Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel

Character and identity

Set into the cliffs above the Amalfi Coast, this 53-room hotel inhabits a former Capuchin monastery whose oldest stones date to 1212. The bones of the building (a 13th-century cloister, a still-consecrated church, vaulted corridors) carry the drama, while the rooms themselves stay deliberately understated: white linens, terra-cotta tiles, sea light. Chef Claudio Lanuto's Dei Cappuccini turns out reimagined Mediterranean cooking with full coastline views, and the poolside La Locanda handles sunlit lunches by the infinity pool. There is a wellness centre, and the whole property reads as historic, contemplative, and quietly grand rather than glossy or resort-like.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The pull here is the building itself: an 800-year-old monastery with a working cloister and church, perched in a position no new-build could replicate. Book it for the setting and the cooking at Dei Cappuccini, not for the room product. Couples should target a sea-view category, and a wedding party with the cloister in mind is the highest use of the place.