Five-star Three MICHELIN Keys Positano, Amalfi
Il San Pietro di Positano
Rooms cut into a headland outside Positano, each on its own terrace over the sea, with a lift dropping 88 metres to the beach.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Three Keys; one star for Zass
- Opened
- 29 June 1970
- Season
- April to October
The hotel
Carlino Cinque's headland.
In 1962 Carlo Cinque, known as Carlino, bought a headland called La Punta, about two kilometres east of Positano. On it stood a small seventeenth-century chapel to San Pietro. He was his own architect, engineer and site foreman, and built the hotel down the rock face one room deep, so every room looks at the sea. It opened on 29 June 1970, the saint's feast day.
Cutting the lift shaft through the cliff took eight years. It drops 88 metres to a tunnel that leads out to the beach and bar at sea level. Carlino died in 1984; his niece Virginia and her sons Vito and Carlo run the hotel today. The restaurant, now called Zass, won its first MICHELIN star in 2002 and holds one today; the guide gives the hotel three Keys.
- Down to the sea The lift and tunnel lead to a beach club in the cove, with Carlino, the seaside restaurant kept for hotel guests.
- Tennis by the water A court set between the rocks and the sea, and a pool cut into the cliff looking towards Praiano.
- Gardens on the cliff Organic gardens on ten terraces supply both restaurants. A boat runs guests into Positano free of charge.
Rooms & suites
One room deep.
Every room opens onto a private terrace facing the sea, finished with hand-painted tiles and furniture made for the hotel.
- Rooms Signature and Prestige rooms Rooms designed by Fausta Gaetani, each with its own sea-facing terrace.
- In town Palazzo Santa Croce A seventeenth-century palace in Positano with five bedrooms, run by the hotel.
Dining
A star at the top, lunch at the bottom.
Restaurants as listed by the hotel; the star is from the MICHELIN Guide Italia 2026. Shown for information.
- Zass One Michelin star Mediterranean Alois Vanlangenaeker
- Carlino Seaside lunch At sea level, for hotel guests
- Grand Terrace Cocktails Over the bay
Recognition
Awards and memberships.
- Three MICHELIN Keys 2026 selection
- Forbes Travel Guide Four stars, 2026
- Relais & Châteaux Member since 1989
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 2.30 pm, check-out by 11.30 am.
- Children Not for young children. The MICHELIN Guide gives the minimum age as both ten and eleven, so we confirm with the hotel.
- Pets Accepted for a charge, though not in the beach club or the restaurants.
- Season Open from April to October.
Getting there
Flying to Amalfi.
Naples International is about an hour and a half by road, our estimate, depending on traffic on the coast road. Private jets can also land at Salerno Costa d'Amalfi, roughly an hour and a quarter away by car, also our estimate.
- Milan 1 h 10
- Nice 1 h 10
- Geneva 1 h 30
- Paris 2 h 00
- London 2 h 30
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Il San Pietro di Positano have?
- Three, the guide's highest rating, in the 2026 Italian selection.
- How do you reach the beach at Il San Pietro?
- By the hotel's lift, which drops 88 metres through the cliff to a tunnel and out to the beach club at sea level.
- Is Il San Pietro in Positano itself?
- It is about two kilometres east of the town, on its own headland. A hotel boat takes guests into Positano.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Amalfi?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Amalfi, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Amalfi
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Borgo Santandrea A 1960s modernist building above the sea, furnished with mid-century pieces from the owner's own collection.
- J.K. Place Capri Twenty-two rooms on a cliff above Marina Grande, one of the few hotels on the island right by the water.
- Santa Caterina Family-owned for most of a century, among lemon groves, with a lift down to its beach club.
- Villa Treville Franco Zeffirelli's summer house, sixteen suites in four villas, with a boat to Positano in under ten minutes.
- Jumeirah Capri Palace White rooms and contemporary art on the quieter side of the island, next to the chairlift up Monte Solaro.
- Le Sirenuse An eighteenth-century summer house, still run by the Sersale family, open from April to October.
- Caruso, A Belmond Hotel High on the Ravello cliff, with a terrace Gore Vidal called the most beautiful view in the world.
- Palazzo Avino A twelfth-century palace about 300 metres above the coast, home to the starred Rossellinis.
- Monastero Santa Rosa Twenty suites in a seventeenth-century monastery on a rock, with four levels of garden and a cliffside pool.
- Casa Angelina Thirty-six rooms on the cliffs at Praiano, and the starred Un Piano nel Cielo for dinner.
- Palazzo Pascal Thirteen rooms and suites spread between a noble palazzo, a courtyard and a garden house on Piazza Minuta.
- Caesar Augustus Fifty-six rooms on a cliff edge below Monte Solaro, and an infinity pool on two levels.
- Hotel La Palma Taking guests since 1822, now fifty rooms, with a beach club run by the Casa Tua team.
- Punta Tragara Faces the Faraglioni across the water, and names its suites after the rocks and places of the island.
- La Minerva Nineteen rooms stepped down six terraces, a short walk from the Piazzetta.
- Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel A thirteenth-century Capuchin convent on the cliff above the harbour, its cloister kept, with fifty-two rooms.
- Villa Franca Home to the starred Li Galli, with a roof terrace that looks over the sea and the village.
- Le Agavi Away from the bustle of the centre, every room with a sea terrace, and a beach house of its own at Remmese.
- Grand Hotel Quisisana Open since 1845 on Via Camerelle, by the Piazzetta, with an Art Nouveau theatre of its own.
Staying at Il San Pietro di Positano?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Amalfi, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.