Hotel Caruso
Ravello
Italy
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Hotel Caruso
Piazza San Giovanni del
Toro 2
Ravello, Italy
Tel: +39-089-858-801
Website: http://www.hotelcaruso.com/
50 rooms, including 24 suites
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The Experience
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For sheer romance and drama, Hotel Caruso is hard to beat. First, there's the thrilling drive along the vertiginous Amalfi coast road, then the steep ascent to Ravello itself, set dramatically on a cliff-top that plunges vertically into the inky water below. Caruso is, at its highest point, suspended in formal hanging gardens studded with lemon and jasmine in terra-cotta urns with expansive views to the mountains at its shoulder and the sea at its feet. Formerly a little pensione whose guest book reads like a roll call of the rich and famous, from Greta Garbo to Humphrey Bogart and Jackie Kennedy, this historic little hideaway has been reincarnated as a sumptuous 50-room palazzo hotel, following a $30 million restoration by Orient-Express in 2004.
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The Rooms
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The aristocratic origins of the Hotel Caruso (it was the ancient residence of a patrician family) are transparent in both the restoration and the decorations. Original mosaic floors have been replaced and frescoes retouched; in the bedrooms, furnishings are specially woven, and the terra-cotta tiles and bronze neoclassical-style lamps are all handmade by local craftsmen. Color-washed to reflect the traditional tints and brilliant hues of the famous regional majolica, in Naples yellow, cerulean blue and rose, 90 percent of the rooms have views and balconies or terraces over the sea (make sure you get one). Eight suites have private gardens, with the three most recently renovated boasting unique archaeological features including a medieval sauna. Just beware of rooms situated beneath the Belvedere restaurant, which can be noisy.
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The Service
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Italian service at its best -- respectful yet friendly, attentive yet effortless. The smiles are genuine and the welcome is all-embracing and uplifting. Here at last are professionals who are enthused and passionate about what they do, from the barman to the humblest housemaid who will arrange your child's toys with artistic pride.
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The Highlights
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Take the hotel's complimentary gozzo (fisherman boat) out to explore the Amalfi's rocky headlands, hitch a lift on the shuttle to neighboring Positano and finally slow down your pulse rate in the large and majestic hotel grounds. The highlight is a huge infinity pool situated on the lip of the cliff beside a medieval ruin. The pool is connected to the hotel via a long 17th-century colonnade cantilevered into the hill. As you stroll the distance, enjoy the cooling mist created by gushing water channels carved into the walkways, a natural air-conditioning technique borrowed from the Romans. Have lunch at the pool bar, beneath the jasmine-scented, ivy-clad arbor; order a traditional pizza from the wood-burning outdoor oven and simultaneously enjoy those unparalleled picture-postcard views over the coast.
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