See What’s New on the Amalfi Coast This Summer

Palazzo Avino

Starting in Ravello, a small UNESCO-protected town perched high above the water—and largely away from the busy tourist circuit—five-star hotel Palazzo Avino has implemented several updates for the 2024 season. Sisters Mariella, Attilia, and Mariavittoria Avino took over management of the historic 12th-century property from their father and have overseen its gradual redevelopment since the 1990s, collaborating with architect Giuliano Andrea dell’Uva on staggered revamps.

The most significant of these this year is the renovation and expansion of the hotel’s Michelin-star restaurant, Rossellinis. Its semi-outdoor terrace with breathtaking panoramic views over the dramatic mountainous coast has been refreshed in a Mediterranean style, with dark green furniture, a retractable fabric roof, and plenty of flora between the tables. “It feels like being in an ancient garden, inside a late 19th-century greenhouse,” notes dell’Uva. “The large cushions, covered in hemp fabric and decorated with leaf motifs, enhance the feeling of being surrounded by nature. Meanwhile, the pink ceiling drapes evoke the iconic design of the palace.” Chef Gianni Vanacore’s seasonal take on regional cuisine is now served on whimsical pastel-hued ceramic dishes by local artisans and offers an inventive tasting menu based on an ancient Neapolitan game known as La Tombola.

After remodeling the Infinito Suite across the 2023 season—another collaboration with dell’Uva—and the Belvedere Suite the year before, the family has turned its attention to redesigning the property’s Deluxe Sea View rooms. The first of these just completed and features aquamarine decor complemented by soft pastel-hued furnishings and patterned tile floors. The style will be rolled out to the other rooms in this category, starting on the lower floors, over the next few years.

In Cafe dell’Arte, Palazzo Avino’s lobby bar and lounge, the sisters have teamed up with Brescia-based artist residency program Palazzo Monti to host artworks curated by collector Umberta Gnutti Beretta. The “Palazzo to Palazzo” exhibition is focused on spotlighting emerging female artists from around the world, and includes sketches, photography and paintings by those who have previously participated in residency programs or exhibited their works at Palazzo Monti. “Breathing life into the palace, infusing it with art, has been an enduring journey that has grown richer with each passing year,” says Mariella Avino. “The idea that this year the project will shine a light on the female world of art holds even a deeper meaning for me, resonating with our DNA and family legacy.”

Also, following a collaboration with Valentino at its private beach club last year, when the white umbrellas and lounge cushions were swapped for the fashion house’s signature red, Palazzo Avino has opted for a pink and white-striped theme in 2024 that extends from Rosselini’s to the nearby Terrazza Belvedere dining area, the swimming pool terrace, and the seaside club down the hill. Complementing the pinkish hue of the historic hotel building, the new outdoor decor creates an even more memorable view from its lofty perch down to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Le Sirenuse

Along the winding and precipitous coastal road into Positano, where colorful buildings cascade down the steep terrain, is the coveted destination Le Sirenuse, part of the Leading Hotels of the World group. This year, the family-run property has invited Swiss artist Nicolas Party to overhaul its swimming pool with a dazzling array of mosaic tiles that he describes as “strongly influenced by ancient Chinese landscape painting, in which elements such as sea and sky, mountains and clouds, merge and swap identities.” The ripples of the water created by swimmers help to further enliven the curvaceous blue and green patterns Party has added across the pool, which contrast the hotel’s bold red and white exterior.

“When an artist first visits the hotel, they’re pretty much given carte blanche—within reason—on what the work will be and where it will be placed, but in this case, we knew it had to be the pool, and we knew also that the material should be mosaic,” explains Le Sirenuse curator Silka Rittson-Thomas. This is the latest and 11th iteration of the hotel’s site-specific art program, which has seen artists including Martin Creed, Alex Israel and Rita Ackermann create interventions in and around the property since the initiative launched in 2015.

The hotel’s boutique, Emporio Sirenuse, has also released a summer collection with artist and designer Louis Barthélemy, whose garments tell the story of two mythical sirens who swam from the bay of Alexandria to the shores of Positano. The capsule collection includes band-collared blouses, tailored Bermuda shorts, breezy cabana shirts, and of course, palazzo pants, each adorned with vivid prints typical of Barthélemy’s colorful and richly narrative style.

Borgo Santandrea, Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, and Casa Angelina

Among other hotels with major updates is Borgo Santandrea, one of the newest on the Amalfi Coast, sitting some 300 feet above the sea in Conca dei Marni and incorporating the village’s dramatic medieval defenses. For the 2024 season, the resort-style property is debuting three new suites built into the cliffside, a spa and wellness offering, a boutique stocked with high-end and local merchandise, and most notably, the Borgo Fleet—five luxury boats that guests can utilize for excursions and transfers up and down the coast, avoiding traffic while taking in the scenery from the water.

On the opposite side of the peninsula, Sorrento’s Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria is premiering a champagne bar that faces onto the town’s main square. The new La Pergola Bar à Champagne is an extension of the hotel’s existing wisteria-covered terrace, and features a menu guided by sommelier Lino De Gregorio that’s accompanied by gourmet finger foods from executive chef Antonino Montefusco.

And finally, in Praiano, Casa Angelina has continued its collaboration with renowned Italian brand Paola Lenti, which created the hotel’s Azure Suite last year, and invited the studio to overhaul the hotel’s Vermarine Suite. With views that stretch to Positano and beyond to Capri, the suite boasts a 30-square-meter terrace, a spacious indoor layout, and pale green decor for which it’s named. So whether it’s your first trip to the Amalfi Coast, or you’re a frequent returning visitor, there’s plenty of new spots to explore.