by Peabod
Every now and then I make a discovery in my travels that seems just too good to be true. For me, discovery is the essence of travel, and the Hotel San Pietro in Positano, Italy is just one of those discoveries.
Sometimes I have mixed emotions about these little treasures, however. On the one hand, there is a genuine desire to share them with anyone and everyone who loves to talk about the adventure of travel. In a sense it’s a bit of one upsmanship, a status symbol of sorts, to have been to a place so unique that I cannot wait to tell others about it. But there’s also a selfish side to that philosophy, because there is an equal feeling that I should keep these gems hidden as my own little secrets; a kind of personal reward for all my years of exploration in pursuit of such treasures.
I've decided to relent, just this once, and tell you about Hotel San Pietro, but only with the promise that you keep this information just between us so nobody else will know about it. Truthfully, San Pietro is now recognized as one of the most exclusive hotels in all of Europe. It has become a playground for the rich and famous, so I am really not giving anything away at all. What I am doing however, is letting you know about it too, so that you may hopefully seek out this incredible gem that is a truly unique travel experience.
What's so special about this charming, little hotel nestled along the Amalfi Coast about three hours south of Rome? Aside from the fact that the scenery is breathtaking, the cuisine superb, the service elegant and the ambience pure romance; aside from all that, this family run hotel is…well…It’s invisible!
Whether you approach from the road or from the sea, you quite literally have to look for Hotel San Pietro to find it. Even then you may not see it. But that’s just the beginning of the charm.
To reach San Pietro, drive the coastal road from Sorrento toward Salerno along the spellbinding, serpentine ribbon of road that twists and turns around the rocks with stunning vistas and dramatic hill towns that only whet your appetite for what you are about to experience. About two kilometers past the once quiet fishing village of Positano, you will come to a bend that is little more than a wide spot in the road, and tucked alongside of that bend is a tiny chapel. The chapel is called “St. Peter" (San Pietro) and this is where the hotel gets its name. Park the car and walk behind the chapel. There you will find flower-lined stairs leading to an elevator, or if you prefer, you can walk down through the bougainville terraces to the lobby.
In mere minutes you will find yourself enveloped in a world of Italian marble and tiles, cantilevered terraces, sloping gardens and majestic views of a coastline that points a perpetual face to the sun.
Conceived by Carlo Cinque, the original owner, who was not an architect, but rather a designer and a master of “elite tourism," San Pietro is an architectural wonder where the rooms have literally been excavated into the rock to preserve the scenic beauty of the coastline.
Every room is different. Each exquisitely, almost decadently, decorated to banish inhibitions to another time, another place. And, of course, each room looks out to the sea. In fact, there's no need for curtains in any of the bathrooms. Some feature sunken marble bathtubs (one will even comfortably accommodate four), but all are designed so that guests can see out, while no one else can see in. Thus, San Pietro creates an atmosphere for the traveler of being totally alone within nature. Some rooms feature full-sized marble statues, and one has a bed so large that it literally had to be constructed inside the room.
To reach the pool, take the elevator, which runs eighty-eight meters straight down through the rock. It takes a full 45 non-stop seconds before opening out to a grotto, which leads to the seclusion of the sundeck and the sea.
A poetic, inspirational ambience lingers everywhere at San Pietro, for it is a place that celebrates a symphony of life; where music seems to rise from the sea and seep into the clouds. Here is a place where dawn doesn’t break, rather it eases up hillsides and caresses each little nook and every little cranny. San Pietro is a place where celestial rhythms cross the water, shimmering with golden pathways of daylight that yield to sparkles of moonlight that dance like liquid stars upon the surface of the sea. The San Pietro is a place where the ascent from the blue horizons of the sea merges with the sky in a gateway to paradise.
I’ve made a solemn promise to myself that one day I will find a way to somehow spend at least one night at San Pietro. But for now, you share my secret, though I remind you that you have been sworn to secrecy. Trouble is, as I've already mentioned, the San Pietro is invisible, and yet, oddly enough, it is one place where “seeing is definitely believing.”
Whether you approach from the road or from the sea, you quite literally have to look for Hotel San Pietro to find it. Even then you may not see it. But that’s just the beginning of the charm.
To reach San Pietro, drive the coastal road from Sorrento toward Salerno along the spellbinding, serpentine ribbon of road that twists and turns around the rocks with stunning vistas and dramatic hill towns that only whet your appetite for what you are about to experience. About two kilometers past the once quiet fishing village of Positano, you will come to a bend that is little more than a wide spot in the road, and tucked alongside of that bend is a tiny chapel. The chapel is called “St. Peter" (San Pietro) and this is where the hotel gets its name. Park the car and walk behind the chapel. There you will find flower-lined stairs leading to an elevator, or if you prefer, you can walk down through the bougainville terraces to the lobby.
In mere minutes you will find yourself enveloped in a world of Italian marble and tiles, cantilevered terraces, sloping gardens and majestic views of a coastline that points a perpetual face to the sun.
Conceived by Carlo Cinque, the original owner, who was not an architect, but rather a designer and a master of “elite tourism," San Pietro is an architectural wonder where the rooms have literally been excavated into the rock to preserve the scenic beauty of the coastline.
Every room is different. Each exquisitely, almost decadently, decorated to banish inhibitions to another time, another place. And, of course, each room looks out to the sea. In fact, there's no need for curtains in any of the bathrooms. Some feature sunken marble bathtubs (one will even comfortably accommodate four), but all are designed so that guests can see out, while no one else can see in. Thus, San Pietro creates an atmosphere for the traveler of being totally alone within nature. Some rooms feature full-sized marble statues, and one has a bed so large that it literally had to be constructed inside the room.
To reach the pool, take the elevator, which runs eighty-eight meters straight down through the rock. It takes a full 45 non-stop seconds before opening out to a grotto, which leads to the seclusion of the sundeck and the sea.
A poetic, inspirational ambience lingers everywhere at San Pietro, for it is a place that celebrates a symphony of life; where music seems to rise from the sea and seep into the clouds. Here is a place where dawn doesn’t break, rather it eases up hillsides and caresses each little nook and every little cranny. San Pietro is a place where celestial rhythms cross the water, shimmering with golden pathways of daylight that yield to sparkles of moonlight that dance like liquid stars upon the surface of the sea. The San Pietro is a place where the ascent from the blue horizons of the sea merges with the sky in a gateway to paradise.
I’ve made a solemn promise to myself that one day I will find a way to somehow spend at least one night at San Pietro. But for now, you share my secret, though I remind you that you have been sworn to secrecy. Trouble is, as I've already mentioned, the San Pietro is invisible, and yet, oddly enough, it is one place where “seeing is definitely believing.”
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