Sorrento

We stayed right off the town square. We like the activity there and it was a 10-15 minute walk to the train station.

Walkable from the train? Stay right in Sorrento then and not on the outskirts or in the hills, which can be inconvenient. If you can find Corso Italia on a map, it is a pedestrian zone heading west from the train station, and all of that area keeps you close to restaurants and transportation options.

Well, short-term rentals always harm the local housing market, but it's not like Sorrento is a historic town (I mean, like Venice) that will soon have no actual residents, because tourists can be charged so much more than monthly permanent residents. One reinforced-concrete apartment building is pretty much like the next.

As long as you don't stay up on the hillside, it's a very walkable town. But if the rental company/person refuses to disclose the actual location !!!, how can you choose? Are you aware that Sorrento has one, very small, public beach, which is directly between two huge marinas, so there is a diesel fuel odor? 2 Euro elevator ride, bus, or long walk down to the beach.

As a concrete example, we stayed at the Ambasciatori Grande hotel (5 nights), which you CAN find of Google Maps. We had a very nice, level 12-15 minute walk to downtown for dinner each night at the end of May. BTW, we really needed the hotel's fierce air conditioning, even in May. All five or six big luxury hotels on the cliff face have fixed (not floating) swimming boardwalks in the Gulf Of Naples, reached by the hotel's elevator. We mostly made daytrips using Sorrento's good location, very little interest in swimming.

In March and April, you may want to do a little more research to be sure of what percent of the restaurants and convenience stores are open, out of high season. We don't get enough posts here about ... off-season. It is also the case that Sorrento would be the least shut-down town in this area, off-season. I see Sorrento is 55-66 F in March.

I am a full time traveler, looking for more home like accommodations. Not interested in the beach. Want a base to day trip from. Like off season, few crowds & no cruise ships, even if it’s cooler.

Salerno might work for you depending on what day trips you are planning