Le Sirenuse

Italy
Europe

The Experience

The entrance off the twisting corniche at the upper end of the colorful town of Positano on the Amalfi coast does little to advertise the romantic delights of the hotel within. Once over the threshold, though, it is the view that takes your breath away. Far below, extending to the distant horizon, is that "wine-dark" Tyrrhenian sea and the Galli Islands where the sirens famously led Ulysses astray. A former summer villa of the aristocratic Sersale family, the hotel is conceived as a series of balconies and terraces built into the cliff overlooking the town. Converted into a hotel in the 1950s, it still retains an intimate family feel, with members of the Sersale family dropping in and out, dynastic heirlooms everywhere and Franco Sersale's framed travel photographs adorning walls.

The Rooms

Cool and elegant whitewashed bedrooms with Mediterranean-style tiled floors, arranged off a maze of corridors, are wonderfully spacious—and almost all of them overlook the bay. This asset does not invariably extend to the bathrooms, but it hardly matters when, from your bed or balcony, you can enjoy a romantic view over the lovely swimming pool wedged between lemon trees, to the brightly enameled cathedral dome of Santa Maria Assunta and the sea beyond. The best rooms (number 93, or suites 74 and 75) have vast Jacuzzi bathtubs positioned right up against circular windows that make the most of these spectacular views. Suites are worth booking for three days or more just for the added perk of a private cruise in the hotel's sleek 1930s Riva.

The Service

From the unintimidating and helpful multilingual receptionists who will suggest genuinely nontouristy places to eat, to the well-trained therapists in the small but perfectly formed Aveda spa and the attentive waiters and barmen, the hotel offers the best kind of unobtrusive and professional service.

The Highlights

La Sponda is one of the most romantic restaurants at night, lit by candelabras that create intimate pools of light in the large vaulted space and across a terrace garlanded with bougainvillea and ivy. The dishes are good (if a little uninspired), but the raw produce is excellent—contentment is surely a simple plate of different mozzarellas dripping fresh, sliced against the most tomatoey of tomatoes. Leave room for the heaving trolley of desserts, with limoncello--the taste of sun and the scent of southern Italy distilled in a glass.

 

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