The catch at Caruso, A Belmond Hotel
Five things sit between the photographs and the stay. None is a reason to pass on Ravello's palace hotel, but each one decides which room, which month and how you reach the coast below.
On our shortlists
The two entry categories look over the garden or the village; the sea view starts with the Deluxe Sea View Room.
The Superior Rooms with Garden, 42 to 48 m², are on the ground floor of the Garden Wing, most with a private garden or terrace, and look over the hotel's gardens or the village. The Garden View Rooms with Terrace, 35 to 45 m², in the Main Building, face the same way. The Deluxe Sea View Room, 40 to 50 m², with a balcony or terrace, is the first category over the sea and the coast. Across the 2027 season the step between the entry room and the Deluxe Sea View is €220 to €880 a night for two: on Tuesday 22 June 2027 they were €2,595 and €3,475, with breakfast and taxes. The Superior Suite, 55 to 60 m², faces the village and the church of San Giovanni del Toro, so size alone does not buy the view.
What to do. If the coast is the reason for Ravello, book the Deluxe Sea View Room or a sea-view junior suite, and treat the entry room as a garden room with the pool for the view.
There is no beach: the sea is 350 metres below, by shuttle, taxi or a long stepped path.
Ravello sits 350 metres above the sea, and the hotel's water is its heated infinity pool at the top of the gardens, with loungers and cabanas for guests. For the sea, the hotel runs a free scheduled shuttle down to Amalfi, about 15 minutes by road, and the beach at Castiglione is 9 minutes away by car. On foot, Atrani and Minori are 32 and 34 minutes down by steep paths with steps, and a long climb back. The beaches on this coast are pebble, with paid beach clubs beside free public stretches, so a day by the sea means the ride down and, for a sunbed, a beach-club bill as well.
What to do. Ask for the shuttle timetable when you check in, book a beach club for the days you want the sea, and keep the other afternoons for the pool.
The price more than doubles between mid-April and late May, and the hotel is closed from mid-October to mid-April.
Every price here includes breakfast, 10% VAT and Ravello's tourist tax of €5 per person per night, up to seven nights, with under-16s exempt. For the entry Superior Room with Garden, one night for two was €1,055 on 13 April 2027, the first night of the season, €1,165 on 20 April, €1,935 on 11 May, €2,705 on 25 May, €2,595 on 8 June, €2,430 on 13 July, €2,155 on 10 August, €2,760 in mid and late September, and €1,275 to €1,319 from 12 to 14 October. Late May and September cost most, and August costs less than June. The hotel reopens on 13 April 2027, and the last night on sale is 14 October.
What to do. Mid-April and the second week of October cost about half of late May or September, with the same heated pool; in high summer, August is the better-value month here.
Positano and the western half of the coast are an hour away, and the shuttle goes only to Amalfi.
Ravello stands above Atrani and Minori, east of Amalfi. The free scheduled shuttle runs to Amalfi only; there is none to Positano, which is 39 minutes by car off-peak and closer to an hour on the narrow SS163 in traffic. Sorrento is 51 minutes off-peak, and Naples airport 73 minutes, or 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes with traffic. The rest is easy: cars and taxis drive up to the entrance, valet parking is free for guests, and Villa Rufolo and the Duomo are five minutes away on foot.
What to do. Take the shuttle to Amalfi and the ferry on from its pier for a day in Positano, or ask the concierge for a car with a driver for a full day on the western coast.
The rooms sleep two, so a family of four needs a suite or connecting rooms.
The Superior Room with Garden and the Garden View Room with Terrace take two people at most. The Deluxe Sea View Room and the junior suites take a third only as a child on a rollaway bed, with no more than two adults, and in the Deluxe Sea View Junior Suite with Balcony the child must be under 12. The first category for four is the Superior Suite, 55 to 60 m², with one rollaway bed, and it faces the village rather than the sea; the Divina Signature Suites, 90 to 95 m², also sleep four. Otherwise it means connecting rooms, which the hotel has in several categories. There is babysitting, but no kids' club.
What to do. For a family of four with the sea, book a Premium Sea View Junior Suite with Terrace and a connecting sea-view junior suite, and ask for the connection when you book.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants a beach below the room, a tight budget, or a base for Positano and the western coast. Also anyone who wants the sea from the entry room, a family of four in one standard room, or a stay between mid-October and mid-April, when the hotel is closed.
Who should book it anyway
Anyone who wants Ravello at its most beautiful. Caruso is the d'Afflitto family's palazzo at the top of the town, rebuilt by the 16th century, with 18th-century frescoes around the Adagio Bar, terraced gardens with a rose colonnade, and a heated infinity pool that hangs 350 metres over the Gulf of Salerno. Dinner at Il Pantaleone is on a terrace above the coast every night, breakfast is in every rate, valet parking and the shuttle to Amalfi are free, and Villa Rufolo is five minutes away on foot. Book a sea-view junior suite, come in mid-April or the second week of October for the best prices, and the trade is easy to make.
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
- Borgo SantandreaConca dei Marini
Among the coast's dearest: about €2,745 a night for a Superior room in June, with breakfast
- 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 Caruso, A Belmond Hotel
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
The coast from the seaAmalfi Coast and Positano small-boat trip with snorkelling
From €994.9(2,700)10 min by car
Lemons and limoncelloA terraced lemon farm tour with tastings in Amalfi
From €354.8(290)10 min by car
Paddle to the cavesKayak and snorkel to Pandora's Cave from Minori
From €555(270)11 min by car
Cooking classCooking class and farmhouse lunch above Amalfi
From €1295(490)18 min by car
Questions people ask
Good questions about Caruso, A Belmond Hotel
What are the downsides of Caruso, A Belmond Hotel?
Five things sit between the photographs and the stay. None is a reason to pass on Ravello's palace hotel, but each one decides which room, which month and how you reach the coast below. The two entry categories look over the garden or the village; the sea view starts with the Deluxe Sea View Room. There is no beach: the sea is 350 metres below, by shuttle, taxi or a long stepped path. The price more than doubles between mid-April and late May, and the hotel is closed from mid-October to mid-April. Positano and the western half of the coast are an hour away, and the shuttle goes only to Amalfi. The rooms sleep two, so a family of four needs a suite or connecting rooms.
Who should not book Caruso, A Belmond Hotel?
Anyone who wants a beach below the room, a tight budget, or a base for Positano and the western coast. Also anyone who wants the sea from the entry room, a family of four in one standard room, or a stay between mid-October and mid-April, when the hotel is closed.
Our verdict
The palace at the top of Ravello, for the frescoes, the gardens and an infinity pool over the coast rather than a beach. Check availability for the Superior Sea View Junior Suite with Garden.
Last checked: October 2026