SANTA CATERINA HOTEL – AMALFI

Via Mauro Comite, 9, 84011 Amalfi Salerno, Italy

Rating: 8.7

Hotel Santa Caterina

On our second evening one of my friends who organized most of the trip suggested we get tickets to a classical music festival in neighboring Ravello. Between Ravello and Positano lies Amalfi which is home to one of the most beautiful hotels – the Santa Caterina hotel.

View from our table

Situated higher on the mountain and built directly into the rocks, this Art Nouveau villa features some of the most spectacular views of the coastline. Down below the main hotel there is a gorgeous pool and private beach, which can be accessed by glass elevators. All good reasons to be voted Top European Resort in 2012 by Travel and Leisure Magazine. We stopped for dinner on our way to the concert.

Inside the Restaurant

Open Patio

We were immediately greeted by another lovely silver champagne cart and sipped some bubbly rosé as our meals arrived.

To whet our appetites everyone was served a small appetizer of a breaded beef over a potato puree with a balsamic reduction. This was very tasty although we were all a bit schnitzeled-out from Vienna.

Amuse Bouche

Next I had the ricotta and salami stuffed zucchini flowers. Zucchini flowers have a very mild taste but they are ideal vessels for delicious fillings. In this case they were filled to the brim with creamy fresh ricotta which was seasoned with the salty flavor from the salami. Then to tie the whole thing together they were battered and fried.

Zucchini Flowers

As my entrée I went with something lighter – a carpaccio of beef with fine sheets of parmesan cheese, black truffle oil and slices of black truffle.

Beef Carpaccio

I also snuck a raviolo off of someone else’s plate – ricotta stuffed in a fresh lemon cream sauce – rich and yet light and bright.

Lemon Pasta

After our meal we took a few bottles of red wine to the Ravello festival which was the perfect night cap to the evening. Anyone traveling to Positano should absolutely make the trip to Amalfi to enjoy a meal at the Hotel Santa Caterina. One thing to keep in mind is that while dinner is very romantic and candlelit, as night falls it becomes impossible to enjoy the view. I would recommend possibly also trying the hotel for lunch.

Unobstructed Views

View of the Pool. Photo Cred: http://www.lhw.com/hotel/Hotel-Santa-Caterina-Amalfi-Italy#proprecommendations