Le Sirenuse
Distance from airport - The distance between Positano and Naples Airport (NAP) is 25 miles but the road distance is more like 50 miles. If you don’t fancy hiring a car and navigating the winding roads, the best way to get from Naples Airport to Positano without a car is by train which takes 1h 47m and costs between €45-€60. The quickest way is to get a taxi which costs around €65 - €80 and takes 1 hour.
Positano is a cliffside village on southern Italy's Amalfi Coast. It's a well-known holiday destination with a pebble beachfront and steep, narrow streets lined with boutiques and cafes. Its Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta features a majolica-tiled dome and a 13th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary. The Sentiero degli Dei hiking trail links Positano to other coastal towns.
Le Sirenuse is a luxury hotel in Positano on the Amalfi Coast with a longstanding family history. Le Sirenuse opened in 1951, when four Neapolitan siblings, the Marchesi Aldo, Paolo, Anna and Franco Sersale decided to turn their family summer house into a small, charming hotel. Today this 58-room hotel with a restaurant, pool and spa, is one of the best seaside hotels in Italy, let alone the Amalfi Coast and is the most sought after luxury hotel in Positano. The feel of a private residence still remains and the sophisticated and elegant interiors have a signature style much of which was defined by Franco, an art connoisseur. Still very much a family affair, Franco’s son Antonio and wife Carla look after the running of Le Sirenuse and Carla’s boutique the Emporio Sirenuse. Paolo’s daughter Marina created Le Sirenuse’s fragrance and skincare line Eau d’Italie (available online if you can’t visit in person) with her husband Sebastián Alvarez Murena, while her sister Giulia designs Le Sirenuse’s much-admired outdoor landscape and indoor greenery.
Almost all of the rooms, suites and junior suites at Le Sirenuse look over the bay of Positano and most have a private terrace or balcony. All of the traditional, yet luxurious rooms feature whitewashed walls, vaulted ceilings and handmade tiles from the Amalfi Coast, as well as antiques and artworks from the family’s own private collection emanating the feel and atmosphere of a private home. Each of the 58 rooms and suites at Le Sirenuse is reminiscent of a glittering past and has its own individual charm and style. Whitewashed walls, traditional vaulted ceilings, traditional ceramic tiles made by local artisans (many in the centuries-old ceramics ‘factory’ Fornace De Martino), and classic antiques are complemented by artwork from the family's private collection. The sweeping views take in the iconic dome of the church and Positano's colourful houses across to the Mediterranean Sea and the Li Galli Islands, from where the hotel tooks its name.
I must admit, I have only been for lunch, a long, luxurious event with my dear friend and journalist extraordinaire Maria Shollenbarger (now Travel Editor of the FT How To Spend It) and it surpassed every expectation. The Mediterranean cuisine of Le Sirenuse’s romantic La Sponda restaurant is based on fresh local and seasonal ingredients and dishes are inspired by the ancient culinary traditions of the Amalfi Coast and Naples. Possibly the most romantic restaurant on the coast La Sponda is illuminated, every evening with four hundred candles.
NEW DON’T WORRY BAR FOR 70th ANNIVERSARY OF LE SIRENUSE
Due to officially open this summer (2021) and situated in one of the elegant lounges of the 18th-century family villa around which the hotel flourished, the new Don’t Worry bar at Le Sirenuse is a revamp of a classic watering hangout, a cosy speakeasy for traditional hotel bar aficionados, where immaculately dressed barmen mix classic cocktails and serve traditional drinks. The interiors of the bar can be compared to an antique jewel in gold leaf, walnut, brass and precious onyx, sensitively restyled by interior designer Annalisa Bellettati, but its name pays tribute to a more recent work of art that hangs from the ceiling of the adjacent room: Martin Creed’s neon installation Don’t Worry.
Under the guidance of chef Gennaro Russo, the hotel’s elegant, romantic La Sponda restaurant, with its breathtaking view of Positano, will present a new seasonal menu called ‘Vesuvio’ that reflects the vibrant local farming and fishing culture, age-old culinary traditions and rich biodiversity of the region that stretches from Mount Vesuvius to Naples and the Amalfi Coast.
Lastly, true to its remit as a display case and seedbed for contemporary art as well as traditional arts and crafts, Le Sirenuse asked British painter and artist Lucy Stein, whose work already features in the hotel’s collection, to create a celebratory 70th anniversary logo. Le Sirenuse is the alternative name of Li Galli, the ‘islands of the mermaids’ that glint in the sea beyond the bay of Positano, and mermaids have long been a presence in Stein’s work. This synchronicity led Stein to come up with a delightful sketch of two dolce vita mermaids, a lecherous moon, champagne stars and a sun that seems to be getting hot under the collar. Stylish, playful and warm, it sums up lo spirito delle Sirenuse.
If you’re after a luxury hotel on the Amalfi Coast with Positano on its doorstep and an intimate atmosphere look no further than Le Sirenuse.
Book Le Sirenuse here. Rates start at £395 per night.