La Gavitella - Restaurant & Beach — Restaurant in Praiano

Out first family vacation in the beautiful Amalfi Coast! We had the pleasure of staying at Le Fioriere Hotel in Priano (July 5-9, 2024), a true gem in the mountains! We stumbled upon La Gavitella Beach Club during our adventures hike to the beach on our first day (fun fact: 324 steps each way!). Regrettably, the club was fully booked due to a private party but we were able to reserve 3 chairs and 1 umbrella via their booking portal for July 7 (€50 per person (for entire day 9:30am to 6:30pm) with €15 credit per person which we applied towards our lunch at the restaurant; a great insensitive!).

We had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Salvatore at the club restaurant on our first day, who gave us his business card and asked us to e-mail him about availability at their club. The staff from the club was very prompt with a professional response! We also had the pleasure of meeting two lifeguards from the club, Vito and Ruben, who were very kind, helpful and accommodating especially attending to our son's minor foot injury! During our stay at the club, Vito and Ruben always asked us if we needed anything and how our stay was! Vito and Ruben - thank you for your kindness and help and making our stay enjoyable and relaxing!

We had lunch at the club restaurant and the food was very fresh, delicious and the staff very friendly and professional! To our waiter, Bartolo, thank you for your kindness and professionalism, and to the chef - thank you for a delicious meal and making our lunch experience a memorable one!

We absolutely loved and enjoyed our stay at the club and the views from our front row seats we had were spectacular!

The beach club is very well organized and operated by kind, caring and professional staff! We would definitely comeback to La Gavitella Beach Club on our next Amalfi Coast adventures!

With Kindest Regards, D, V and S...

The view at La Gavitella is undeniably stunning, and the restaurant staff were attentive and kind. Unfortunately, my experience with the beach club portion was disappointing, especially given the €300 Deluxe Beach Experience I had booked.

The package I purchased included a king-size bed (as shown on their website), a bottle of Prosecco, two bottles of water, a complimentary drink, and a platter of fruit. Upon arrival, we were initially given a different king bed from the one pictured online. While my husband requested the bed shown on the website and they accommodated us, it struck me as odd that this wasn’t provided from the start. If they cannot guarantee the bed shown in promotional images, this should be clearly stated to avoid confusion and disappointment.

Although the complimentary drinks were delicious, I found it extremely frustrating that I had to repeatedly ask for the items included in my package — the Prosecco, the fruit platter, the water. Nothing was proactively brought to us; had I not asked, I doubt we would have received these at all. For the price, I would expect attentive service, not to feel as though I’m chasing down items I’ve already paid for.

Additionally, the seating area could have been better maintained. The chairs had not been wiped down from previous use, and the pillows were stained. These details matter, especially when charging premium prices.

Two years ago, I visited Arienzo Beach Club and found it far more accommodating and aligned with the cost. Many beach clubs along the Amalfi Coast are expensive, but the experience should feel seamless, not self-managed.

While the restaurant experience was pleasant, the beach club service fell far short of expectations. Unfortunately, I will not be returning to La Gavitella...

We were searching for a cooking class on our trip to Positano which wasn't ridiculously overpriced but also featured a fun experience.

Luckily, La Gavitella hit both of these requirements perfectly, and even featured a small boat transfer from the Positano pier, which is just a 15 minute ride to the the venue.

Once at La Gavitella, we were given a breakfast of fresh croissants and coffee, with stunning views over the sea. From there we met our cooking classmates, met the chef (who was traditionally Italian in every way imaginable) and donned our aprons and hats.

We were then taught how to make the pasta dough, with the correct kneading technique, how to whisk properly and roll correctly. This was coupled with bottomless prosecco which allowed even myself - the worst possible student of Thomas (our awesome instructor and Chef) - to relax and enjoy more of a play-dough formed pasta base than what it should actually be. We then were taught how to make Limoncello Tiramisu, coupled again with Limoncello shots.

While this was all happening, Vanessa (the lovely lady in charge of the class and booking) captured multiple images and stills amongst the chaos we were creating. Afterwards, we sat down to more Prosecco while the chefs made the sauce, and then we ate both pasta dishes and the tiramisu, which were stunning and genuinely lovely. Shortly after a few more glasses, it was time to go, and for an extra charge you were able to stay at their own personal beach club which was pretty popular and allowed diving off cliff edges.

This was an awesome experience and I'd happily recommend it 100% to anyone sitting on the fence...