Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa

At the entrance, front office manager Pompeo Amendola greeted us with a mint-scented hand towel and fresh lemonade before ringing the property’s ancient monastery bell as a welcome sign. The hotel’s tasteful renovation preserved the antique monastery walls, whose secret doors once provided the cloistered nuns with safe passage to the adjacent church of Santa Maria del Grado.

Previous visitors rave about the hotel’s excellent service, as staff members outnumber clients. The property’s tiered gardens unfold through multiple levels, and guests can freely walk from pool to spa to cafe in their complimentary kimonos.

Soft-lighted chandeliers and historical wooden furniture create a meditative ambiance throughout the two hallways that lead to accommodations.

The queen terrace room comes equipped with fine Italian linen and antique period furniture pieces combined with modern amenities, such as a minibar and a flat-screen TV. Although we enjoyed the clever built-in window desk, we found the private terrace to be the most impressive feature.

The property houses Il Refettorio, a Michelin-starred restaurant that delivers a fine dining experience based on locally sourced products and Amalfi Coast-inspired recipes. Diners can opt for a terrace view of the Tyrrhenian Sea or sit in the historical convent’s cistern, now a finely furnished dining room with vaulted ceilings and ceramic and antique pieces.

Decorated with dark chestnut and Jerusalem stone, Monastero Santa Rosa’s luxurious bathrooms deliver an experience unto themselves. Heated floors and walk-in rain showers are some of the features. Large soaking tubs encourage guests to try complimentary Santa Maria Novella pomegranate bath salts while contemplating the Mediterranean Sea from their bathroom window.

It’s hard to imagine a better place to celebrate a marriage than an ancient monastery on the Amalfi Coast. Monastero Santa Rosa also offers an idyllic spot for wedding proposals, which can be found next to an antique well at the end of a stone pathway lined with flowers and trees.

Monastero Santa Rosa’s thermal area features a bevy of treatment rooms, ranging from a rock sauna to a steam room. The different areas are spread across several levels, giving each space a comfortable feel. We were particularly bewitched by the vaulted pool with blue lights, but the heated benches and elegant lounge rooms were also impressive.

Hungry guests will find great pleasure in swinging by the bar area, as it offers lunch and dinner menus as well as an afternoon light lunch option and numerous drinks made with the hotel’s herbs and plants. The adjacent Aloe terrace and the open-air fire pit can be reserved for candlelit romantic evenings, while every afternoon at 5 p.m. the bar terrace welcomes guests for a complimentary tea service.

Monastero Santa Rosa’s infinity pool is carved into the rocky ground of one of the hotel’s garden levels. It’s surrounded by wooden cabanas that offer different degrees of privacy. The unique view over the Amalfi Coast delivered by the pool’s precipitous edge is one-of-a-kind.

After checking in, travelers are spoiled with a complimentary morning bite in their room consisting of a fresh sfogliatella accompanied by a strawberry bowl. We managed to tour a suite’s living area right before guests arrived. The living area is furnished with dark wood pieces, while the blue carpet and artwork match the view of the Mediterranean Sea.

All accommodations at Monastero Santa Rosa are named after a plant or herb in homage to the monastery’s plant-focused heritage. Verbena motif decorates the fine linen of the suite bedroom we toured. The hand-painted sign hanging behind the bedroom door also pays tribute to the nuns, and reminders of the bulding’s previous tenants are showcased in several nooks.

As we were leaving the hotel, a large wooden confessional resting on the main level caught our attention. Management invites guests to make a personal confession by writing feedback for the hotel in this historic piece.