Book Belmond Hotel Caruso for grand, polished palazzo luxury and the most famous infinity pool on the Amalfi Coast, perched 1,000 feet above the sea; book Palazzo Avino for a more intimate, family-owned “Pink Palace” with the Michelin-starred Rossellinis and a rare private beach club. Caruso is the grander stage; Avino is the warmer, food-led stay.
Affiliate disclosure: when you book through links on this page we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We never accept payment for placement or rankings.
High above the Amalfi Coast in Ravello, Belmond Hotel Caruso and Palazzo Avino stand almost side by side, and travelers planning a special trip to the town almost always choose between them. Both are clifftop hotels in restored historic palazzi with knockout views some 350 metres above the sea; the difference is scale, dining and feel.
Belmond Hotel Caruso occupies an 11th-century palazzo and has around 50 rooms and suites, and it is famous worldwide for its infinity pool, which appears to spill straight off the cliff into the Gulf of Salerno roughly 1,000 feet below. Palazzo Avino, family-owned and known as “the Pink Palace,” is more intimate at 43 rooms and suites, and its calling cards are the Michelin-starred Rossellinis restaurant and a rare-for-Ravello private beach club, the Clubhouse by the Sea, down on the coast.
The honest split: choose Caruso for grand-hotel polish and that iconic pool; choose Palazzo Avino for a warmer, family-run feel, the best dining in town and beach access. The full case for each is below.
| Belmond Hotel Caruso | Palazzo Avino | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Grand palazzo polish and the pool | Intimacy, dining and a beach club |
| Rooms | ~50 rooms and suites | 43 rooms and suites (10 suites) |
| Building | 11th-century palazzo | 12th-century palazzo (“Pink Palace”) |
| Pool | Iconic clifftop infinity pool | Pool terrace (no infinity-edge icon) |
| Michelin dining | Belvedere Restaurant (no star) | Rossellinis, 1 Michelin star (2026) |
| Private beach club | No | Yes, Clubhouse by the Sea |
| Ownership | Belmond (LVMH) | Family-owned |
| Rate tier | $$$-$$$$ | $$$-$$$$ |
Signature: The most photographed infinity pool on the Amalfi Coast, seeming to pour off the cliff into the sea 1,000 feet below, set in a grand restored 11th-century palazzo with the polish of the Belmond group.
Caruso is Ravello's grand statement. Restored from an 11th-century palazzo and run by Belmond (part of LVMH), its roughly 50 rooms and suites, frescoed public rooms and manicured gardens deliver a formal, polished grand-hotel experience. But the pool is the icon: heated and infinity-edged, it sits at the highest point in town and produces the image that sells Ravello to the world. The Belvedere Restaurant and the terrace bar share the same vertiginous views.
It is the choice for travelers who want the full grandeur of a historic Italian palace hotel with international Belmond service and that singular pool, honeymooners after a showpiece, and anyone for whom the view and the polish are the point. Its position and gardens also make it one of the coast's most sought-after wedding settings.
Honest trade-off: Caruso's grandeur can feel more formal and less personal than the family-run Avino next door, and its restaurant, while excellent with the same dazzling views, does not hold a Michelin star. It has no private beach of its own, reaching the water means the hotel's shuttle down to the coast, and as a Belmond flagship it commands top-of-market rates. Like its neighbour, it closes for the winter season.
Weighted: Service 25%, Design 20%, Romance / Value / Food 15% each, Location 10%. Scores are HotelsForKings editorial judgments, not guest review averages.
Read our full profile of the clifftop palazzo with the famous pool.
Compare with the intimate, Michelin-starred Pink Palace next door.
Our guide to the storied Belmond collection.
The Positano grandes-dames decision down the coast.
Signature: An intimate, family-owned 12th-century palazzo, the rose-pink “Pink Palace”, with Ravello's only Michelin-starred restaurant, Rossellinis, and a rare private beach club down on the coast.
Palazzo Avino is the warmer, more personal of the two. Family-owned and run, its 43 rooms and suites occupy a 12th-century palazzo painted the soft pink that gives it its nickname, with the same staggering views as Caruso from a slightly more relaxed, residential setting. Its trump cards are food and water: Rossellinis holds one star in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide, the Terrazza Maraviglia becomes a lobster-and-martini bar at sunset, and the Clubhouse by the Sea gives guests a private beach club, a real rarity in cliff-top Ravello, reached by hotel shuttle.
It is the choice for travelers who prioritise dining and a more intimate, family-run feel over sheer grand-hotel scale, and for anyone who wants beach access from a Ravello base. Couples in particular tend to love its combination of romance, food and personal service.
Honest trade-off: Avino lacks Caruso's single iconic image, there's no cliff-edge infinity pool to rival its neighbour's, and the property is smaller and a touch less grand. Like every Ravello hotel it sits high above the coast, so the beach club and the town's main sights involve transfers or steep walks, and it closes seasonally for winter. Rates are firmly in the luxury tier.
Weighted: Service 25%, Design 20%, Romance / Value / Food 15% each, Location 10%. Scores are HotelsForKings editorial judgments, not guest review averages.
Book Belmond Hotel Caruso for grandeur and the icon: the most famous infinity pool on the coast, a polished historic palazzo and full Belmond service. It's the showpiece, ideal for honeymooners and anyone who wants the view and the grandeur to be the headline, and a coveted wedding setting.
Book Palazzo Avino for intimacy, food and the beach: a warmer, family-owned Pink Palace with Ravello's only Michelin star at Rossellinis and a rare private beach club. In short, Caruso for the grand stage and that pool, Avino for the more personal, food-led stay with sea access. They sit next door to each other, so the choice is grandeur versus warmth, the iconic pool versus the Michelin dinner.
Subscriber only hotel offers, suite upgrade alerts, and one honest review every Sunday. Free, weekly, unsubscribe anytime.
Neither is simply better, they suit different travelers. Belmond Hotel Caruso is the grander, more polished palazzo, famous for its clifftop infinity pool and run by Belmond. Palazzo Avino is the more intimate, family-owned “Pink Palace” with the Michelin-starred Rossellinis and a private beach club. Choose Caruso for grandeur and the pool, Avino for dining, intimacy and beach access.
Belmond Hotel Caruso. Its heated infinity pool sits at the highest point in Ravello and appears to merge with the sea around 1,000 feet below, it's the most photographed pool on the Amalfi Coast. Palazzo Avino has a lovely pool terrace but no comparable cliff-edge infinity pool.
Palazzo Avino, on Michelin terms. Its Rossellinis holds one star in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Ravello. Caruso's Belvedere Restaurant is excellent and shares the same spectacular views, but does not hold a star.
Palazzo Avino does, its Clubhouse by the Sea is a private beach club down on the coast, reached by hotel shuttle, which is rare for clifftop Ravello. Belmond Hotel Caruso has no private beach; guests reach the water via the hotel's transfer service. Both hotels sit high above the sea.
Very close, they are near neighbours on the same clifftop in Ravello, both around 350 metres above the sea with similar panoramic views over the Gulf of Salerno. The decision between them comes down to atmosphere, dining and facilities rather than location or view.
No. Like most Amalfi Coast hotels, both Belmond Hotel Caruso and Palazzo Avino close for the winter, typically operating from around spring to autumn and shutting in the colder months. Always confirm exact opening and closing dates when booking either.
No. Belmond Hotel Caruso is the Belmond (LVMH-owned) property in Ravello. Palazzo Avino is independently family-owned and operated, and is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. They are separate hotels that happen to sit next to each other.