The best hotels on the Amalfi Coast for a taste of la dolce vita

From this cliffside-carved eyrie 80 metres above the sea, the whole of picaresque, rollicking Amalfi and the glistening waters of the Gulf of Salerno are laid out in panorama. But up here on the terraces of the Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel, the shrieks of day-tripping cruise passengers, zipping back and forth in Tango-orange tenders, are pleasantly faint. All is peaceful under the long, lazy loggia laden with vibrant fuschia bougainvillaea – the Passeggiata dei Monaci – and in the neat orchards low-hanging with fat, bobbly Amalfi lemons. Tucked behind the historic 13th-century monastery-hermitage, like a secret, is part of the old Arab-Norman cloister, collonaded with interlaced arches, the sacristy and the sweet Chapel of San Francesco, a single-nave, rib-vaulted church with Baroque paintings and mouldings.

The 52 rooms and suites, scattered across multiple levels in a labyrinthine, anthill-like structure, come in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Many were first built as monks’ quarters, and original tiles, vaulted ceilings and lime-washed walls have been retained and elevated with rich soft furnishings, sculptural furniture and the high-tech comforts of an Anantara. Dining assiduously zones in on all things “Costiera”, from hyper-local suppliers of ingredients including wines. Dei Cappucinni chef Claudio Lanuto utilises seasonal ingredients grown in the “convent garden” for the a-la-carte dishes, sensory tasting menus, private dining (which can be arranged in the gardens), and cooking classes. Lydia Bell

Address: SS163, 8, 84011 Amalfi SA, Italy

Price: Rooms from around £485 per night.

In any other setting, it would be impossible to miss the lashings of marble, vaulted hallways and antique busts, yet all eyes point in one direction: to the horizon. Palazzo Avino, first built as a private home in the 12th century, has a fairy-tale vista across the Monte Avvocata valley and the yacht-speckled Bay of Salerno. Known as the “pink palace of Ravello”, it is run by sisters Mariella and Attilia Avino, who have infused the place with buckets of personality and style – right down to the hand-painted tableware designed by Mariella and the Mar-a-viglia white wine from their vineyard, La Cascinetta, served at the glam Lobster & Martini Bar. The decor is Poseidon’s palace by way of Moda Operandi, with pink shell tiles, glossy sea-foam-blue bathrooms and chic scalloped headboards. Palazzo Avino doesn’t do straight lines: doorways are arched, ceilings domed, mirrors wavy, all mimicking the raggedly vertiginous coastline. Baroque terraces bursting with bubblegum-pink dipladenias lead down to the pool, where candy-striped parasols shade Dolce sliders and homemade Sorrento lemonade arrives in colourful Marino glassware. The hotel’s beach club, 20 minutes away, is a sprawling cliffside hang-out, in 2023 taken over by Valentino, complete with red loungers and retro changing booths. The main restaurant, Michelin-starred Rossellini’s, is one of the most spectacular dining rooms on the Amalfi Coast, where waistcoated waiters serve plates of lemon ravioli by candlelight, and all is well with the world. Charlotte Davey

Address: Palazzo Avino, via San Giovanni del Toro 28, Ravello

Price: Rooms from around £1,083 per night.

If you wanted to land the most plum address on the Amalfi, this would be it – perched high in the cliffs, built into the rock face overlooking the sea, and within view of the sweet fishing village of Conca dei Marini. The property's original 1960s bones have been enhanced by a magical crew of local Amalfitano artisans, with details like landscaped gardens and museum-worthy vintage pieces making it one of the most exciting Italian arrivals in years. All rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and sea views, but ask for an infinity-pool option if you don’t want to have to go to the private beach or communal pool to cool off. The property’s small spa features the aptly named Cupido, a treatment room for two; a sauna; and a sea view terrace for outdoor massages. The gym’s elliptical and treadmill positions let guests work out with a view. When it comes to food, it’s the informal beach club/barefoot vibe of Al Borgo that captured our heart with its fritto misto, spaghetti alle vongole, and caprese with sun-warmed tomatoes. Don’t miss a Negroni on the terrace bar come sunset. Ondine Cohane

Address: Via Giovanni Augustariccio, 33, 84011 Amalfi SA, Italy

Price: Rooms from around £700 per night.

Belmond Villa Margherita can either be rented whole or split into two suites, which are complementary but furnished in distinct styles. Upstairs, the rooms have a pastoral air of Englishness abroad – an apt reference, since Ravello attracted and was influenced by legions of Britons in the 20th century (including DH Lawrence, who wrote Lady Chatterley’s Lover here). The larger downstairs suite feels more continental, its richer palette accentuated by Venetian armchairs covered in Fortuny damask, antique maps of Italy and a magenta-flecked, Bessarabian-style rug. Both suites have huge windows that frame cascading plantations of sfusato amalfitano (Amalfi lemons) clinging to steep, rough terraces of limestone, pastel-coloured villages along the coast and the great azure sweep of the Mediterranean. It’s understandable if guests stay put and let the hotel keep them in club sandwiches (which are excellent – sky-high with exactly the right amount of mayonnaise) until the bellhops come to shuffle them out again. After all, this is the prospect that travellers pilgrimage to Ravello to see, perhaps more spine-tingling from here than anywhere else in town, and they get it all to themselves. Jo Rodgers

Address: Belmond Villa Margherita, Via Santa Margherita, 7, 84010 Ravello SA, Italy

Price: Rooms from around £3,403 per night.

Caruso's original ivy-clad building dates back to the 11th century and almost all its rooms have private terraces or gardens, and the original frescoes and vaulted ceilings add to the feeling of absolute splendour. Villa Margherita is the standalone guesthouse and it features a private terrace overlooking the sea. The gardens here are well worth a mention, and once you've had a massage under an outside gazebo, there's enough space to tuck yourself away on a sunbed with a good book. Here, breakfast in bed takes on a whole new meaning. Talking of food, those staying at Villa Margherita will have their own personal chef on speed dial, and dishes are classic: think lobster, vongole, fresh fish and all manner of breads as well as snacky deliciousness. There is an argument for stepping outside the property, too though – just steps away is Ravello for a drink in one of the restaurants on the square and ceramics shopping. Martha Ward

Address: Caruso, A Belmond Hotel, Amalfi Coast, Piazza San Giovanni del Toro 2, 84010 Ravello

Price: Rooms from around £1,452 per night.

This is a great spot from which to explore the Amalfi Coast while keeping a bit of distance from the various scenes, which vary dramatically. Due to its hillside situation Praiano doesn’t have much of a centre, but it’s worth exploring to find the church, pottery stalls and cheap and cheerful pizzerias. Casa Privara is a sanctuary amongst a squash of houses, churches and luggage-carrying donkeys in sleepy Praiano. This former fisherman’s house has just seven bedrooms and a tumble of terraced gardens – one level with a fountain, another with a sleek pool and lemon groves – that meet a rocky outcrop dotted with immaculate pairs of white sun loungers, each set hidden from other guests, let alone onlookers.

Top-floor rooms have access to a big roof terrace but the Garden Suite, hidden behind balls of box hedge beyond the restaurant, is the most private room of all. Panelled in wood, the design is simple, with flashes of colour from yellow velvet cushions and a bright-mustard floor in the bathroom, which is also stacked with Aesop minis. Eating and drinking happens on the pretty espaliered-tree-covered terrace. White ball lanterns dangle from the leafy ceiling creating a romantic set up, while the kitchen dishes up a short menu of traditional favourites – pretty mini stacks of aubergine parmigiana to start, followed by perfectly twirled balls of spaghetti with rich beef Bolognese or an indulgent ccialatiello with cherry tomatoes, prawns and anchovy dripping. Don’t miss a spritz before supper on the upstairs terrace to see the sunset over Capri from the grey-and-white striped banquettes. Tabitha Joyce

Address: Casa Privata, via Rezzola 41, Praiano

Price: Rooms from about £250 per night.

This hotel is among the top contenders for best location along the entire Amalfi Coast. It's a 10-minute stroll from Amalfi itself, there’s not a coach tour in sight and the bedroom balconies overlook the famous town. It’s also one of the few hotels that has direct access to the sea – from a terrace that juts out of the rocky hillside. To get there, two glass-fronted lifts whisk guests down the cliff past the mesmerising gardens and lemon groves. Bedrooms are quite basic but smart, with colourful tiles, linen-covered chairs and mellow yellow sun loungers on the bougainvillaea-wrapped balconies.

Address: Hotel Santa Caterina, via Mauro Comite 9, 84011 Amalfi

Price: Rooms from around £431 per night.

What singles out Treville is its immense beauty and seclusion, despite Positano being only a couple of hairpin bends away. Book the white, cream and blue Diaghilev suite, which has double doors that open onto a small balcony with the bay of Positano at your feet. And although the price is hardly chump change, it includes all drinks, which means cocktails any time you want them in wafer-thin Murano glasses. Wander into the kitchen, and the chef will whip you up whatever you fancy whenever you fancy it, using fresh produce from Treville’s gardens.

Address: Villa Treville, Via Arienzo, 30, 84017 Positano SA, Italy

Price: Rooms from around £688 per night.

This is the most indulgent hotel on the Amalfi Coast, a multi-storey tumble of rooms built into a cliff by Carlo Cinque (great-uncle of the present owners) in the late 1960s. The rooms are huge (and most have full-on views of Positano), the terraced gardens spectacular, and there's a Michelin-starred restaurant that makes the most of local seafood and produce from the hotel's kitchen garden, with dishes such as prawn carpaccio with herbs. A lift whisks you down through the rock face to the private beach, a tennis court and the relaxed, lunch-only Carlino restaurant. Back up top, the famous terrace is one of the places for a sunset aperitivo.

Address: Il San Pietro di Positano, Via Laurito 2, 80017

Price: Rooms from around £625 per night.

This dazzling-white, 1970s cubic structure is in a fabulous location in Praiano, with views up the coast to Capri from all over the hotel – especially from the pool, bar and excellent rooftop restaurant, Un Piano nel Cielo. The all-white public rooms are warmed up with hardwood floors and wacky Murano glass sculptures; the bedrooms are scented with home made fragrances made with local citrus fruits and sandalwood. For proper privacy, book one of the four Eaudesea Experience rooms which are in renovated fishermen's cottages just above La Gavitella Beach, 250 steps down from the hotel.

Address: Casa Angelina, Via Capriglione 147, Praiano

Price: Rooms from around £635 per night.

The villa that overlooks Ravello's other famous garden was built by Baron Grimthorpe, of Big Ben fame, at the beginning of the 20th century. Many of the rooms (all recently refurbished) are museum pieces in their own right, with frescoed ceilings and antique furniture; and the library, with its huge stone fireplace, enters right into the country-house spirit of the place. Given the lack of car access, it's not for everyone, but if you are travelling light and are with that special person, there are few more romantic hideaways on the Costiera.

Address: Villa Cimbrone, Via Santa Chiara 26, Ravello

Price: Rooms from around £636 per night.

On one of Capri’s quieter backstreets, away from the day-trippers but only a five-minute walk from the piazzetta, the 46-room Capri Tiberio Palace capitalises on its Mediterranean views. Light-filled, one-of-a-kind interiors meld comfort with humour and style. Bright hand-glazed local ceramic tiles and one-off vintage pieces draw from the island's rich design coffers, while patterned textiles and geometric wallpapers provide a bright, modern touch. Fans of vintage kitsch will want to book the Pan Am Suite, a (tastefully done) shrine to the glamour that was once air travel. A feature you might not expect? An on-site kosher restaurant serving up Mediterranean dishes and wines from Israel. Laura Itzkowitz

Address: Via Croce 11-15, 80073 Capri, Italy

Price: Rooms from around £1500 per night.

This elegant 18th-century mansion in the centre of town, with a shady garden and dreamy courtyard, was once the summer residence of Gioacchino Murat, King of Naples. For space and atmosphere, go for one of the Deluxe rooms in the original palazzo with its Bourbon-era antiques and romantic four-posters. The other bedrooms are smaller and plainer, with white walls, tiled floors and private terraces or balconies. The highly regarded Al Palazzo restaurant creates modern takes on local specialities, such as herbed rack of lamb with a mille-feuille of sweet-and-sour aubergine.

Address: Hotel Palazzo Murat, Via dei Mulini 23

Price: Rooms from around £451 per night.