BORGO SANTANDREA, AMALFI COAST, ITALY
Is there a view more perfect than that from a bedroom in Borgo Santandrea? If there is, I haven’t yet discovered it. The panorama – to the left, Amalfi Town, to the right, the coloured buildings of the fishing town of Conca Dei Marini and, in between, the infinite blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea – is as serene as it is sublime. Borgo Santandrea is a new addition to the Amalfi Coast. Well, of sorts. It was originally the Hotel Saraceno, built in the 1960s with a medieval façade and Moroccaninspired decor, which had fallen out of favour with the area’s discerning crowd. Its new owners – two families who grew up in neighbouring hotels on nearby Ischia – took four years to transform the property, replacing the Moorish interiors with marble columns and huge arched windows. Local artisans designed and hand-painted thousands of ceramic tiles in varying shades of blue and white, which now sit in lobbies, terraces and bedrooms – a sea of cobalt perfectly complementing the ocean beyond. The heavy furniture has been replaced, too; armchairs by Hans Wegner and Erik Worst are reupholstered in 1930s fabrics designed by Gio Ponti, which sit in every corner with Assouline travel books atop Argentinian glass coffee tables. The concierge desk is an original Carlo Mollino dining table. Giant steel binoculars in the lobby were once on a British Second World War ship.
The rooms are equally cool and considered. There are 45 in total, eight with private plunge pools. If possible, book room 608, a suite with a double-aspect view and a bathroom so opulent it will spoil all other bathrooms for you. Nevertheless, all rooms have crisp white bed linen, Acqua di Parma bath products, Dyson hairdryers and complimentary flip-flops emblazoned with those signature blue tile patterns.
Another thing that sets Borgo Santandrea apart is the beach. If your image of the Amalfi Coast is a profusion of people packed sardine-like on sunloungers – as mine was – then this will be a delightful surprise. The hotel has its own piece of coastline, so you don’t have to wrestle for towel space with the rest of the hoi polloi. The property is so cleverly designed, with ample social spaces, that even at full capacity it never feels busy. Rising an incredible 90ft above sea level and set across nine floors, you can be drinking cocktails on the roof terrace, swimming in the pool or sunbathing on the parasol-lined beach and it always feels tranquil. There’s a path that zigzags from the very top of the hotel to the beach, weaving through lemon trees, jasmine and white roses. Its 320 steps are great for toning your legs, and although there’s the option of a lift, the view en route is too breathtaking to pass up.
There are three restaurants: La Libreria serves innovative multi-course tasting menus, Alici offers alfresco modern dishes, such as stuffed courgette flowers and local dessert Delizie al Limone, and you can have sandwiches at the Beach Club, which also gets a pizza oven this summer.
We manage to drag ourselves away from the hotel, spending an afternoon wandering around Amalfi Town, where the Pasticceria Andrea Pansa is a must for espresso and pastries, and another exploring Positano. It’s a 20-minute ferry ride away and is both stunning and teeming with tourists. Around 12,000 holidaymakers a day join the town’s 4,000 residents in summer, so the tiny streets are packed with people. Yet it’s exhilarating and you really must experience it at least once. Join the queues at the Gelateria Buca di Bacco for home-made ice cream and, if you can, score a table at Franco’s Bar, possibly the hippest cocktail bar you’ll ever visit, and order Franco’s Fizz – a bergamot liqueur with almond, citrus and pistachio. The views here are possibly the best in town.
I expected to fall in love with the Amalfi Coast – but not quite as hard as I have. If you have a chance to go, save up and stay at Borgo Santandrea. It is, quite possibly, perfect. SARAH TOMCZAK
ROOMS FROM £1,600 A NIGHT. BORGOSANTANDREA.IT
‘If there’s a better view, then I’ve not yet discovered it’