There are many joys to be found in trav­el­ing, espe­cially to a place as filled with his­tory and beauty as Italy. One of those must surely be the shoulder-season room upgrade! LOL — but seri­ously, what's more fun than find­ing out the gor­geous room you booked has mor­phed into a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom suite com­plete with an enor­mous liv­ing room and a kitchen?

I chose the Palazzo Murat in Posi­tano after much angst and research. Tri­pad­vi­sor (my go-to source for hotel ideas) rated it #1 on the Amalfi Coast. Could it really be bet­ter than my first choice, Le Sirenuse, a styl­ish gem? The Conde Nast Gold List is sel­dom wrong, but as it turned out — no chil­dren allowed at Le Sirenuse. My only real reser­va­tion about Palazzo Murat was the rooms are not directly fac­ing the sea. But so many great fac­tors made up for that — the cen­tral loca­tion, the quiet ambiance, the amaz­ing gar­dens and easy access to the main beach.

Where I thought we'd be:

palazzo murat

Where we wal­lowed in space and charm­ing (if not high style) décor:

palazzo murat room 43 liv­ing area

palazzo murat — room 43 smaller bedroom

palazzo murat room 43 kitchen

palazzo murat room 43 small bathroom

With 14 foot plas­ter ceil­ings and elab­o­rate old mold­ings, this room is truly a gem — bet­ter than my pic­tures can show!

palazzo murat room 43 large bedroom

palazzo murat room 43 large bedroom

palazzo murat room 43 large bathroom

This bath­tub is 5 feet in diam­e­ter and nearly 3 feet deep!

palazzo murat room 43 large bathroom

palazzo murat room 43 view from the sofa

And the out­door views — not too shabby…

palazzo murat room 43 view from the ter­race, look­ing left

palazzo murat room 43 view from the ter­race, look­ing right, with break­fast area below

The palazzo is jus­ti­fi­ably famous for its gar­dens. Al Palazzo Ris­torante sits within the gar­dens — best ser­vice and ambiance we expe­ri­ences in Italy, bar none. The food was lovely as well!

palazzo murat gardens

palazzo murat gardens

palazzo murat gardens

I covet these planters! There were dozens, all different.

palazzo murat gardens

palazzo murat gardens

palazzo murat gardens

And finally, a look at the inte­rior pub­lic spaces.  The lobby extends all along the gar­dens, with mul­ti­ple rooms to dine, relax, play chess or sim­ply be.

palazzo murat pub­lic spaces

palazzo murat pub­lic spaces

The Palazzo Murat is located three min­utes walk below the main road, which elim­i­nates road noise issues. It is two min­utes walk above the main beach via delight­ful stairs and alley­ways full of shops. This elim­i­nates noise from the beach and its adja­cent restau­rants.  Even the church ceases ring­ing its bells from 7pm to late morn­ing. Quiet com­fort is the byword at the Palazzo.

Go to Posi­tano (off sea­son) and stay at the Palazzo Murat. It is a gem!