Monastero Santa Rosa

Few hotel settings anywhere rival Monastero Santa Rosa's: a seventeenth-century monastery fixed to the cliffs of Conca dei Marini, midway between Amalfi and Positano, with nothing but air between its terraced gardens and the Gulf of Salerno far below. The nuns of Santa Rosa are credited with inventing the sfogliatella pastry here; after decades of abandonment, a painstaking restoration turned their convent into one of Italy's most coveted small hotels.

Just twenty rooms and suites occupy the former cells, finished with vaulted ceilings, antiques and restrained fabrics that respect the building's contemplative past—no televisions blare in public spaces, and the atmosphere stays hushed by design. Four levels of gardens step down the cliff to the infinity pool, whose edge appears to spill directly into the sea three hundred feet down: it is among the most photographed pools in Europe for good reason.

Il Refettorio, in the monks' old dining hall and on its terrace, serves accomplished Campanian cooking, while the grotto-like spa built into the rock ranks with the coast's best despite the hotel's size. The village location is quiet, with Amalfi a short drive away. Adults-oriented, tiny and seasonal, it rewards those who book early and stay put.