Palazzo Santa Croce

Palazzo Santa Croce is a private palazzo set high above Positano, with the whole village falling away below it to the sea. Inside it is unashamedly grand: crystal chandeliers, inlaid ceilings, rich fabrics and gilt-framed paintings. Outside, the terraces look straight across the bay, and the gardens are planted with lemon, orange and mandarin trees, figs and pomegranates. Below the house is a full private spa with an indoor pool, a sauna, a Turkish bath and a massage room. Five bedrooms sleep nine. A butler and a housekeeper are in the house eight hours a day, a continental breakfast is laid out every morning, and the beds and towels are changed daily. Among the Positano villas we represent, this is the one for a family or a group of friends who want the view, the service and the full Amalfi Coast romance.

Where exactly is Palazzo Santa Croce?

The palazzo stands high above Positano, which is what gives it the view. The centre of the village is about eight minutes’ walk away, and the beach and its waterfront restaurants about fifteen.

The house is reached from the road in one of two ways: the public lift, which runs from street level from 8 am to midnight, or a climb of more than 190 steps. The lift belongs to the town of Positano, not to the villa. The town sets its hours and may charge a fee. A porter helps with luggage on arrival, from 4 to 6 pm, and on departure, from 8 to 10 am.

Amalfi is about thirty-five minutes by road and Sorrento a little under forty. Ravello is along the coast road, and Capri is a boat ride from Positano’s harbour. Naples airport is about an hour and a half.

What is the house like inside?

The ground floor holds a sitting room with a fireplace and a formal dining room whose double doors open onto the front terrace and the view. The kitchen is professional, built around a large stone fireplace with two wood-fired pizza ovens. There is a wine cellar and an ice maker.

Air conditioning and heating run throughout, with Wi-Fi, smart televisions, a sound system, a security system and a computer for guests to use. Every bedroom has its own minibar, safe and hairdryer.

The private spa

The lower floor is given over to wellness. There is an indoor pool with a swimming current and a waterfall, a sauna, a Turkish steam bath, a jacuzzi with oxygen therapy, and a massage room. In a village where most houses have a plunge pool at best, it is the palazzo’s great luxury.

How are the bedrooms arranged?

Five bedrooms, five bathrooms, nine guests. The two master suites take the upper floor and the best of the view.

First floor

• Master suite one — king, two balconies over the garden and the sea-view terrace, en-suite shower
• Master suite two — king, its own panoramic sea-view terrace, en-suite shower

Garden level

• Bedroom three — twin beds, sea view, en-suite shower
• Bedroom four — queen, looking over Positano and the garden, en-suite shower
• Bedroom five — single, with its own shower room

The bed arrangement is fixed. The garden-level rooms open onto the citrus gardens and suit children or friends travelling together.

What is outside?

The front terrace is the heart of the house, with Positano and the sea spread out beneath it. There is a sundeck with a jacuzzi and several places to eat outside, from breakfast in the morning sun to dinner as the lights of the village come on.

The gardens are paved in Vesuvian stone and planted with mature lemon, orange and mandarin trees, figs and pomegranates, with flowerbeds, a loggia and a gazebo. It is the Amalfi Coast of the postcards, and it is private.

What is included?

• A butler, eight hours a day
• Housekeeping, 8.30 am to 4.30 pm
• A continental breakfast every morning
• Bed linen and bath towels changed daily
• Electricity, air conditioning, heating and water
• Daily pool maintenance, Wi-Fi and final cleaning
• Porter service on arrival and departure

The staff take one day off a week.

What is arranged separately?

A cook can be booked from the villa’s own in-house staff for lunches or dinners. Additional staff hours, laundry, food and drink, and porterage outside the arrival and departure hours or on a Sunday are charged separately. Visitor’s tax is paid locally in cash for the first seven nights.

Through the Haute Retreats concierge we arrange the rest: a private boat to Capri, the Li Galli islands or along the coast to Amalfi; tables at the beach clubs and the restaurants of Positano; Ravello and its gardens; cooking classes in the villa kitchen; massages in the spa; and drivers and transfers from Naples.

Who is Palazzo Santa Croce right for?

Families and groups of up to nine who want to stay in Positano itself, with the village and the beach on foot, a staff that looks after them all day, and a private spa to come back to. It suits a celebration, a honeymoon taken with family, or a summer week on the Amalfi Coast with the boat days and long lunches it promises.

It is not right for anyone who cannot manage steps. The lift covers most of the climb, but Positano is a vertical town, and the palazzo sits high up in it.

Good to know

Five bedrooms, five bathrooms, nine guests. Check-in 4 pm to 6 pm, check-out 8 am to 10 am. Minimum stay four nights. Access by the public lift (8 am to midnight, run by the town) or more than 190 steps. Children are welcome. No pets. Smoking on the terrace only. A damage guarantee of €10,000 is held on a credit card locally. Visitor’s tax payable locally in cash. Availability and rates are subject to change, and full terms are confirmed at booking.

CIN IT065100B49LVR76BV

A few days at Palazzo Santa Croce

Breakfast on the front terrace with the whole bay below, then down through the village to the beach.

A private boat to Capri and the Li Galli islands, swimming in the coves on the way back.

An afternoon in the spa: the indoor pool, the Turkish bath, a massage.

The last evening at home: the pizza ovens lit, dinner on the terrace, and the lights of Positano coming on beneath you.

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