Positano / Above the Spiaggia Grande

Le Sirenuse

★★★★★

Le Sirenuse is the hotel that defines Positano. Opened in 1951 by the Sersale family in their former summer home and still run by the third generation, it occupies a terracotta-red palazzo high on the hill above the Spiaggia Grande, with the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta and the whole tumbling town spread beneath its terraces. Its fifty-eight rooms and suites are decorated with antiques, hand-painted tiles and family art, and most face the bay, many with balconies or private terraces where breakfast with the view feels like a scene from a film. The pool terrace, framed by lemon trees, is one of the most photographed places on the coast. La Sponda, the hotel's restaurant, serves refined Mediterranean cuisine in a room where hundreds of candles are lit every evening and lemon trees climb between the tables; the Champagne and Oyster Bar on the terrace is the coast's most glamorous aperitivo. A spa designed by the architect Gae Aulenti offers a sauna, a Turkish bath, massages and a gym, and the hotel's beach club gives guests a place on the sea below. Service is famously warm and personal, the kind that remembers your name and your preferred table. The hotel is seasonal, opening from spring to autumn and closing in winter, and rooms in high summer are booked far ahead and priced accordingly. For many travellers, Le Sirenuse is not simply a place to stay on the Amalfi Coast; it is the reason to go.

What it feels like: arriving at Le Sirenuse, you step from the narrow Via Cristoforo Colombo into a world of cool tiled floors, antiques and fresh flowers, and then out onto a terrace with Positano at your feet. Days revolve around the pool, the spa and the beach, with boat trips to Capri or along the coast arranged by the concierge; evenings begin with Champagne at sunset and continue by candlelight at La Sponda. The family's eye for art and design runs through everything, from the shop of its own fashion label to the contemporary art commissions in the public rooms.

Practical notes: Positano is a vertical town, and the hotel sits partway up the hill, a walk of steps and lanes down to the beach and back; the town's small buses help. Book well ahead for summer, and consider May, June, September or October for softer prices and weather. Because the hotel closes in winter, it suits Amalfi Coast trips from spring to autumn; check exact opening dates for the season. Dining at La Sponda and the bar is open to non-guests by reservation and is a splurge worth making even if you stay elsewhere.

Base math: Positano's beach and boutiques are a short walk downhill; ferries to Amalfi and Capri run from the beach in season; the Path of the Gods ends above the town at Nocelle; and Ravello and Amalfi are reachable by bus, boat or driver. Book it for honeymoons, milestone celebrations and the trip of a lifetime.