Villa Cimbrone

A medieval palazzo with sumptuous suites, panoramic pool, formal gardens and "the most beautiful panorama in the world".

Villa Cimbrone occupies the most gobsmacking position on the entire Amalfi coast, perched on the lip of a sheer-sided spur high above the sea, like Winslet and DiCaprio on the prow of the Titanic. And it's no less romantic. Greta Garbo famously fell in love here, honeymooners vie for the sea-view suites, and high profile weddings are frequent.

The grounds are what most people come for: long avenues of umbrella pines, fragrant rose gardens, trellises dripping with wysteria, a belvedere fringed with marble busts, even a pseudo-Roman temple. And these are reason enough for any visit. But stay after they've left, book one of the elegant vaulted rooms and you will have the place sublimely to yourself. Dinner is served in a gourmet restaurant on a poolside veranda while the sun reddens the sky above Monte dell'Avvocata and the twinkling Maiori coastline. By day, you can sun yourself by the pool, explore the stately churches and museums of gorgeous Ravello, wander down to Atrani for a swim, or take a boat trip along the rugged peninsula.

Highs

• The best views in the world (according to Gore Vidal)
• Formal gardens designed by Lord Grimthorpe (of Big Ben fame), full of flowers, statues and secret nooks
• Historic building, one-time residence of the King of Naples and Sicily, with medieval towers and crypt
• Regal bedrooms with grand fireplaces, frescoed vaults, antique furniture
• You follow in the footsteps of E M Forster, Henry Moore, T S Eliot, Virginia Woolf, D H Lawrence, the Duke of Kent, Churchill, Clinton... the list goes on and on

Lows

• The grounds are open to non-residents from 9am to 6pm, as are the restaurant and crypt
• It's 10 minutes' walk from the nearest carpark, though porters will trolley your bags
• Occasional wedding parties (mostly on Saturdays), though the grounds are big enough to absorb them
• It's not cheap – but Ravello's other headline hotels, the Palazzi Sasso and Caruso, are nearly twice the price