This is a long overdue review. HVF is the place to stay in Positano. Nestled atop the main part of town, you’ll be stunned by the views. Hands down, this is the best hotel staff we have ever encountered. Nadia is the greatest concierge we have ever met and should win every hospitality award. She’s incredible, anticipates needs with a warm and generous touch. She takes an exceptional amount of pride in her work. I missed the hotel upon arrival and drove too far on Positano’s one-way street, and she had porters chase me down and recover the car and bags to spare me a 15 minute loop. She can arrange cab service to dinner and bill through hotel, and when the drivers were running late she’d proactively contact the driver and restaurant to ensure all are aware of our arrival time. We had not a care in the world throughout our trip. Halfway through our trip, after a long, boozy dinner I tried to have a conversation with her to strategize our departure time and car pickup. She insisted I arrive for breakfast later than I thought would be appropriate to give them notice to bring the car around. I said no, I’m going to show up early as a courtesy to you to give you notice. Well, a couple days passed by and I forgot we even had that conversation and I strolled in later than planned on our final morning. Nadia remembered our conversation and had the car standing by on that narrow street, water bottles in the cup holders, and breakfast staff ready to serve us fast and get us out on time. She had the bags picked up from our room and loaded into the car before I could manage to inhale breakfast as fast as possible to make our flight on time. And “of course,” a nice little farewell gift to remember our stay. Would be nice to have her in our daily life back home! The rooftop pool has once in a lifetime views with a top class staff and fun, social, sophisticated scene for all (adult) ages. These are the pool photos that will make your friends hate you with envy. The base level rooms are tight as one would expect but every balcony view is stunning. We preferred a city view with partial ocean to a sea view. We had the option of the included breakfast as room service on the balcony, a must. The breakfast spread is among the mount bountiful and delicious you could ever have. Every little detail here is class - the house water comes in branded HVF wine bottles. The hotel smells amazing. The toiletries and bathroom is stunning. We stayed with Hyatt points as Explorist members through the SLH partnership. We are happy with the status recognition and perks (hit and miss with other SLH) and would not hesitate to do it again or pay the full cash rate. One of our best hotel experiences ever.…
We were so looking forward to our stay at Villa Franca ... for months ... and we couldn't have been more disappointed. If we could turn back time and select a different hotel, we absolutely would. The 1-star can go towards the views from the very tiny pool/restaurant area on the roof. I truly would not recommend this hotel to anyone. The rooms are incredibly small. You can't help but feel cheated given the extremely high price (which we were happy to pay if there had been reasonable space in the room). The staff will tell you this is just how hotels are in Positano because space is so limited but that is not true — we had a lovely, spacious room at Le Sirenuse (for slightly less!) which is far better hotel in every single respect when compared to Villa Franca. The staff are not hospitable whatsoever — especially the front desk team. They come across as arrogant and entitled. It felt like we were 'bothering' them just by being there. We did our best not to have to interact with the staff, which is a terrible feeling as a guest at a 5-star hotel. We were actually excited on check-out day to move on to our next destination. Breakfast service and selection leaves a lot to be desired. The staff was clearly not very well trained—requests simply forgotten, no water served when asked, just the basics seemed to escape the team working in the mornings. The menu was also very limited, aside from a plate of pastries provided each day that we didn't want/ask for and a majority of guests left untouched (which is very wasteful). The decor is that of a modern art museum. It makes for beautiful pictures on their website and social media but that's it. But hey, if you're looking for a hotel with cool sculptures and art in the lobby and uncomfortable and impractical lobby furniture — by all means, book Villa Franca. Overall this hotel is just very uncomfortable, unfriendly, and it's a real shame because it's beautifully situated atop Positano. …
We stayed for 3 nights. The staff was very accommodating and efficient. Rooms and bathrooms are tight. The common areas are really magnificent with contemporary furniture and art. The views are to die for. We had dinner 2 nights on the rooftop. Menu was limited but again the views made it a worthwhile and convenient experience. Pool area is very nice in the evening with a DJ and good vibe. The VF sits on a higher point in Positano. Lots of stairs to get from the beach / shopping areas to the hotel which can be exhausting especially in the heat. But this is beautiful Positano, built into the cliff.!
Villa franca was the last stop on our honeymoon trip to Italy (Lake Como and Tuscany prior) and we were super excited, as this one was the most expensive by a considerable amount, so we were expecting something really great. For context the other two hotels we had stayed at before were also 5 star. Unfortunately, HVF proved to be incredibly overpriced for what it was, and genuinely the only thing 5 star about it is the view. The room was nice and sea view was lovely, however the room service was pretty terrible. The turn down service the first night wasn’t until 10pm - quite late after a long travel day - and for about 3 days they failed to clean up an unfinished champagne glass which started to collect fruit flies. We eventually had to call to have this collected. Our coffee was not refilled, toiletries were not restocked or tidied up. Clothes and items were just left all over the place instead of tidied (like we experienced in other hotels). The breakfast service and food was also below average. Only some basic items are included and anything slightly nicer comes with a nice price tag. Our second breakfast we weren’t even served water or any of the pastries which most other tables all had as soon as they were sat. Another annoying thing is that the pool and gym only open at 10am (which is basically when breakfast ends). Again for a 5 star hotel at this price, the expectation would be for the gym to be either open 24/7 or from very early on for people like us who prefer to exercise first thing in the morning. As far as the rooftop area- it is a sensational view. However there is not much of vibe. They had a dj in the evening but it was just empty and not really providing any authentic ambience. We went up there for the morning on Saturday and again it was totally vibe-less; thankfully we had booked at Arienzo beach club which was good fun. We also had dinner at Li Gali which was quite good and the service there was fantastic. The final point I’d say is that when we checked out, we were not even asked by the reception how our stay was or anything, which is customer service 101. We would have actually provided some of this feedback face to face if given the opportunity. And - in all my experience in hotels, I’ve never encountered this at a hotel check out - they asked for a further tip in addition to the already extortionate rates. I would personally not recommend staying here and you could find a much more authentic and genuinely customer-centric luxury hotel.…
Breathtaking view. Excellent service, exquisite high-level cuisine, elegant atmosphere, impeccable sommelier. Just one thing: the Dj offers a great selection of music, but way too hype for the the sense of exclusiveness that belongs to this place. (In other words: if no one is dancing -at all-, the music should be more refined and match the dinner mood).
I don’t understand that this hotel has 5 stars. When you compare it to the previous hotel we were in Positano, the hotel Il San Pietro, it is night and day. The swimming pool is a bathtub. The service is bellow average. The room are small. The only good thing about this hotel is it’s star Michelin restaurant.
Wow! All I can say is Wow! Villa Franca is not cheap, but it really delivers. The location and views are the best and most dramatic in Positano, being at the highest point on the edge of the west ridge. It's an art hotel with remarkable art pieces throughout from the sculptures to even the furniture. As for the rooftop pool and Sky Terrace bar/restaurant - well, I simply didn't want to leave it because of those views. However, there's more to the experience than just the hotel - it was the staff. Here's some of the outstanding service experiences: 1) On one occasion I requested a specific seat when making a booking at the Sky Terrace and this was managed well. 2) Overall, staff were friendly, chatty and made good suggestions when I asked for recommendations. 3) I checked in early at around 11.00 am. I was taken to a comfortable chair so that I didn't have to stand at the front desk while signing in. Additionally, I didn't have to wait until 3.00 pm as my room was ready within an hour. This was outstanding. 4) Finally, when I checked out their shuttle took me to the village so that I could catch a ferry. The driver took me much further than the official drop off point so that I wouldn't have to walk as far with my luggage. If you want to spoil yourself, stay at Villa Franca. It really delivers to expectation.…
Worst customer service experience ever. They charged close to $10k for 3 nights. But could not accommodate my daughter in our room even after being promised via Booking.com. The room we were given after a very long wait was not the level we booked - no sea view, next to a noisy laundry room, and with a flaky A/C. The staff at the lobby were downright rude and used the term “impossible” at least a 100 times. There were specific exceptions - Roberto (Maitre’D at Li Galli), the sommelier lady, the staff at the rooftop restaurant, and a few others. On the last evening we requested the DJ at the cool rooftop pool to play some Latin music - he informed us that it was not allowed by the management - even though hip hop music with a ton of expletives was being played. Such a wonderful view but such lousy management and customer service. HVF management - take a page out of the book of “Belmond.” Treat your customer well and the my will return the favor a thousand fold, by coming back and recommending you. In your case, you have turned a beautiful property into a nightmare to stay at. I could not wait to leave.…
Gorgeous hotel in a great location for an amazing view. The hotel is located next to a few shops & restaurants (quick, steep walk to Da Vincenzo - make a dinner reservation, excellent food!) and the hotel has a very convenient shuttle service that runs back and forth to the town center & is a quick 5-10 minute drive. The furnishings and ambiance were superb. We had a “prestige” room and besides the amazing oceanfront view, the room decor was luxurious and very comfortable. The staff came each day to clean & did a turn down service each night. We had dinner at The Gold Champagne Bar & it was wonderful. Their daily breakfast was plentiful, the cappuccino was perfection and the waitstaff was attentive and friendly. Lunch by the pool was also very good. The concierge was very helpful and arranged our arrival & departure car service. All of the staff was so helpful & friendly. I would highly recommend!…
My husband and I stayed here the week of Fourth of July for our honeymoon (6 nights). From the very first moment we walked in and throughout our entire stay, everything was exceptional (service, food, cleanliness, concierge). We have never been to Positano and had not planned out much on our itinerary ahead of arriving. The concierge helped us make dinner reservations at top spots every night, book us a trip to Pompeii, arrange various boat tickets, and the shuttle even picked us up a few times off hours. Breakfast food and service was also incredible. We also had an incredible cooking class experience with the Michelin Star Chef here, Savio Perna. I highly recommend the HVF to anyone looking to have a fabulous time in Positano. We didn’t have a single thing to complain about the entire time we stayed and really enjoyed everything about this wonderful hotel. There are also a number of restaurants within walking distance and the stairs to get to the city are nearby along with their shuttle service in the morning and night.…
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