This stunning retreat has just opened on Italy's Amalfi Coast

Housed in an 800-year-old convent, the property offers dress-circle views of the Mediterranean.

Hot summer days, restless waters and pastel-coloured storybook houses tumbling down steep cliffs. If that's not the very definition of a Mediterranean break on Italy's glorious Amalfi coast, we don't know what is.

But here's something else to add to your European wish list: a stay at the brand-new Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel. Housed in an 800-year-old convent - complete with magnificent cloisters - the property offers dress-circle views, particularly from its infinity-edge pool, of the town of Amalfi below and the ink-blue sea beyond.

There are only 52 rooms and, at 18 square metres, the entry-level lodgings are a tad small, but what they lack in space they more than make up for with sea views and creature comforts such as espresso machines, marble bathrooms and Acqua di Parma amenities.