Telegram / Hotel Villa San Michele

Great value in seaside Ravello

Hotel Villa San Michele is both and at the same time unassuming and spectacular. It has been owned and operated by the same family for decades, and most guests are regulars, which creates a special and intimate kind of atmosphere. Because so many people return year after year, it feels less like a hotel and more like staying at a relative’s (very extravagant) summer house. 

The hotel has one of the best locations on the Amalfi Coast. Ravello’s town centre is not far away, and both Atrani and Amalfi town are easily reached by foot. But what really makes the location perfect is the hotel’s private sundeck with direct access to the turquoise waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. 

Included in the hotel’s very reasonable room price is half-board. This means that breakfast, served at the hotel restaurant with a breath-taking view of the sea, is always included, and that you can chose if you want to have either lunch or dinner included as well. The menu tends to shift according to what is in season and available from the local farmers. Even the house wine is locally produced.

Staying here is an authentic experience. This means that it has not the same amenities as impersonal luxury hotels, where service is fast, and everything is at your fingertips the moment you have asked for it. The family is hardworking, but the hotel is also their home, and guests should respect this. What this hotel offers is difficult to put a price-tag on: It is about learning about the real culture of the Amalfi Coast, the way it was before it was exploited. 

The food at the restaurant is amazing, as is the service, but what brings people back is also the beauty of the landscape, as Hotel Villa San Michele combines views of the dramatic hillsides (you can even catch a glimpse of Ravello’s famous Terrace of Infinity when going for a swim, if you know where to look) with direct access to the sea. 

The verdant, terraced garden is perfect for a cup of coffee in the afternoon or an aperitivo in the early evening, where you can relax with a book or in quiet conversation with your travel companion. 

What the hotel really offers is an invitation to the art of doing nothing, of slowing down, taking your time, becoming one with the moment and with your surroundings. 

The room décor has not been upgraded for decades, and most rooms are painted in the same Mediterranean colours of white and light blue. Bathroom are dated, but the ocean view and generous terraces that accompany most rooms more than make up for this. In our opinion, the lack of renovation is part of the hotel’s rustic charm. Not everything needs to be up-to-date or ultra-luxurious. You will probably spend very little time indoors anyway, but the possibility of waking up with the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs beneath your terrace is a memory that will last you a lifetime. 

To make a reservation, the best way is to e-mail them directly. That way, they can also help make arrangements for your transit to the Amalfi Coast. It’s difficult to drive on the narrow roads, so we really recommend that you allow for them to pick you up in their shuttle.

What to do: the Gardens of Villa Cimbrone

Both Amalfi town and Atrani are within easy reach, and Atrani in particular has both a nice beach and several rustic restaurants, perfect for a quiet night out. But Ravello is undoubtedly the unofficial star of the Amalfi Coast. The first “golden era” of Ravello occurred already in the 11^th century, which is also when the first mentions of Villa Cimbrone can be found in local records. The name comes from the large estate that once stood here – eight hectares known as “Cimbronium”.

Initially, it belonged to the aristocratic Acconciajoco family, but in the 13^th century, it was passed to the Fuscos, a local noble family, related not only to the influential Pitti family in Florence but also to the D’Angiò family in Naples. After that, it became part of a nearby monastery, which is why the papal arms of Cardinal Della Rovere were placed over the old entrance gate. In brief summary of its long history, the villa and its gardens have changed owners several times through the centuries, and every owner has both preserved but also added something to the place. In 1861, historian Ferdinand Gregorovius described his impressions of the gardens:

”Incomparable ... where the most beautiful flowers you can imagine flourished, coming from numerous plants of the South ... redesigned and enriched with countless ... ornamental features, small temples, pavilions, bronze and stone statues.”

A few decades after Gregorovius’ visit, in 1904, Englishman Ernest William Beckett (later Lord Grimpthorpe) fell in love with this place. The gardens are a place of their own, with their own logic, ruled by natural beauty, which is what initially drew him here.

Terrazzo Dell’Infinito

Beckett enlarged both the villa and the gardens by constructing battlements, terraces, and cloister in a hybrid blend of neo-Gothic, Moorish, and Venetian styles. Gossip at the time claimed that Beckett was the father of Violet Trefusis, widely known today for her intimate relationship with Vita Sackville-West. Both Trefusis and Sackville-West are among the most celebrated garden designers of British 20^th century, and spent much time in Ravello with Violet’s presumed father. It’s thus no wonder that the gardens of Villa Cimbrone are considered among the most beautiful in Europe.

After Beckett’s death, the garden was tended to by his daughter, Lucy Katherine Beckett, who was a keen breeder of roses, including the “Rose of Ravello”, which she developed in the 1930s. The villa was a hotspot for the intellectual elite and could count among its many guests Virginia Woolf (who loosely based the novel “Orlando” on the character of Vita Sackville-West), E. M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey, Diana Mosley, Henry Moore, T. S Eliot, Greta Garbo, and Winston Churchill.

What is it that lures people to this garden? In contemporary times, the Amalfi Coast has been turned into a consumer machinery. Granted, it costs a few euros to enter the gardens, but once inside, you can stay for hours, enjoying the views, scents from the flowers and sound of the wind gently caressing the trees.

Being here connects you with nature, it’s a reminder that there is more to life than merely doing things: You can simply allow yourself to be in the moment, giving you the freedom not to worry about the future or dwell on the past. The geographical location of the park, 350 metres above sea level, means that it is suspended above the Amalfi Coast, seemingly a world of its own. This is the gift of this garden, as it is of all gardens, which is also why Gore Vidal answered the way he did, when asked about what he remembered most from his many travels:

”Twenty-five years ago I was asked by an American magazine what was the most beautiful place that I had ever seen in all my travels and I said the view from the belvedere of the Villa Cimbrone on a bright winter's day when the sky and the sea were each so vividly blue that it was not possible to tell one from the other.”

Local recipe: Amalfi Coast Lemon Sorbet

The Amalfi Coast – including Ravello – is famous for its high-quality lemons. Lemon is in everything, from pasta to (obviously) limoncello to deserts. One of our favourite deserts is the Amalfi Coast Lemon Sorbet, served in almost any street corner, always made from locally grown lemons.

Ingredients

8 organic lemons

1/3 cup of (organic) lemon zest (from three additional organic lemons)

1 cup (organic) lemon juice (from the lemons used as cups)

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

Preparing Lemon Shells

Wash the lemon skins well and then dry.

Cut off the top 1/3 of the lemon (not the stem end).  Hollow out each lemon. Remove the lemon juice and flesh; set aside. Make a slight shallow cut on the bottom of each lemon shells (being careful not to cut through to the inside of the lemon).  This will make them sit straight and not fall over when placed on a plate.

Freeze the shells at least one hour (or preferably overnight).  Tip: Freeze the lemon shells in egg carton.

In your blender, place the lemon juice and flesh.  Blend until smooth and them strain through a sieve to extract all the juice.

Preparing Lemon Sorbet

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water until the sugar dissolves.  Add lemon zest.  Stir until mixture comes to a boil; boil 2 minutes.  

Add the strained lemon juice, stir well.  Remove from heat, cool, and strain.  

Pour cooled mixture into a shallow container, cover, and freeze overnight.

Next day: Pour into container, cover, and place mixture in the freezer.  When it is semi-solid, mash it up with a fork and refreeze again.  When frozen, place in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Cover and refreeze until serving time.

When ready to serve, fill each frozen lemon shell with the prepared lemon sorbet and freeze again.  This sorbet can be made ahead and will keep several days in the freezer.  The frozen shell will prevent the sorbet from melting too quickly when you serve it.

NOTE: Can be prepared 3 days in advance.  Cover and keep frozen.