Palazzo Murat

Palazzo Murat Review

With a perfect location in the heart of town above the beachside church of Santa Maria Assunta, and an even more perfect entrance through a bougainvillea-draped patio and garden, the Murat is one of Positano's winners. The courtyard—part orchard, part terrace—is one of the most drop-dead-gorgeous settings in all Campania, the lower section of which offers a sublime area for dining alfresco (the restaurant, Il Palazzo, has a superb and ambitious chef, who is proud of using produce from the garden). The old wing is Positano's very grandest palazzo, with massive limestone walls, carved Rococo delicacies, and wrought-iron balconies swimming in pink flowers; it was built in the early 18th century and used as a summer residence by Joachim Murat, King of Naples. The new wing, also overlooking the garden, is a modern, Mediterranean-style building with arches and terraces—it's cool, lovely, with scattered nautical motifs and tile accents, and very, very pleasant in ambience.