Fodor's Expert Review Hotel Santa Caterina

Owned by the Gargano family for generations, this quietly elegant, supremely comfortable hotel has long been one of the treasures of the coast; indeed, it once served as a romantic escape for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Just outside Amalfi proper, giving it a grand vista of the town, the Santa Caterina takes full advantage of its hillside location. There are vast, terraced gardens and orchards overlooking the sea, and down by the water is a luscious seawater-pool area, complete with an idyllic thatched-roof, open-air café. The lobby is charmingly coved, while decor is unobtrusively traditional, with Belle Époque accents. The luckiest guests are allowed to book the hotel's extraordinary, 19th-century hunting-box chalet, set at water's edge at the far end of the hotel's romantic orchards.