Hotel guide · Ravello, Amalfi Coast
Caruso, A Belmond Hotel
An 11th-century palace at the top of Ravello, its gardens ending in a heated infinity pool 350 metres above the sea.
Caruso at a glance
- Where
- At the top of Ravello, 350 metres above the sea
- The building
- An 11th-century palace, its 18th-century frescoes uncovered
- Category
- 5 Stelle lusso on Regione Campania's register
- Rooms
- 50 rooms and suites, on Regione Campania's register
- Eating and drinking
- Il Pantaleone, the Caruso Grill, La Piscina, Adagio Bar, Bar Caruso
- Address
- Piazza San Giovanni del Toro 2, 84010 Ravello
01Is it for you?
Is Caruso right for your stay?
- Why choose it
- Height, quiet and gardens. Ravello sits 350 metres above the sea, off the coast road, and Caruso stands at the top of it: an 11th-century palace with frescoed salons, gardens on terraces, and a heated infinity pool that looks down the whole coast.
- Who it suits
- Families of any age — the hotel calls itself family-friendly, with connecting rooms and suites, babysitting and a pool it says is suitable for children — and anyone who wants the view and the gardens more than the water. Il San Pietro, at Positano, is the other way round: the sea at the foot of a lift, the town a shuttle away, children from ten.
- What to consider
- The sea is a drive or a boat away. Amalfi is about a quarter of an hour down the hill by the hotel's shuttle, and from its harbour we arrange a boat to Positano or Capri; Positano by car is about an hour, by the hotel's reckoning. The hotel closes for the winter.
02The hotel
The hotel and its rooms
Caruso is the palace at the top of Ravello: an 11th-century house, rebuilt over the centuries with a colonnade in its raised garden leading up to a lookout over the coast, and frescoed in the 18th century with ribbons, flowers, Arcadian scenes and nymphs that were later whitewashed over. The Caruso family, hoteliers, opened its first rooms to guests; Belmond’s restoration, made with the Italian fine-arts authorities, uncovered the frescoes again in the salons, the chapel, the bar and the reception.
The rooms are spread through the palace and down its gardens, several with the original stone arches; the gardens end, at their highest point, in the heated infinity pool. For the coast around it, our Amalfi Coast page covers the towns, when to go and the routes. The other Amalfi Coast hotel we feature is Il San Pietro di Positano, cut into the cliff above its own beach: the water at the door instead of the height and the gardens. Choosing one or the other changes the week, and Rome and the Amalfi Coast sets the two side by side.
Rooms and suites
Of the 50 rooms and suites, the hotel counts 17 rooms and 33 suites. The practical choice is between a Double Room (35–50 m²), each its own design, looking over the sea or the terraced gardens, and a suite, which adds a terrace with loungers and a table for meals outside, or a private garden; two suites can be joined into a two-bedroom suite for a family. For a garden of your own and the widest view, the Signature Suites and Villa Margherita, the hotel’s villa in the gardens, are the top of the house.
If a sea view, a garden or connecting rooms matter to you, tell us when you enquire and we will confirm it with the hotel for your dates before anything is booked.
On the practical side: Naples airport or station is an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half by car, by the hotel’s reckoning, and longer in summer traffic. The hotel runs a complimentary scheduled shuttle to Amalfi and none to Positano, which we arrange privately; valet parking is complimentary; pets are welcome by prior arrangement, on a lead in the public rooms and not at the pool or in the restaurants. The hotel closes for the winter; we confirm the dates for your year.
At the hotel
Facilities
- The heated infinity pool at the highest point of the gardens, with La Piscina, the pool club around it, its sun loungers and cabanas
- Mediterranean gardens on terraces, with lemon and olive trees and roses climbing the colonnade
- The Caruso Wellness Centre, with massages in the garden, and an open-air gym with sunrise yoga
- Weekly classes in pasta and pizza making, limoncello and painting
Eating and drinking
Il Pantaleone is the restaurant, with Armando Aristarco’s menus of the Campania region served to the long view down the coast. The Caruso Grill is lunch by the pool, with wood-fired dishes; La Piscina is the pool bar. Adagio, the bar under the 18th-century frescoes, mixes cocktails from the coast’s botanicals and citrus, and Bar Caruso is for a last drink after dinner. We reserve the tables.
03Location
Where Caruso is
Caruso stands on Piazza San Giovanni del Toro, beside the church of that name, at the top of Ravello. The map shows it with what is around it: Villa Rufolo beside the town’s square below, Villa Cimbrone at the far end of the ridge, and Amalfi on the shore at the foot of the hill, where the hotel’s shuttle goes and the boats leave for Positano and Capri. For the coast itself, see our Amalfi Coast page.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Caruso, A Belmond Hotel
Villa Rufolo
Villa Cimbrone
Amalfi
More nearby landmarks (1)
Atrani
04Planning
Planning a stay with Avelia
After discussing your plans, we prepare a tailored proposal with a quoted trip price and clear inclusions. Once you approve it and complete the agreed booking requirements, we confirm your arrangements, coordinate the details and support you while you travel.
Peace of mind
- Clear before you commit. A written proposal with a quoted trip price and clear inclusions, before any payment.
- Financially protected. When your stay is part of a package trip, your payments are covered against our insolvency by a guarantee with AXA. A hotel booked on its own is not a package.
- One point of contact. From the first conversation to the last day, with support while you travel.
Experiences we can arrange
- Private transfers from Naples airport or station to Ravello — an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half by the hotel’s reckoning, longer in summer traffic — and onward through Italy
- Capri, Positano and the coast by private boat from Amalfi’s harbour, subject to sea conditions
- Pompeii and Herculaneum with a private guide, on request
- The Path of the Gods on foot with a local guide, and the hotel’s own lemon-farm visit
- Table reservations in Ravello and along the coast
Start planning your stay
We can arrange your stay at Caruso as part of a tailor-made trip.
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