A Luxury Villa Stay on the Amalfi Coast at Villa Delfina, Nerano
There’s a particular quality of light on the Amalfi Coast that I’ve never encountered anywhere else; it’s golden and crystalline all at once, the kind of sunray dance that makes even the most mundane moment feel like a scene from a Fellini film. And nowhere is this quite as intoxicating than in Nerano, a quietly sophisticated fishing village that sits between the tourist throng of Positano and the bustle of Sorrento, it’s a place where locals still outnumber visitors and the pace of holiday life is dictated by the rhythm of the aqua sea. BY SAMANTHA READY
It was here, perched above this impossibly blue stretch of coastline that I found Villa Delfina, a CV Villas’ property that instantly felt less like a holiday rental and more like a home I’d somehow forgotten I’d owned aided not least by the wonderful duo of Italian mammas (too young to be nonnas but channeling that energy) who were sent to be our private breakfast chefs for our stay (if only dreams could become reality, huh?). The approach alone is an experience, winding down cliffside roads past tumbling bougainvillea until the villa reveals itself all whitewashed walls and impeccably presented, clinging to the cliffside with the confidence of something that has been there for centuries.
CV Villas has built its considerable reputation on curating properties that transcend the usual holiday let mediocrity, and Villa Delfina exemplifies precisely why. This isn’t just about four walls and a view – though my word that view is jaw-droppingly incredible – it’s about stunning locations, access to experiences, to local knowledge, and to the kind of stay that makes you feel like an insider rather than a tourist. Their team arranged everything, from private breakfast chefs to pizza making classes, incredible chartered yacht tours (following in the wake of one David Beckham, no less) to guided walking tours and pitstops at some of the best eateries from Nerano to Sorrento, with the sort of seamless efficiency that makes luxury feel effortless.
The villa itself sleeps 12 across six beautifully appointed bedrooms, four of which offer glorious sea views with two boasting wraparound balconies and dual-aspect vistas, all with a distinctly modern touch. Ceramic tiled floors stay blissfully cool, while white crisp linens and shuttered windows create that particular Mediterranean atmosphere of hushed, siesta-ready tranquility. But it’s the communal spaces where Villa Delfina truly shines. There is a wonderful kitchen area with plentiful wine fridges, an outdoor terrace with pizza oven, and a stunning terrace that offered the perfect seaview breakfast spot and easy access to villa’s pool and gate leading down the cliffside to the pebble beach beyond. Yet it was to the rooftop that our group were always pulled. To a backdrop of the bay of Nerano and the loom of the Lattari Mountains, we took in stunning sun-drenched morning views, spent afternoons sipping chilled Prosecco in the hot tub and by night watched the moonlight dance across the sea while luxury yachts sailed by in many a ‘pinch-me’ moment. I found myself constantly reaching for my camera, then putting it down again, knowing no photo could possibly capture this.
The rooftop and terrace became our daily ritual, woken by the busy mammas preparing fresh cornetti, bowls of ripe fruits, San Marzano tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and really good coffee to kickstart our day, before we ventured out on one of the many excursions that took this stay from one of brilliance to incomparable memory.
Top CV Villas Experiences at Villa Delfina
Lo Scoglio
Some restaurants are famous for a reason and Lo Scoglio – cantilevered above the beach in Nerano with waves literally lapping at its foundations and mere steps from the villa – has earned every bit of its considerable reputation. This is where Amalfi Coast’s glitterati come to eat, yet somehow it maintains the soul of a family-run trattoria, which is precisely what it is. The De Simone family has been serving seafood here since 1958 and their zucchini spaghetti has achieved near-mythical status.
We arrived for dinner, securing a table on the terrace where the Mediterranean stretched out like liquid sapphire. The menu was refreshingly short – a sign, always, of confidence and quality, but we didn’t need it, instead being treated to our own ‘Casa Mia’-style spread of house specials to share. There were fried courgette flowers, ripe tomatoes, crisp calamari and of course heaving bowls of spaghetti alla Nerano, the deceptively simply dish of pasta, courgettes, provolone and basil for which the region is renowned and that tasted like summer distilled in a bowl. Around us, fish – caught by the restaurant’s own day boat of course – arrived whole and magnificent, but it was the atmosphere that truly captivated: the casual elegance of Italian families and Amalfi yacht owners in their summer finest, the gentle splash of the sea and that effervescent Southern Italian charm.
A Yacht Charter with Luxury Boats Positano
There are myriad ways to experience the Amalfi Coast, but none quite compares to approaching it from the sea, watching those impossible villages cling to cliffs that seem far too steep for human habitation and boats that feel like you have stepped into a movie set. CV Villas had arranged for us to spend the day with Luxury Boats Positano helmed by Lucia – the incredibly poised owner of the family-run company who has been navigating these shores since childhood and proved to be equal parts tour guide, raconteur and witty philosopher, alongside our captain for the day, the wonderful Gabriele.
We departed from Nerano feeling like jet-setters, the boat cutting through glassy seas past hidden coves and grottos that can only be reached by water. Our first stop was Positano, that vertical tumble of pastel buildings that’s graced a thousand Instagram feeds but somehow never loses its power to astonish.
We continued onto Amalfi itself, the coastline unfurling like a dramatic painting, each bob of a wave revealing another impossibly scenic vista, another medieval watchtower, another secret beach, another incredible super yacht.
Lunch was at La Tonnarella, a family-run restaurant in Amalfi where the fish was so fresh it came almost straight from the sea and the tomatoes were so fresh that owner Franco presented them still clinging to vine before gracing each of our plates with jewels of ripe fruit. We sat on the terrace, salt-crusted and sun-drunk as dish after perfect dish arrived, fish so fresh it tasted of the sea, heaving bowls of fresh carbonara, grilled prawns still crackling from the flames. We were full and passed on dessert, only for Lucia to tut and ‘suggest’ with a tone that meant none of us protested further, that they bring a small sweet taste – only to be presented with dish upon dish of incredible treats, fresh fruit, creamy cheesecake, rich tarts… It was – in no small part thanks to Franco – simply extraordinary.
We completed our tour with a stop in Amalfi, offering just enough time for a jaunt through the streets to nab a viral Amalfi lemon the size of our heads and heaving with fresh lemon sorbet before sailing back to Nerano to the backdrop of 80’s tunes and sunsetting memories.
Walking Tour of Sorrento
Sorrento doesn’t have the vertical drama of Positano or the historical gravitas of Amalfi, but what it possesses in abundance is a lived-in authenticity; a sense that life continues here beyond the tourist season – and the best way to explore here is on foot. Our walking-guide, arranged by CV Villas’ impeccable local contacts, revealed a city of hidden courtyards and artisan workshops, the stunning cloisters (at which my brother had been married some five years before) and winding streets full of market-wares for you to haggle your way to securing packets of Pasta Di Gragnano (renowned as the best pasta in the region) and a selection of leather goods that tipped into the too well-priced to leave behind genre.
Our guide weaved us effortlessly from morning limoncello spritzes to artisan chocolatiers, incredible harbour views to lunch in a hidden gem. Cafe al Latino was tucked down a side street – almost nondescript gates heralding your arrival – but venture through and a hidden giardino beckons with terrace tables bursting with fresh tomatoes and burrata and where the menu felt recited rather than written. Every dish tastes like someone’s cherished family recipe but it was the pillowy clouds of gnocchi dressed simply in tomato sauce and dusted with Parmesan that had us ‘mmm-ing’ in harmonious appreciation. We ended our tour at I Giardini di Cataldo, a lemon grove that’s been in the same family for some six generations. Here we were expertly led through the closed gates to the bountiful gardens beyond to see the first signs of the next harvest of Sorrento’s famous lemons beginning to bud before being treated to an intriguing tasting of limoncello that tested our taste buds from classic to aniseed varietals, all painstakingly made from the very lemons grown inside. Intensely citrus, perfectly balanced and dangerously drinkable.
Villarena Home Cooking Restaurant
They say that the further south you go in Italy, the more ‘characterful’ the inhabitants become. And nowhere was this more evident than at our final evening’s meal at Villarena, a local restaurant that embodied everything I’ve come to love about Italian dining; an actual home, converted into a restaurant, with nonnas in the kitchen and a menu that depends entirely on what was caught that day and what owner Guglielmo deems worthy of his farm-to-table dining. We felt like we had been invited to dinner at our Italian friend’s house – if your Italian friend just happens to be an exceptional cook with access to the finest local ingredients and an incredible wine cellar. There’s a simple menu, some daily specials and everything delivered in rapid Italian with a nod to cucina povera – peasant cooking elevated to art form. There were fried courgette flowers, light as air, flame-grilled squid, bruschetta, melon draped in Parma ham and then more of the regional speciality of spaghetti alla Nerano, with portions so plentiful we all fought for the smallest plate in burst of giggles, only for them to be topped up (again!) when we were distracted by another glass of crisp Fiano Di Avellino Nettare Irpino. We ended with humungous servings of lemon tart, tiramisu and chocolate torte following a knowing sardonic nod from Guglielmo that we would be having dessert, too. By the time the evening ended, sometime later than any of us expected, more wine in that we anticipated and ladened with jars of marmalade to take home, we were all a little giddy, from fine food, fine company and from another once in a lifetime experience that this trip had offered.
Pizza Making with Chef Antonio
Culinary highlights are plentiful in this beautiful corner of the globe, but perhaps none were quite as wholesome as an evening spent making our own pizzas cooked inside Villa Delfina’s outdoor wood-fired oven.
We arrived back from a heady day exploring to be met with a warm welcome from Chef Antonio from KM0 – whose restaurant champions zero-kilometre produce – who was prepped and ready to host our pizza-making class. He had, wisely, premade each of our doughs, so all we had to do was roll and top with the bounty of ingredients that Antonio had sourced from neighbouring farms: fresh passata, freshly pulled mozzarella, sun-riped tomatoes, bright salad leaves and even potatoes made an appearance. He taught us the art of the perfect dough, the importance of a blazing hot oven and the simplicity of a proper Margherita.
We gathered around the outdoor pizza oven in turn, and as the sun began its descent, we took turns paddling our freshly-made creations into the flames, while Antonio offered guidance in that particular Italian way – equal parts encouraging and exasperated by our amateur efforts.
The pizzas emerged blistered, bubbling and utterly divine, tasting of Campania itself, bright, fresh and uncomplicated – much like a stay at Villa Defina transpired to be every, single day.
Prices at Villa Delfina start from £1,034pp including flights (based on full occupancy for 7 nights). Villa only rental starts from £10,499 per week (based on a 7 night stay). CV Villa bookings at Villa Defina include a welcome basket and personal check-in, daily cleaning service and daily concierge service (8am – 10pm) for bespoke itineraries, reservations, and experiences. All activities as detailed above can be added onto your stay as well as a host of other memorable excursions and dining experiences.
