Miramalfi Hotel

In the early summer of 2023, one image seemed to dominate the Instagram-feed of every inspirational travel account – the suspended saltwater pool of Hotel Miramalfi. 

On one side of the swimming pool a tall cliff reaches towards the sky. On the other is turquoise waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. 

People couldn’t seem to stop sharing images of this place, more formally known as the Miramalfi Beach Club.

You can arrive at the Beach Club in two ways. 

One is taking the stairs from the reception, leading past the restaurant Sauté, which sits on a elegant outdoor terrace. In the morning yoga classes are offered here, and from noon, lunch is served. 

The other way is to take the elevator, through the mountain that the hotel is built on. A long corridor will lead you to the Beach Club, which (besides the famous pool) consists of a large solarium in several different levels, with sunbeds and parasols. 

The staff is only too happy to bring you towels, coffee, or drinks, and even napkins to clean your sunglasses with. 

The hotel is easy to miss from the road, as only one story is visible from this angle. 

To enter, you have to go down a narrow flight of stairs, where the view of the sea and of Amalfi town welcomes you. You can enjoy your aperitivo on a small terrace, adjoined to the Mario Bar. 

The restaurant, Donna Emma La Cucina, located on the same level, is open for dinner, and in the mornings, this is also where the very generous breakfast is served, with both buffet and à la carte options. 

Weather permitting, choose a table on the restaurant’s terrace, which stretches along the seaside front of the hotel, from which you can see the silhouette of Capri in the horizon.

The hotel opened in 1956, but its history goes back to the late 1800s, when Francesco Mansi left his native Amalfi to find work abroad. He travelled to Mexico, where he made a fortune, while always wanting to return to Italy. 

In the late 1930s, he and his family left Mexico, and he bought a plot of Amalfi town, where he began constructing the hotel that he had envisioned. 

As a nod to his time in Mexico, he chose a name that combined the Italian with the Spanish; Miramalfi. The bar is named after his son, Mario, and today the hotel is managed by his grandson. 

The fact that this hotel is a family affair is noticeable in many of the small details, making it a very personal experience.  

The rooms are generously sized, offer great views, and come with every amenity imaginable, from chilled cherries as a welcome gesture to Dyson blow-dryers to toiletries from Sicilian natural luxury brand Ortigia. 

Before arriving, remember to plan ahead and make a note of the phone number to the hotel reception. 

The easiest way is simply phoning upon arrival to Amalfi town, so that the staff can send you a complimentary shuttle. 

It is less than a ten minutes-walk from the port to the hotel, but uphill along a heavily trafficked road, so not recommended. 

Spending a few days, or even a week or two, on the Amalfi coast, is something many dream of. This means that beaches tend to be overcrowded, and there is a waiting list to most decent restaurants. 

For this reason, Miramalfi is the perfect place to stay – here, you can lounge around the pool or go swimming undisturbed by others, and the restaurant, serving some of the best food in this corner of the coast, always has room for hotel guests. 

Hotel Miramalfi

Amalfi, Italy