no one can see you” terrace – as we did – for $3500 a night (before tax) with sweeping and spectacular views of the Mediterranean. But if you do, be sure to pack your own soap and shampoo: The liquid hand and shower soap supplied by the hotel in a large plastic bottle is of inferior quality. Think Costco. In our case, the plastic containers did not even have workable pumpsIn the end, we used our own soap and shampoo from home. In a way, the worst part of our stay was our arrival. It took us two and one half hours on a low guard rail road through the mountains and then in bumper to bumper traffic, past hordes of Amalfi coast tourists, until we reached the hotel’s front door. When we sis finally arrive, there was no one to greet us. Instead, we proceeded on our own down an unmarked elevator to the hotel’s front desk, where we gave our name at the desk and a woman officiously asked for our American Express card. Not even a smile or question about our exhausting drive. After we handed over our card, she asked if this was our first time at the hotel. When I mentioned that we had actually spent our honeymoon at the hotel many years before – as I had written the hotel in details at the time I made our reservation - the woman’s completely bizarre reply was: “I checked your record. You did not write us.” A chilly reception for sure. Not what one expects in Southern Italy! The second worst part of our stay was the food. See separate review of the hotel’s Michelin starred restaurant, which should be avoided. The third was the absurdity of our departure. The bill -exorbitant though it was – was completely correct. However the problem was again the clumsy send-off. After we paid our bill, we were presented with great ceremony with a large box of beautifully perfumed Italian soap for which we had no room in our luggage. It certainly would have been a lot more appreciated to havebeen given the soap when we checked in! This being said, Il San Pietro is a beautiful hotel. The gardens that descend down thto the sea and our room itself was nothing short of spectcular. We just won't be going back!
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