Hotel Villa Franca Positano

Ideally we’d all have well-to-do Italian friends with a vacation house on the Amalfi Coast. Because while we love a good hotel, there’s something about Positano — the dramatic scenery, the cinematic atmosphere, the unhurried pace of life — that makes you feel like being someone’s glamorous houseguest. Until that invitation arrives, there’s Hotel Villa Franca Positano.

The villa was a private home until the family turned it into a boutique hotel that combines guesthouse coziness with stylish designer furniture — and extras like its rooftop pool, its expansive spa, and its two fine restaurants push it over the top into luxury-hotel territory.

Like every other building in the heart of old Positano, the villa is built right into the steep cliffside: if you think of the town as a giant amphitheater with a sea for a stage, Hotel Villa Franca Positano would be on the first or second tier of balcony seating. And while there’s hardly a bad location in a landscape as stunning as this one, the five-story villa has a particularly enviable address that affords spectacular views over the water — a view shared by Li Galli, the hotel’s gastronomic restaurant.

Please note: Hotel Villa Franca Positano is a seasonal hotel open March through November.