A house above the sea

Casa Scogliera is a private house on the cliff at Laurito, the quiet eastern end of Positano, ten minutes' walk along the shore from the Spiaggia Grande. It was built in the 1920s for a Neapolitan family who came for the summers, and it still feels like that: a house rather than a hotel, with the sea below every window.

Five terraces step down the rock between lemon trees, vines and bougainvillea — the lemon grove at the top, the pergola where dinner is laid, a saltwater plunge pool cut into the cliff, and two private terraces off the suites. Inside, floors are old terracotta and hand-painted Vietri tile, walls are white lime, and the beds are made with Italian cotton.

Take the whole villa for up to ten, or one of its four suites and apartments for two to four. Either way you have a host who lives in the village, breakfast on the terrace every morning, and a concierge who will put you on a boat to Capri, find a table in Ravello or bring our chef to the pergola for the night.