Carlo Cinque

Il San Pietro di Positano Wins Luxist's Editors' Choice Award for Best in Summer Travel

At the famous Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in 2006, the Queen of England traipsed through a garden of hibiscus and bougainvillea inspired by the terraces of Italy's Il San Pietro di Positano-and liked what she saw.

"The Queen appreciated the display at the flower show, but has never been at the San Pietro," says the hotel's Lorenzo Saprio. "Her sister, Princess Margaret, was a frequent visitor."

Fortunately for the rest of the world, that experience can also be enjoyed by people who aren't members of the British royal family. Perched on the cliffs above the bay of Postitano with sweeping views of the town John Steinbeck once described as "a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone," Il San Pietro di Positano is our pick for the Editors' Choice Award in Best Summer Travel.

The hotel features 61 rooms hewn into the rock, each with its own spectacular view and unparalleled privacy. A staff of 127 people buzzes about the resort, looking after guests as they stroll from orchid-filled lobby to dichondra-decked terrace, spacious swimming pool to state-of-the-art fitness center, all the way down to an umbrella-dotted sun deck set just a few feet above the rocky shore.

Gallery: Hotel Il San Pietro di Positano