Magia Rituals, Luxury Wellness Retreat in Positano

The physical layout of the premises was lovely. Our room was equally as nice. The views were breathtaking. The pool area was private, with magnificent sea views and while small- perhaps seats for 8 couples or three families, the privacy and elevation above the fray of Positano were pluses. All the hotel staff behind desk, porters and restaurant staff were very kind and eager to help.. For example, because the Hotel is way off the main road, you have to have a porter hoist your luggage down four flights of steep stairs, and they were always gracious and uncomplaining. If I had a problem with the service in our room, and there were many, the desk staff were pleasant and appeared ready to resolve, despite that subsequently little to nothing was fixed. Unfortunately the hotel is very high above the town itself. We walked down the stairs and up the single busy road several times each day. Going up the stairs was more efficient time wise but beyond our comfort level, and we spent the week before Italy hiking the Alps. It was perhaps 2 miles at a steep incline going up the winding road amongst speeding cars and motorbikes or 20 minutes going down the thin, dark and precarious steps that are the hallmark of this town. Fair warning: it is very risky to walk this vertical town under the influence. Prepare for a stay at this villa by doing 30” stair climbing for a month to meet the aerobic challenge or find something lower down the mountain. There is a car to town from villa but infrequent and inconveniently timed. The maid service was inadequate for 5 star venue. Despite the hotel pleasantly acquiescing to address the failure of adequate room maintenance with the staff, 5 star levels of proper room care were absent. No turndown service, no new washcloths, no regular replacement of shampoo or body gels or ready replacement of dirty towels. The gel appeared to be watered down. The mechanicals of the room did not function. The Bidet was a puzzle: Sometimes it worked but sometimes it just poked you in the rear, and then retracted. We told the desk and they responded by unplugging it to wait for a part. There were two days where the nights were cold, as October can be, and the heat in our room was broken. The air conditioning would not shut off either, so we were shivering cold. The hotel responded to this problem by unplugging the entire HVAC unit. The was a second warm comforter we used to stay warm but strangely on the last day of our stay, the maid removed the second blanket from the room entirely.

The reviews set our expectations high and they were absolutely met and exceeded. We stayed in the 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite with a patio that I think has the best views in Positano. We set up a few things ahead of time through the concierge who was very responsive. Airport pick up, boat day and day trip to Ravello. We were greeted with warm hospitality on arrival. Beautiful, comfortable room. We had an amazing dinner at the restaurant on our first night. My girls ranked the steak as one of the best they’ve had. The service of breakfast on our gorgeous patio was well done, timed perfectly every morning. You don’t think you need the special phone they give you (I called it the bat phone) but it becomes indispensable and you are able to have lots of contact with the hotel to send a taxi, to move a reservation, to send towels, whatever. The hotel was very responsive and just couldn’t do enough for us. Gianni caught us leaving without waters one day and ran to get them so we would have them for the road. Just attentive, warm, boutique service. My daughter left her id at a restaurant, they got it back and mailed it to us. Really excellent stay overall. I would not hesitate to recommend wholeheartedly. Only two things to note which were not the fault of the hotel but just as a heads up- in addition to knowing about stairs everywhere, in the 2 bedroom suite, one of the bathrooms does not have a fixed shower head. Many people don’t care, my girls chose to shower in my bathroom bc of it. Also, we don’t recommend doing a driving trip to the Amalfi towns- there was so much traffic, you spend too much of the time in the car. Do a boat trip though! One of the best days of our whole trip. Spectacular way to see the coast!

We stayed in the Executive Suite for 3 nights. This was by far the best place we stayed during our 10 night trip in Italy. The suite is 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and has 2 living rooms. The best part is the giant balcony with tons of seating and the best view in all of Positano. The staff was great as well. We used their limo and boat rental company which were both great as well. We could not have asked for anything more. I would highly recommend Villa Magia

Honestly I am not going to tell you anything different from the other reviewers. We are not billionaire world travelers but we have been to a number of upmarket properties (Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, similar level all inclusive properties, etc.) that provides perspective on what is or isn't (or should be) included in a high end property. Villa Magia is a wonderful place. You can say that for the prices they should be. But if you have been on this earth long enough to afford luxury goods and services you know that reality does not always meet expectation. At Villa Magia it does. We had a junior suite with a large patio and a direct and stunning ocean view. It had a bedroom (with separate steam shower) on one side, a living room in the middle and a bathroom with shower on the other side. The bathroom had a fancy toilet/bidet mix and will spoil you. Once you have your buns warmed you will never want to go back to a standard toilet. The room was lovely and in excellent repair. Note: The bed is firm. Comfort is personal but we like a softer bed. BUT see below. There is not much of an exercise room but you will walk, and walk and walk. Probably a warning to those who have some physical limitations that there are a LOT of steps in V.M. and Positano. V.M. does have some elevators but you need to let them know ahead of time so your room is accessible from one of them. From our room it was 3+ flights (4+ stories in US at least) to get to the restaurant and another 4+ flights (5+ stories) to get to the road that leads to the beach/shopping area. You need to be careful as the stairs (outside the property) are largely old stones and may be bumpy or slippery in the wet. And, outside the property railings are limited or not at all. I suspect that if you are disabled or impaired physically the Amalfi coast is going to be a challenging trip. I am guessing that V.M. is similar in this respect to other water front properties in Positano but I really did not look into it. We were happy but just be aware of the steep and abundant steps in Positano and plan accordingly. Tip: If you go to the beach/shopping area do not use the stairs across from the hotel, simply take the winding road (Via Pasitea) down. It does not take any longer and your knees, calves and thighs will thank you. The onsite restaurant is very good. There are a lot of interesting and excellent restaurants so I would say you should eat here at least once but try others as well if you are there for a few more days. We had several meals on site and found them to be enjoyable. Breakfast. Our room had a larger balcony than some of the others. You really need to take advantage of the wonderful breakfast on the balcony. The view is gorgeous and the food is very good. They offer an excellent assortment of proteins, pastries, fresh squeezed OJ, fruit, coffee, espresso, etc. And their pastries (croissants with different fillings) are freshly made and to die for. This is Four Seasons quality (at least $100-125.00 US value for two) included in our room price. Now to the wonderful, wonderful team at Villa Magia. Some talk a commitment to service. They deliver. As noted in other reviews they give you a Samsung Galaxy when you arrive. Anything you need you simply WhatsApp them and your request will be attended to graciously and promptly. Each and every contact with any of their team was met with genuine warmth and and a sincere desire to help. For example: Remember the firm bed I referred to? In other hotels I would simply chalk it up to I was stuck with it. But seeing the overall way they anticipated many needs I mentioned it to them on a whim. Answer: When can we come to your room to add a mattress topper? It made a notable difference in comfort to us. Ask. They will do our best. On our first day after 4 hrs in the car from Rome, we did not investigate how far the beach shopping area was. We used the stairs all the way down and got turned around. Note: Use the shuttle provided by the hotel if you are local and tired. They have regular trips. Just WhatsApp them. After a long walk and shop (and a long walk back), we walked up to the front desk/ restaurant area clearly exhausted. We plopped down. The older gentleman at the restaurant (I am bad with names) saw two pooped people and immediately popped over with cool water. We were not nearby and not really seeking or expecting any help. He is just a very kind person and saw a few people who maybe needed some help. This is just one example of a team of people who really make a sincere effort to make you feel welcome and cared for. And this is consistent with every contact and every employee we met at Villa Magia. Should we visit the Amalfi cost in the future we would not hesitate to come back to Villa Magia and we heartily recommend them to you.