3 Best Hotels in Naples, Italy

Enjoying perhaps the most enchanting setting in all of Naples, this modestly priced hotel tops many a traveler's dream list of places to stay. In one of the buildings of the toy-size Borgo Marinaro harbor, in the shadow of the Castel dell'Ovo medieval fortress, Il Transatlantico has guest rooms fitted out in faux-yacht style, featuring a blue-and-white color scheme and swab-the-decks wooden trim. The vistas—over the harbor and the Lungomare and toward Vesuvius at the end of the bay—are better even than those from far more expensive luxury hotels just across the pier on the mainland.

Patrizia and Paolo run this homey upscale B&B in a handsome stile-Liberty (Italian Art Nouveau) palazzo on the well-to-do Vomero hill. Breakfast of home baking and relaxation revolves around the kitchen and adjoining cozy lounge; most guest rooms have tasteful decor although some corners look dated and have odd layouts; overall a lovely, homey reliable spot, with a chic suite with a Jacuzzi.

It's not every day you can be a "guest" of a famed 17th-century church, but this distinctive B&B was once part of the giant complex of Santa Maria della Sanità, the main landmark of the Sanità quarter. Before visions of gilded frescoes fill your head, keep in mind that this church was erected by the Franciscans: the hotel's decor would please the spartan taste of their patron saint, though modern majolica flooring and art photographs of local street life inject an upbeat flavor. Guest rooms, however, are minimal modern. La Sanità is a lively, sometimes rough neighborhood, busy with scooters and other traffic, but double-glazed windows cut down on the noise. The owner, Sergio, also offers a comfortable apartment sleeping up to six in the same building, runs an excellent trattoria nearby, La Locanda del Monacone, and  is also responsible for selling tickets to the catacombs of San Gaudioso, situated next door, and those of San Gennaro.