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This iconic clifftop hotel occupies an 11th-century noble palace suspended nearly 350 metres above the Tyrrhenian Sea, crowning the medieval village of Ravello on Italy’s Amalfi Coast. Belmond Hotel Caruso pairs aristocratic heritage with quiet, understated luxury, its stone arcades, frescoed salons and manicured citrus gardens evoking centuries of Neapolitan grandeur.

The hotel’s signature moment is its legendary infinity pool, carved into the ancient ramparts so that its waterline appears to dissolve into the horizon, framed by the sweep of the coastline far below. Guests drift between candlelit terraces, a Michelin-starred restaurant serving refined Campanian cuisine, and a spa drawing on local botanicals, all within walls that have hosted composers, aristocrats and artists since the Belle Époque.

Ravello itself, perched high above Amalfi and Positano, offers a more serene, cultured counterpoint to the coast’s busier towns, with its ceramic-tiled villas, classical music festivals and panoramic belvederes. Staying at Caruso means experiencing this rarefied atmosphere from its very summit.