#8 in Top 20 Hotels on the Amalfi Coast · ★★★★★
Hotel Villa Cimbrone
A 19-room historic villa in Ravello, home to the Terrace of Infinity and a Michelin-starred kitchen.
A 19-room historic villa in Ravello, home to the Terrace of Infinity and a Michelin-starred kitchen.
"A historic clifftop villa with the most famous view on the coast and a Michelin-starred kitchen, if you'll trade the sea for the heights of Ravello."
Why this rank, Hotel Villa Cimbrone occupies an 11th-century villa on the Ravello clifftop, run for generations by the Vuilleumier family, who also own nearby Palazzo Avino. Its calling card is the Terrace of Infinity, the belvedere lined with marble busts roughly 365 metres above the Gulf of Salerno that Gore Vidal called the most beautiful view in the world. There are only 19 individually styled rooms set within the villa and its famous gardens, which empty of day visitors by evening to leave the grounds to guests. Dinner is a genuine occasion: Il Flauto di Pan holds a Michelin star under chef Lorenzo Montoro, much of it grown in the villa's own kitchen garden. It lands at #8 rather than higher for one honest reason: Ravello sits high above the coast with no car access to the door and no beach below, so this is a stay for the view and the history, not the sea.
Best room: a sea-facing room with a private terrace over the gardens
"A 19-room historic villa on the Ravello clifftop, built around the Terrace of Infinity and a Michelin-starred garden kitchen."
Hotel Villa Cimbrone occupies an 11th-century villa on the Ravello clifftop, and it offers something no beach hotel on the coast can: the Terrace of Infinity, the belvedere lined with marble busts that Gore Vidal famously called the most beautiful view in the world, with Greta Garbo and Leopold Stokowski among the guests who hid away here in 1938. There are just 19 individually decorated rooms inside the villa and its celebrated historic gardens, run for generations by the Vuilleumier family, who also own nearby Palazzo Avino. The gardens fill with day visitors but empty by evening, leaving the grounds to guests for a sunset walk to the terrace. Dinner is the other reason to come: Il Flauto di Pan holds a Michelin star under chef Lorenzo Montoro, much of it grown in the villa's own kitchen garden. The honest caveat is the setting: Ravello sits high above the coast with no road to the door, so you arrive on foot with bags portered, and there is no beach below. It is the right pick for travellers who want history, gardens and the view over sand and easy access.
Ask for a sea-facing room with a private terrace over the gardens: the villa's rooms vary widely, and the ones looking south toward the Gulf of Salerno are worth requesting by name when you book.
Walk out to the Terrace of Infinity early or after the gardens close to day visitors, when the belvedere is quiet and the light is best. Reserve Il Flauto di Pan ahead for dinner, and arrange a porter for your luggage in advance, as the final approach to the villa is on foot through Ravello.
Hotel Villa Cimbrone sits at #8 within our Top 20 Hotels on the Amalfi Coast. It scored an aggregate 9.7/10 across the three editorial criteria, peaking on location and atmosphere thanks to the Terrace of Infinity, with its hilltop, sea-less setting the main thing separating it from the cliffside grand hotels above it. For the Ravello neighbours and the seafront alternatives, the contenders below are the closest comparisons on this list.
The villa has only 19 rooms and they vary a great deal, so the best sea-facing ones go early. Aim to book well ahead, request a specific room by name, and confirm luggage portering, since the final approach is on foot through Ravello.
Editorial · #8 on the Top 20 Hotels on the Amalfi Coast 2026 list
Hotel Villa Cimbrone's case for an Amalfi Coast stay is the Terrace of Infinity: the belvedere lined with marble busts, roughly 365 metres above the Gulf of Salerno, that Gore Vidal called the most beautiful view in the world.
It is an intimate house of just 19 individually decorated rooms set within an 11th-century villa and its celebrated historic gardens, run for generations by the Vuilleumier family, who also own nearby Palazzo Avino.
Dinner is a real occasion: Il Flauto di Pan holds a Michelin star under chef Lorenzo Montoro, much of it grown in the villa's own kitchen garden, and the gardens themselves empty of day visitors by evening to leave the grounds to guests. The trade-off that places it at #8 rather than higher is its hilltop setting, no road to the door and no beach below, which sets it apart from the seafront grand hotels but asks travellers to come for the view and the history rather than the sea. It earns its place as the most atmospheric historic-villa stay in Ravello.
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