We’ve just wrapped up an incredible family vacation on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, with the town of Amalfi being one of the highlights. And we opted to make the lovely Hotel Luna Convento our home base. So was it worth it? Let me tell you all about this unique hotel!
Location
So here’s the thing with the location – it’s both the best and worst thing about this hotel. Take a look at a map and you will understand. Luna Convento is perched in the absolute most perfect waterfront spot in the town of Amalfi. The view are spectacular from everywhere.
But that also means it’s not in the center of town – it’s instead just a short five minute walk. Not a big deal, except the walk is without a sidewalk on an incredibly busy road. We adjusted to this, but expect to get one heck of a fright from it the first few times you make the trek from the hotel to the main town square. It was nerve wracking with my eight year old and I think it would be downright unsafe with a younger child.
But if you can steel your nerves and get over the roadway walk, it’s only a few minutes to reach the main town square and the marina where you can catch a ferry to pretty much anywhere on the Amalfi Coast!
Here is a zoomed in view so you can better see what I mean about the walk – the route is highlighted in blue. There is very little shoulder space on the side of the room – and a lot of cars.
You can also better see the layout of the hotel in the map above. The hotel building sits on the far side of the road, while the Saracen Tower and pool are just across the street, perched on the edge of the rocks. The Saracen Tower contains one of the two hotel restaurants as well as a huge rooftop suite (which is way out of my price range!).
Our Room at Hotel Luna Convento – Junior Suite
I absolutely loved the room here! We booked a Junior Suite for both the size and the ocean view. But the room descriptions say clearly that some will have balconies and some will have windows to the ocean view. So I wasn’t sure exactly what we would get. I did put a nice note in our reservation request that said we would love and appreciate a balcony if it was available.
And man did they ever hook us up. We got not one, but two oceanfront balconies. And the view was seriously spectacular. This was easily the best hotel of our entire Amalfi Coast vacation, and we sat out on the balcony every evening with wine to enjoy the view.
Just look at that view – spectacular! If they just stuck a sleeping bag out there, I would have been happy with that.
The room itself was also a great size, with the main bedroom having a double bed and lots of space to move around. Plus doors that led directly to the smaller of the two balconies. There was a nice big closet in there too.
I also absolutely loved that my son had his own room! I was not expecting that at all, but the third bed was set up in a separate area near the larger balcony, with a door closing it off from the main bedroom. A big win for mom and dad to have some alone time after putting the kid to bed.
The bathroom had a tub/shower combo. It would honestly be a little awkward for bathing kids due to the layout, but we just did showers. There were plenty of towels and toiletries. And there was a wall mounted hair dryer.
There was also a mini fridge with some mini bar items, but plenty of room to add our own waters and snacks. And a safe for keeping passports and money.
Pool & Amenities
The pool. Oh my god, the pool. This was one of the main reasons we opted for the Luna Convento, and it did not disappoint. They have a beautiful pool that is essentially perched on a cliff overlooking the sea. There is even a place you can jump right into the ocean from the poolside, which we did every single evening after our day’s activities!
There is a pool attendant there to help with towels and drinks. And the drinks are pretty reasonable price – 6 Euros for a beer and you can charge to your room. Pretty solid.
In addition to the pool, there is a lovely cloister in the middle of the hotel, which is essentially a large garden area. Each evening, they set up a bar in the cloister and serve drinks there, which we loved doing before dinner each evening. And it stays open until 11 – so we would grab one to drink on the balcony on our way back from dinner too!
The Restaurants & Breakfast
There are two restaurants at Luna Convento – Terrazza and the Saracen Tower and we had a chance to try them both!
We ate lunch at Terrazza one day after returning from hiking the Path of the Gods, and before heading out to our cooking class. We had a super tight turnaround, and they were about 30 minutes from closing when we showed up. And yet they were kind enough to squeeze us in and serve us quickly so we could get out to our tour on time. So five stars for service! The food was also pretty good.
And on our last night in Amalfi, we had dinner at the Saracen Tower. The tower restaurant is located across from the hotel building, perched on the waterfront. (This is also where the pool is.) And it was honestly so good. My husband and I shared the catch of the day, which was a whole fish meant for two. It was so fresh and tasty.
And of course, we can’t forget breakfast. My husband is a hotel breakfast aficionado, so he is way judgy about this. It was served starting at 7am each day in the Terrazza restaurant and was great. There was a nice big spread with a variety of choices. It leaned towards the sweet side, which is pretty typical in Europe, but also had some eggs and bacon every day, which my son was a fan of. And I especially loved that they had some items like fruit (apples and bananas) that I could easily grab and go when we were in a rush.
Service
Service here was top notch. Honestly better than anywhere else we stayed, some of which were much pricier. By the second day, all the staff knew us and which room we were in and everyone was so kind and helpful. They were able to help us arrange car services and golf cart transfers around town. And even helped us sort out the logistics for hiking the Path of the Gods.
One oddity that I should mention is the key situation. We were given a literal gigantic key to our room – not a keycard like you typically get in a modern hotel. Lol. It was odd but definitely fit in with the historical ambiance. You are expected to check the key back into the front desk every time you exit the hotel and retrieve it when you return. I honestly thought this would be annoying, but it was fine. There was always someone at the front desk to hand me a key right away, and I didn’t have to keep track of the thing while out and about. So it works.
Would we stay here again?
Yes, definitely. Luna Convento was one of the absolute highlights of our Amalfi Coast trip. Between the view from our balcony and the pool perched right above the ocean, it is really hard to beat this place. If I am lucky enough to find myself in the Amalfi Coast again, I would make a return visit for sure!