The catch at Borgo Santandrea
Four things stand between the photographs and the stay. None of them takes anything from the design, the beach or the dinner, but each one decides the room you book, how you get to Amalfi and who can come with you.
On our shortlists
- Best beach hotels on the Amalfi CoastTwo lifts drop 79 metres to a white pebble beach and jetty for guests
- Best design hotels on the Amalfi CoastMid-century furniture, Gio Ponti and 31 designs of hand-painted tile
- Best quiet hotels on the Amalfi CoastOn the cliff between villages, with lifts to a guests-only beach
- Best hotels with a view on the Amalfi CoastGulf of Salerno views, straight ahead from the Deluxe Sea View up
- Best hotels for food and drink on the Amalfi CoastAlici's starred majolica terrace, and lunch in a fishermen's boathouse
It is among the dearest hotels on the coast: about €2,745 a night for a Superior room in June.
On Tuesday 8 June 2027 a Superior Room, 28 to 32 m² with a side view of the sea, cost €2,747 a night for two with breakfast. The first room that faces the sea head on, the Deluxe Room Sea View & balcony, was €3,472, and the suites ran from €6,000 for a Junior Suite to €9,457 for the Premium Suite with its own pool. On top of the room, the comune of Amalfi charges a tourist tax of €5 per person per night in five-star hotels from 1 April to 2 November, with children under 10 exempt. Dinner at Alici, the starred restaurant, sits at the top of the MICHELIN price scale, and the cost of the stay and of the extras is the complaint guests raise most often.
What to do. Parking, with valet, and the shuttle to Amalfi by car or by boat are free, and breakfast was included in every June rate. Check that yours includes it.
It is on the coast road, 3.4 km from Amalfi, so every evening out means the shuttle or a taxi.
The hotel stands on the SS163 above Conca dei Marini between villages, not in a town. Amalfi is 3.4 km along the coast road, and its Duomo is about 7 minutes away by car, Ravello 14 and Positano 24. The only restaurant within a 10-minute walk is La Tonnarella, down a stepped lane to the beach at Marina di Conca, with the climb back after dinner. SITA Sud buses stop on the coast road 5 or 6 minutes' walk either side of the entrance. Inside the gate there are three restaurants, a bar open until midnight and room service around the clock, which is the hotel's answer; for anyone who likes to stroll out to dinner, it is the main thing to weigh.
What to do. Use the free shuttle to Amalfi, which runs by car and by boat in the morning and in the evening, and ask the concierge for the last run back before you book a late table in town. A taxi can be called at any time.
The two cheapest categories do not face the sea head on.
The Classic Rooms courtyard view, up to 25 m², are on the side of the building and look over the terraced gardens through floor-to-ceiling windows, not over the water. The Superior Rooms, 28 to 32 m² with a private balcony, have a lateral view: the sea is there, but to one side. A front view of the sea starts with the Deluxe Room Sea View & balcony, 30 to 40 m² with a sitting area, and even in that category some rooms have a French balcony, a rail across a tall window, rather than a balcony you can sit out on. Every suite looks straight out over the Gulf of Salerno.
What to do. Book the Deluxe Room Sea View & balcony for the view the hotel is built around, and ask for a room with a full private balcony when you book.
Children under 8 are not accepted.
The hotel welcomes children from the age of 8 and gives its own reason: the borgo is a stack of terraces, balconies and stairways down 90 metres of cliff, with balconies and sheer views at every turn. There is no kids' club, and most rooms sleep two. A Family Room is made by joining two Superior Rooms, and there are only a few of them; the Corner Suite, the Deluxe Suite Sea View & Terrace and the Premium Suite Sea View & Pool take a third guest on an extra bed. The beach below is white pebble, reached by lift or by the garden stairways, and its services are for hotel guests only.
What to do. With children of 8 or over, ask for a Family Room early, or book one of the three suites that sleep three.
Who should skip it
Families with children under 8, anyone who wants to walk out of the door to dinner in Amalfi or Positano, and anyone for whom the bill decides it: the first room facing the sea straight on was about €3,470 a night in June. The hotel also closes over the winter, roughly November to March.
Who should book it anyway
Anyone who wants the hotel to be the holiday rather than a base for one. The 31 designs of hand-painted tile, the owners' mid-century furniture and the whitewashed terraces are reason enough, and below them, all reached by lift, are a saltwater pool, a white pebble beach and jetty kept for guests, and Alici's starred terrace over the sea. Breakfast is cooked to order in an open kitchen until 11:30, the shuttle puts Amalfi a short ride away, and guests single out the staff, who learn their names. Book the Deluxe Room Sea View & balcony and let the property do the rest.
The catch elsewhere on the Amalfi Coast
- Le SirenusePositano
The cheapest rooms, the Courtyard Rooms of about 22 m², look onto an inner courtyard with a limited view; the sea view starts at the Classic Sea View, on the lower floors
- Il San Pietro di PositanoPositano
The entry Classic room is about 22 m² including its terrace and bathroom, with a shower; the hotel lists sunbeds on the terrace only from the 40 m² Elite rooms up
- Caruso, A Belmond HotelRavello
The entry Superior Room with Garden is on the ground floor of the Garden Wing and looks over the garden or the village, not the sea; the sea view starts with the Deluxe Sea View Room, about €200 to €900 a night more
- Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & SpaConca dei Marini
The entry Superior Rooms are 26 m² with a single sea-view window and a shower; a bathtub starts with the Deluxe Room and a terrace with the Queen Terrace Room
- Palazzo MuratPositano
There is no lift: rooms in the old palazzo are reached by stairs, the Deluxe rooms on the second floor, and the Standard Double Room, the smallest at about 20 m², is up two flights with a small terrace and no view
- Hotel Tramonto d'OroPraiano
Rooms are compact: the Superior with a partial sea view is 20 m², and the sea is seen only in part, from its 4 m² balcony
- Hotel Marina RivieraAmalfi
On the coast road: rooms at the front hear the buses by day, so ask for a higher floor
- Hotel Santa LuciaMinori
Rooms on the street side face the SS163 coast road and pick up traffic noise
- Palazzo PascalScala
The entry Classic Room is in the Dependance, an annex about 50 metres from the main building: about 18 m² with a window and a partial sea view. A private terrace starts with the Deluxe Rooms, about €105 a night more, and the palazzo's suites with the Superior Suite, about €200 more
Things to do from Borgo Santandrea
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
Cooking classCooking class and farmhouse lunch above Amalfi
From €1295(490)2 min by car
The coast from the seaAmalfi Coast and Positano small-boat trip with snorkelling
From €994.9(2,700)7 min by car
Lemons and limoncelloA terraced lemon farm tour with tastings in Amalfi
From €354.8(290)7 min by car
Paddle to the cavesKayak and snorkel to Pandora's Cave from Minori
From €555(270)9 min by car
Questions people ask
Good questions about Borgo Santandrea
What are the downsides of Borgo Santandrea?
Four things stand between the photographs and the stay. None of them takes anything from the design, the beach or the dinner, but each one decides the room you book, how you get to Amalfi and who can come with you. It is among the dearest hotels on the coast: about €2,745 a night for a Superior room in June. It is on the coast road, 3.4 km from Amalfi, so every evening out means the shuttle or a taxi. The two cheapest categories do not face the sea head on. Children under 8 are not accepted.
Who should not book Borgo Santandrea?
Families with children under 8, anyone who wants to walk out of the door to dinner in Amalfi or Positano, and anyone for whom the bill decides it: the first room facing the sea straight on was about €3,470 a night in June. The hotel also closes over the winter, roughly November to March.
Our verdict
The coast's design hotel, with its own beach, a starred terrace and Three MICHELIN Keys, from about €2,745 a night with breakfast. Check availability for the Deluxe Room Sea View & balcony.