"Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone" - John Steinbeck
Positano is a place that seduces. The pleasure of it all, its cascades of peach, pink and terracotta-hued houses clinging to its vertiginous hillside above the sea. Steinbeck's observation in a 1953 article he wrote for Harpers Bazaar is relatable to all who have visited this magical picturesque village. At the time, Steinbeck was staying at Le Sirenuse, an 18th-century summer villa that was converted into a hotel just two years earlier by siblings Aldo, Anna, Franco and Paolo Sersale, an aristocratic family from Naples whose passion for Positano was matched by their generous hospitality.
Filled with antiques, paintings and family heirlooms, the Pompeii-red palazzo combined a remarkable old-world charm with an intimate character that captivated the trickle of tourists whom the town began to welcome in the 1950s. Last year the hotel celebrated its 70th anniversary. Le Sirenuse has bloomed from a boutique 8-guestroom hotel into an enchanting 58-room luxury resort, having expanded into several adjoining houses, remarkably, without losing any of its home-like ambience or aristocratic class. Today, suspended on a cliffside in Positano, painted in ox-blood-red with white trim, Le Sirenuse commands the views of the island of Sirens, tumble of pastel-hued village houses, the dome of the church of Santa Maria Assunta embellished with maiolica tiles, and the Mediterranean Sea scintillating before you.
"We went to the Sirenuse, an old family house converted into a first-class hotel, spotless and cool, with grape arbours over its outside dining rooms. Every room has its little balcony and looks out over the blue sea to the islands of the sirens from which those ladies sang so sweetly". - John Steinbeck
What makes Le Sirenuse such an extraordinary hospitality venture is the fact that it’s still run today by the founding Sarsele family, specifically Franco’s son, Antonio and his wife Carla (who also oversees the hotel’s fashion and lifestyle brand Emporio Sirenuse), with the help of their two twenty-something sons.
Franco had worked closely with skilled Italian artisans to refurbish, embellish and extend the hotel’s historic premises, overseeing every last detail, from the room keys, to the bedspreads, to the cocktail glasses. He decorated Le Sirenuse with an eclectic collection of artefacts and artworks which he assembled throughout his life. Mostly comprised of 17th and 18th century Neapolitan and southern Italian items, Franco’s picks perfectly complement the hotel’s architectural heritage – think cross-vaulted ceilings, stucco panelling, decorative floor tiles and marble bathrooms – as well as evoke a cosmopolitan sensibility with objects like neo-Moorish side tables and Central Asian suzani rugs.
Catering to old-school hotel-bar aficionados, the bar’s piece de resistance is the antique bar counter, a symphony of walnut, brass, onyx and gold leaf, meticulously restored and restyled. Meanwhile, La Sponda restaurant combines a romantic, candle-lit and bougainvillaea-clad dining room with executive chef Gennaro Russo’s new seasonal menu whose glorious simplicity celebrates the region’s vibrant farming and fishing culture, age-old culinary traditions, and rich biodiversity.
Le Sirenuse may not technically have a garden, built as it is on the steep cliffside, but it nevertheless feels like you’re living in one. Inspired by the walled gardens and terraces of old Positano houses, vegetation is an integral part of the hotel, from the bougainvillaeas that climb the walls of La Sponda restaurant and guest room balconies to the lemon trees flanking the pool, lobby terrace and Franco’s bar.
The combination of a stately premises, historic furnishings and eclectic art collection, Le Sirenuse’s natural décor makes for a beguiling atmosphere – old-school in charm and classy in elegance, yet modern and vibrant in spirit – which immerses guests into an immaculately tailored haven of timeless gracefulness.
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