The steep Amalfi Coast is the heavenly setting for some of Europe’s greatest day spas, set in bougainvillea-lined hotels high on the coast, with clifftop infinity pools and treatment rooms with endless views of sea and sky.
Floating along the Amalfi Coast on a superyacht is the ultimate way to travel this vertiginous, breathtaking coastline, and it is almost de riguer for yacht guests to enjoy a spa treatment during their Amalfi Coast yacht charter. Here are five of the finest spas to indulge at during your Amalfi superyacht vacation.
Monastero Santa Rosa, Conca dei Marini
Set in a 17th century monastery on a soaring clifftop, this luxury spa hotel sure knows how to make an impression on body and soul. Wandering around the hotel’s grounds upon arrival, you already know you’re in for a treat, as you stroll the terraced gardens that cascade down to the cliff-edge, where a heated infinity pool sits suspended far above the Mediterranean.
The magic continues as you enter the spa – a series of interconnected rooms with vaulted ceilings and rustic 17th century stone walls, with a scent of rosemary and summer lemon oil floating through the softly-lit rooms. The Italian tradition of thermal bathing is celebrated in the Thermal Suite, where you’ll find a double-height Tepidarium with pomegranate foot spas and mosaic loungers, aromatherapy steam room, rock sauna, hydro pool, and emotion showers. There’s even a crushed ice fountain to refresh the skin after thermal bathing.
But that’s just the beginning of your options. There’s also a sumptuous and entirely private ‘spa within a spa’ at the Spa Suite with its own garden terrace, or you can go alfresco with a treatment under the clifftop pergola in the spa’s Treatment Garden. It’s hard to know where to start. But wherever you choose to have your treatment, the end result will be sublime.
Il San Pietro, Positano
Favoured by royals and celebrities, you might expect this exquisite hotel carved into a rocky headland to suffer from a surfeit of pretention. But it doesn’t, relying purely on its considerable charms, exceptional hospitality, and genuinely breathtaking location to keep its refined clientele coming back for more.
The spa offering is a big part of the attraction, with an exclusive menu of treatments including caviar and gold dust facials by La Prairie, caviar body treatments, and Turkish bath and Finnish showers. The spa is located in a building covered in greenery, with big windows overlooking the sea and vines trailing through, and there’s also a dreamy outside terrace for massages on the cliff-side, enjoying the sea breezes and the sound of water crashing on the rocks below.
You may just want to hang around a while after your spa session; there is yoga and Pilates on offer in the gardens, a private beach and tennis court, and a splendidly romantic bar and restaurant terrace with a sea view that thrills the soul. (And a Michelin star menu to boot.)
Hotel Belmond Caruso, Ravello
In its eyrie-like position between sea and sky, this medieval palace stands guard over the Tyrrhenian Sea in the drop-dead gorgeous village of Ravello. Boasting perhaps the most glorious infinity pool on earth, edged by a rose arbour and vine-covered stone, the Belmond Caruso is worth visiting for a meal alone. The spa just adds to the hotel’s offering.
The spa is found in a private villa in the gardens. It is modestly small in comparison with some of the other spas on this list but its treatment list is anything but modest, with a wide range of pampering options using organic products from La Mia Casa Nel Vento, Sothys and Natures. There’s also the option for a massage out in a garden cabana, and a gym upstairs with a sensational sea view if you really want to work for your massage.
After the spa, a stroll through the lush Mediterranean terraced gardens and a sunset aperitif by the pool is a must. You can very easily see why this hotel has been a firm favourite of the A-list since the days when Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart and Jackie Kennedy roamed these marbled and frescoed halls.
Grand Hotel Convento di Amalfi
At the Grand Hotel Convento, there’s a picture-perfect massage cabana set up on a clifftop terrace, the white curtains of the cabana contrasting vividly against the terracotta flagstones and cobalt blue sea. It’s the setting out of a dream, and it’s only the beginning of the treats in store at this luxury Amalfi spa hotel.
Set in a gorgeous Cappuccini monastery of pale stone and vaulted archways overlooking the coast, the Grand Hotel Convento has just the right combination of medieval history and modern glamour. The monk’s Cistercian cloisters and church may remain, but no trace of asceticism lingers, as this modern hotel is firmly dedicated to the high life. An infinity pool is built into the cliff face, honeymooners wander the fragrant lemon grove, and famous Italian chef Natale Giunta leads the kitchen at Dei Cappuccini Restaurant, an alfresco sea-view terrace overhung with twisting vines and flowers.
The wellness spa on site just elevates the experience further, with a wide range of decadent treatments, a Turkish bath and an emotions shower, all in a welcoming, warmly furnished sanctuary where you’ll be happy to leave your worries far behind.
La Sirenuse
A glamorous auberge set high on the coast of Positano, this small luxury hotel feels very much like the refined private home it once was. Antique furnishings and lush greenery fills the alcoves, grand artworks dot the walls, and cool mosaic tiles are worn smooth in breezy rooms that look over the sea.
With its deep, earthen red exterior in Moorish style and clifftop pool set among the lemon trees, there’s a rich, languorous beauty to this property that gets into the soul. The onsite spa, while relatively small, is beautiful, with a modern teak and white marble décor designed by renowned Italian architect, Gae Auelenti. The spa features a sauna, bio-sauna and a granite steam bath, as well as a luxurious couple’s spa suite for joint treatments.
If all that relaxation has stimulated your appetite, the Sirenuse belies its size with four superb dining and bar options, including the Michelin-starred La Sponda restaurant, the Champagne and Oyster Bar and Grill, Franco’s Bar, and the Pool Bar and Restaurant. All have views that could make you weep.
For a decadent soul, it would not be a stretch to visit several of these wellness sanctuaries on an Amalfi Coast yacht charter. In fact, with spas this good, it would almost be a crime not to. To organise a tailored yacht charter itinerary to include plenty of pampering, contact Bespoke Yacht Charter
