The Amalfi Coast's first design hotel is no empty style exercise. This boxy, postwar structure that sits in glorious seclusion above a private beach a few miles east of Positano used to harbor an undistinguished package hotel, but it was bought up by hotelier David Stein's Franklyn Hotels and Resorts and reopened in June 2005 as a cool seaside refuge. The all-white decor in the 45 rooms and suites (most with terraces) will feel antiseptic to some, but it's softened by fresh flowers and warm teak flooring, while playful glass sculptures jazz up the lounge and cigar room. The panoramic rooftop restaurant gives the local tradition a light, creative twist in dishes such as citrus-fruit risotto with red king prawns, or braised gilthead bream with wild fennel and star anise. The lift to the beach still leaves 190 steps to climb down and up; but for those who can't face the legwork, there are two pools, one inside the fitness area and the other outside on a decked terrace. There's no spa as such, but a masseuse is on hand between 11 am and 7 pm.

Once a fisherman's home, Ca' P'a, the restored dream house of a family of architects, doubles as a six-room inn saturated with Mediterranean charm and contemporary good taste. Every bedroom has a 14-foot domed ceiling and a glorious sea view, although there's no AC. The simple accommodations are softened with natural colors and lots of pillows, and the two suites have four-poster beds with mosquito netting. There's a small seawater pool, and terraced gardens slope down to the rocky coast. With no on-site restaurant, meals require climbs up to the Amalfi Coast road, but Casa Privata's location ensures serenity and immunity from the summer crowds.

The legendary Hotel Caruso Belvedere (its fans have included Greta Garbo, Jackie Kennedy, Humphrey Bogart, and Virginia Woolf) was reconstructed and reopened by Orient-Express Hotels as the Hotel Caruso in summer 2005. This hostelry started in 1893 as Pantaleone Caruso's small pensione within the 11th-century D'Afflitto Palace, then grew to occupy the entire place. Now it has 47 rooms—most with terraces featuring Ravello's spectacular hilltop sea vistas, and 15 with private gardens. There's a heated infinity pool worthy of the name, a gym and, new for 2007, a Wellness Centre offering massages and body treatments. The hotel's two restaurants make the best of the views; there's also a poolside snack bar, and a piano bar with 18th-century frescoes. A free shuttle connects with Positano and Amalfi; morning boat excursions are also gratis. But "gratis" is a relative term here: 22 of the rooms have per-night price tags of a thousand euros or more.

Built in 1904, the oldest of the Amalfi Coast's grand hotels, just outside town on the coast road, has been run by the same family for four generations. Such continuity pays off in serenity and in service that runs like clockwork; there is also a certain lived-in feel to this gracious 53-room mansion, which Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie enjoyed during the filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Rooms in the main building feature patterned Vietri or white-tiled floors, early 19th-century antiques, and balconies looking over the sea toward Amalfi's yacht harbor. Thirteen other separate accommodations are set among the verdant grounds, including four "garden suites." (The most spectacular is the Chalet Giulietta e Romeo, a little honeymoon cottage perched at the edge of the cliff amid the orange groves.) Two rock-cut elevators lead down through the cliff to the rocky bathing area and saltwater pool below. There's also a spa and two restaurants, one high-up and fancy, the other beachy and casual, with a wood-fired pizza oven.

Nestled among stone-walled terraces and gardens full of lemon trees and bougainvillea, this simple, friendly 12-room hotel sits on a cliff between Amalfi and Ravello. A winding staircase carved into the cliffside takes you down to the rocky beach (really more of a swimming platform), from which you can arrange to be whisked away by boat. Almost all of the rooms have balconies for drinking in views of the Gulf of Salerno, and for alfresco breakfasts (the only time of day there's room service). Rates include a meal plan, which is great if you're lazy and/or carless, but the quirky, family-run restaurant is also a treat in its own right. The simple guest rooms have traditional tiled floors, paisley drapes, and bright-blue woodwork. Air-conditioning, satellite TV, and direct-dial phones are also standard. There's no pool.

The most striking thing about the San Pietro is its invisibility. No magic rings here: It's just that the hotel seems to merge with the vertiginous cliffs to which it clings. From the sea, this engineering feat is further disguised by the verdant screen of bougainvillea, hibiscus, and grapevines that seem to cascade from terrace to terrace. The 1971 creation of one man, the late Carlo Cinque, the 62-room tumble is now run by his niece, Virginia Attanasio Cinque, and her two sons. About a mile outside Positano on the Amalfi Drive, the hotel is so secluded that it's easy to drive straight past. The only clue that it's there is a discreet sign by an ancient chapel, which turns out to conceal the elevator that whisks guests down to the lobby. A second elevator continues down to the stone sundeck, small private beach, tennis court, and the hotel's new excursion boat. Back "upstairs," there's a new spa and a small semicircular pool lined with Bisazza mosaic tiles, as well as a much-lauded restaurant where Belgian chef Alois Vanlangenaeker works his mojo. Book one of the "special" rooms if you can: They all have features that set them apart, whether it be the largest windows, the most sumptuous decor, or the most expansive bathroom.

After 50 years of being cherished and polished by its owners, the Marchese Sersale family (now into its second generation, with patriarch Franco's son Antonio and his wife, Carla, at the helm), "The Sirens" still has a glamour and poise few hotels in the world can match. Part of the attraction is the 18th-century palazzo itself: Located halfway up this near-vertical village (hence the magnificent views down the coast), it's stuffed with the Sersale family's own collection of antiques. Then there's the service—Le Sirenuse has 63 rooms and twice as many staff. All of this conspires to maintain the illusion that one is a privileged houseguest—though it is, of course, a privilege you pay for. The Gae Aulenti–designed Aveda spa (Aulenti renovated Paris's Musée d'Orsay), the Champagne bar with its views down to the sea over the rooftops of the town, and the family's vintage Riva speedboat that you can rent for a spin around the coast only add to the grandeur. One important point: If you're shelling out for a room here, go all the way and accept nothing less than a deluxe or above, and preferably on a high floor. If you don't have a balcony with that incredible sweep over the bay, you'll cry.

The ruined Renaissance palace that houses this 43-room hotel was given a complete overhaul in 1997, resulting in an opulent pink bonbon that has everything going for it except antique atmosphere. Unlike the revamped Hotel Caruso, Palazzo Sasso makes no attempt to conceal the fact that it is a hotel rather than a princely residence. There are twice as many staff members as rooms and all the amenities to boot (a rooftop sundeck with two plunge pools, hot tubs, satellite TV, Frette linens, Bulgari bath products, and a Moroccan-style spa), however, so no one's complaining. The rooms are lavishly done in handmade Vietri tiles, with precious rugs, antiques of assorted periods, and heavy swag curtains. Unfortunately, only six of them—all of them suites—have balconies or terraces. Still, as long as you don't get stuck with the one entirely viewless internal room, you'll likely be happy (you can always head to the roof terrace or the swimming pool surrounded by gardens to get your fresh-air fix). The gym has a panoramic view, too: The equipment is set high on the mountainside under gazebo tents. The main restaurant, Rossellinis, is among the best in Italy, but there's also a more casual place and a café for your less extravagantly gastronomic moods. From summer 2009, a private villa called Sasso by the Sea has opened for the exclusive use of guests. The villa has a saltwater pool, gardens with two cabanas, changing rooms, two "relaxation living rooms", a small restaurant serving pizzas and seafood, and a bar. Sasso by the Sea is a bracing 40-minute walk downhill to the coast from Ravello, but there's also a free private shuttle from the hotel for those who don't want to exert themselves too much.

The best budget option in town, this six-room hotel is perched well above the tourist hordes, among the terraced vineyards and orchards that rise above the inland stretch of Via delle Cartiere, Amalfi's main street. From the gate down below, a short path leads past orange gardens and through a short tunnel to the elevator, which carries guests up to the white, 19th-century villa in exactly 50 seconds. Most of the spacious, white-walled, air-conditioned rooms have views across terraced vineyards, a tumble of rooftops, and majolica church domes to the sea, though a couple of the upper rooms are under the eaves and illuminated only by skylights. The decor is typical Amalfi-seaside, with colorful Vietri-tiled floors and baths, beamed ceilings, and king-size beds. Breakfast is served on a pretty terrace overlooking the water, and there's free broadband Internet in the lobby. But it's the warm welcome and helpfulness of the staff (not always a given on the Amalfi Coast) that give Villa Lara an edge over competitors in this price range. Co-owner Nello Rispoli will happily steer you to the best local restaurants, walks, and beaches.

The same views you get from the premium rooms at Le Sirenuse are available for a song—and from your own bougainvillea-decked terrace—at this superfriendly 20-room hotel in a classic Mediterranean village house. The spotless, air-conditioned rooms are sparsely but comfortably furnished and have whitewashed walls and terrazzo-tiled floors. In addition, each room is equipped with a refrigerator, TV, and phone. There's no restaurant, but cappuccino and pastries are delivered to your terrace for breakfast, and lots of other eating options are just a short stroll away. The rooms on the top two floors have the best views.