Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel

More and more often, as boutique hotels are made from ancient convents and monasteries in Europe’s most photogenic places, it becomes apparent that the monks and the nuns had it pretty good. Sure, there’s the chastity and the poverty to get used to, but if the Grand Hotel Convento di Amalfi is any indication, it very well might have been worth taking holy orders just for the views — the way this old convent hangs on the cliffside at the edge of the storied Amalfi Coast, you’d think some extremely twelfth-century property developers had planned this place with the 21st-century hotel market in mind.

In any case, it’s now fallen into the hands of the Spanish NH group, which means these extraordinary views — and the rest of this remarkable building, with its Arab-influenced architecture — are now open to the traveling public. A bit of whitewashing in the interiors just serves to underscore the rooms’ ancient lines, and helps make the most of the plentiful Amalfi sunshine. Meanwhile such judicious modern interventions as wall-mounted LCD televisions and modern marble bathrooms make the rooms as comfortable as they are visually striking. And though not all of them have terraces or balconies, all of them face the sea.

Fortunately there’s no shortage of common terrace space. You’ll spend most of your time with the Mediterranean as a backdrop, whether it’s dinner, drinks or a swim in the infinity-edge pool, cut directly into the rock face. Dei Cappuccini elevates the ambience even further with Kyushu-style Japanese cuisine inflected with Mediterranean overtones. Some of you won’t leave the hotel for the duration of your stay; others will explore the town of Amalfi, chart the coastline by boat, or venture on to Positano or Capri. Both approaches have plenty to recommend them, no vows required.