where to stay in Naples

My son and I took a European trip last summer that ended in Naples, Italy. We stayed at the HOTEL POTENZA, NAPOLI. It's a decent, basic hotel that is a stone's throw away from the train station. Don't be discouraged from seeing Naples (many people tried to discourage me). We stayed in Naples and used it as a base to visit and hike Mount Vesuvius. It's a gritty city that has it's sites but definately wasn't the hell hole some warned me that it was (still to be safe, we left our videocamera and picture camera back at the room so as not to stand out as tourists too much). Happy travels!

Have you considered Sorrento?

(Betty, this is a recurring argument on this board.) I'm not a fan of Naples. I would not call it a hellhole. More of a dump. It looks as if there's a garbage strike even when there isn't one. (We stayed there three nights several years ago, and instantly regretted it once we daytripped to nearby Sorrento.) If I were told "You can go to Italy but you have to stay in Naples," I would do it. Naples would be better than not being in Italy. But that's not the choice of most travelers. You get to choose where to stay. If the question is "Should I stay in Naples or Sorrento?" I would recommend Sorrento.

Betty, Unfortunately, the only option I can suggest is "safe", but I'm not sure it would be classed as "not too expensive". Could you provide some indication on what price range you're considering?

Naples is the one place I agonized over when picking a hotel room. I will have to stay there after a week in Positano to catch an early 6 am flight home. I researched the internet for days and read tons of posts and blogs to find what travelers deemed a safe area in Naples. From what I found, the cheapest rooms were near the train station, but that was the worst area of course. I finally booked a room near the port where the ferry arrives called the Rex Hotel that was fairly reasonable, had good reviews, and seemed like a safe area to walk around on my last night in Italy. It would have been a lot more convenient to stay near the train station or airport, but I would hate to end a great trip with a bad experience. Good luck with your planning!

Betty, I've stayed in several different areas in Naples, and I find the area around the train station as safe as anywhere else. Find photos of potential hotels on the internet, use google street maps to check out the area. I love Naples and can't pass it up when I go to Italy (I can't pass up a lot of places I revisit, but that's another problem). Last summer the trash was a huge problem. It's linked to organized crime and payoffs. If you want an area away from the station, Vomero is good but I'm not sure about prices (haven't stayed there in years).

I have stayed in Naples five times over the past five years (most recently a couple of weeks ago) and the hotels have good security and I have always felt safe. There are many decent hotels very close to the train station for prices much lower than you will pay anywhere else in Italy.

I have to agree that the train station area is perfectly fine--and very quiet interestingly enough once you get off the main plaza. The Mercure Hotel I stayed at is a chain in Europe, and was actually perfectly nice. It was very affordable. Leave your American expectations at home when you come to Naples and you'll be fine. Personally, Naples is my favorite city in Italy, but I like gritty, tough cities.