Destinations
The Complete Italy Guide: Hotels by Region
From the Dolomites to Capri, the region-by-region hotel list for Italy beyond Florence and Rome.
Beyond the cities, Italy's hotel landscape is its own quiet empire — Dolomite spa retreats, lakefront palazzos, Puglian masserie, and Amalfi eyries that have hosted the same families for generations. Organized by region, this is the full working list.
The Dolomites
COMO ALPINA DOLOMITES
Alpe di Siusi, Compatsch 62/3, 39040 Castelrotto BZ · +39 0471 796004 · alpinadolomites.it
This Dolomiti hotel is something of a ski-and-spa legend, where all the reindeer rug and carved heart Alpine twee is shunned for a sleek, contemporary design that feels just as cosy. Perched on the Alpe de Siusi — Europe's largest high-altitude Alpine meadow — with dramatic wraparound views of the Dolomites, which move through shades of pink at sunset. Svelte coffee-and-cream rooms make the most of this extraordinary landscape with floor-to-ceiling windows, as does the Como Shambhala Retreat spa with its Finnish sauna, aromatic steam bath, and flat mass of warm water. After hours whooshing down the surrounding slopes, there is really nothing like returning to the Alpina's luxuriously modern embrace for a glass of Italian red on the suites' balconies or a deep tissue massage before supper.
LEFAY RESORT & SPA DOLOMITI
Via Alpe di Grual 16, 38086 Pinzolo (TN) · +39 0465 768800 · dolomiti.lefayresorts.com
Perched just above the pretty, Nutcracker-style town of Pinzolo, wellness-focused Lefay Resort strikes that magic ski-with-spa chord. The Rendena Valley's scenery is framed perfectly by the hotel's vast indoor/outdoor pool — part of a cavernous spa that, as one of the Alps' largest, bowls over even the most seasoned spa-bunny. Highlights include an indoor saltwater lake and five areas featuring water, steam, and saunas for hot and cold themed therapies. Guests can click into skis at the on-site ski shop and hop into a shuttle to the Pinzolo gondola before soaring up past the jagged Dolomiti ridges to Madonna di Campiglio for its generous scribble of multi-level pistes.
FORESTIS
Palmschoss 22, 39042 Brixen (Bressanone) · +39 0472 521008 · forestis.it
This knockout mountain hotel takes its eco-luxe status seriously, using 100% renewable energy and crafted from only local, eco-friendly materials. The environmental effort is matched with flawless interiors combining a traditional Alpine chalet with three contemporary towers that blend into the surrounding pine-and-peak splendour. Rooms eschew the Alpine cowbell twee for something decidedly minimalist — soaring glass leaves the spine-tingling valley views and rose-tinted Geisler Gruppe sunsets to do the talking. After fuelling up on local cheeses, cured meats, and home-made bread lathered in wild berry jams, guests slink out the back door to Plose's lifts for a scenic morning through forest-flanked pistes.
The Lakes
GRAND HOTEL TREMEZZO
Via Regina 8, 22016 Tremezzo (Tremezzina) CO · +39 0344 42491 · grandhoteltremezzo.com
As Lake Como has shifted through its many chapters, this grande dame continues to offer the same heady dose of la Dolce Vita that the silver screen icons and Belle Epoque elites came for all those years ago. Heart-thumping views from the rooms stretch across a great expanse of glassy, azure water to meet Bellagio, the Grigne mountains surging beyond. Thick drapes frame the twinkling lake views, gilt mirrors wink in the sun, and sweeping ceilings lead up to frescos. The T Beach spins guests back to a Slim Aarons age of Italian Riviera antics with its blonde sand and unparalleled people-watching. A stay at Grand Hotel Tremezzo is nothing short of magical — best booked as a finale to a trip.
IL SERENO
Via Torrazza 10, 22020 Torno CO · +39 031 5477800 · serenohotels.com
A contemporary trailblazer, Il Sereno came to Como's largely classical shores with a design edge courtesy of Patricia Urquiola's immaculate eye. In place of scones, frescos, and fusty drawing rooms are light-filled paeans to modern living, where vast glass windows draw the lake views inside and natural materials fuse with the splendid setting. The money shot is the minimalist infinity pool flanked by lime green sun loungers. The form tends to be a postprandial pootle along the lake via postcard villages on its own Rivas, a Valmont treatment at the Il Sereno Spa, or a gentle paddleboard from the pocket-sized beach, before winding up at the Michelin-starred Sereno Al Lago for a lagoon-side dinner.
VILLA D'ESTE
Via Regina 40, 22012 Cernobbio CO · +39 031 3481 · villadeste.com
Staggeringly ornate, unapologetically old school, and brimming with A-lister lore — from Elizabeth Taylor to George Clooney — Villa D'Este is a bastion of 16th century Italian architecture and Como's gold standard for classical glamour. Palatial rooms dressed in sumptuous fabrics are choreographed around views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The character and vivacity of the long-standing staff (1:1 ratio in high season) are as important as the first-class facilities. Every hour can be filled with remarkable experiences, whether wallowing in the lake's iconic floating pool, windsurfing along the lake, or checking into the spa for a steam and cutting-edge facial.
GRAND HOTEL A VILLA FELTRINELLI
Via Rimembranza 38–40, 25084 Gargnano (BS) · +39 0365 798000 · villafeltrinelli.com
A stay at Villa Feltrinelli bears all the trappings of a weekend at a friend's sequestered private lakeside home, not a hotel. A glorious time warp of how the lakes once were, blinking across a glassy Garda from its vast, green-shuttered windows, with lavishly fresh Art Nouveau furnishings that have escaped the contrived look of a design overhaul. The fairytale setting — on the lakefront amid topiary gardens and magnolia trees — is achingly beautiful. Chef Stefano Baiocco's inventive two-Michelin-starred tasting menu awaits at dinner, but the beauty of Feltrinelli is to simply take stock of the great mass of inky blue with an aperitivo along its shores.
PASSALACQUA
Via Besana 59, 22010 Moltrasio (CO) · +39 031 44311 · passalacqua.it
Somehow the De Santis family managed to exceed even the loftiest expectations, with this hotel's whimsically baroque interiors, its emphasis on Italian craftsmanship, and its knack for bowling over even the most seasoned traveller. Twelve suites, all named after a Bellini character — Passalacqua was the former home of the famous Italian composer — are unsparingly decked in gilded mirrors, twinkling Murano chandeliers, Baroque furniture, and Renaissance pastels. The maximalism has been executed with an irreverent, Wes Anderson gloss: La Double J prints in the solarium, an orange Fiat 500 Spiaggina waiting at the bottom of the steps, and fringed sage-green and cream umbrellas rendering all the antiquity more fun than formal.
Venice
THE GRITTI PALACE
Campo Santa Maria del Giglio 2467, 30124 Venice · +39 041 794611 · marriott.com
This Venetian Grande Dame knows how to charm, with its Doge-worthy good looks, lavish details, and quietly grand clientele. The 15th century palazzo's private jetty is a Narnia-like invitation to escape the surrounding tourist circus and enter a more glamorous dimension. Rooms and terraces overlook a picturesque sweep of the Grand Canal with Santa Maria della Salute posing ahead. Rooms awash with silks, gilt mirrors, tapestries on parquet floors, and Murano chandeliers on frescoed ceilings are the paragon of Venetian splendour. There's a sense that you've peaked at the Gritti — particularly as you gaze across the Canal from Riva Bar's surreal aperitivi setting.
BELMOND HOTEL CIPRIANI
Giudecca 10, 30133 Venice · +39 041 240801 · belmond.com
Anyone who has stayed at "The Cip" will assure you that its location on the island of Giudecca, far from a drawback, is in fact its winning ticket. Separated from the Centro Storico's swarms of tourists by the turquoise lagoon yet close enough to glide into the action in under five minutes, there is an oasis-amid-the-action quality to it. Then there's the space — a serious commodity in Venice — with clay tennis courts, manicured gardens, and an Olympic pool. The service, across the board, is flawless and comfortingly traditional. Michelin-starred Oro is one to dress up for, with chef Riccardo Canella's expertly executed 8-course tasting menu.
AMAN VENICE
Palazzo Papadopoli, Calle Tiepolo 1364, 30125 Venice · +39 041 2707333 · aman.com
Even Aman knows its limits when handling a 16th century Palazzo, one whose elaborate frescos, terrazzo floors, and general Venetian opulence demands respect. In plum position not far from the Rialto Bridge, Aman Venice's palazzo pomp has been gently tamed with Aman's signature contemporary brush — drawing rooms more orderly in their opulence, with muted cream walls and low-slung sofas. The Piano Nobile's Doge decadence, however, remains shrewdly untouched. The dramatic entrance is hard not to grin at — cruising into the marbled reception space by Riva, through the imposing porta d'acqua off the Grand Canal.
Tuscany
CASTELLO DI VICARELLO
Via Vicarello 1, 58044 Poggi del Sasso (Cinigiano) GR · +39 0564 990718 · castellodivicarello.com
Lording over a storybook landscape of rolling Tuscan hills, vineyards, and acres of ancient woodland, Castello di Vicarello appears to have sprung from a Renaissance painting. A family affair — the Baccheschi brothers stepping into their parents' suede loafers — it offers an unpretentious taste of aristocratic country living where families, castles, and kitchens are deeply anchored in the land. Two infinity pools take full advantage of the castle's hilltop perch with sweeping valley views. Guests are made to feel as though they are staying with family friends, ones with exceptionally good taste.
BORGO SANTO PIETRO
Borgo Santo Pietro 110, Loc. Palazzetto, 53012 Chiusdino (SI) · +39 0577 751222 · borgosantopietro.com
There is something wonderfully refreshing about a hotel that writes its own story, undeterred by noisy design trends and ubiquitous contemporary revamps. Borgo Santo Pietro has its own thing going on — a rather elegant thing, where a rustic country theme is deftly elevated to chandelier-and-wood-beamed heights. Murals, tapestry patterns, and textures appear faint, as if faded by the unflinching Tuscan light — an aesthetic that can only come from blending Italian heritage with Scandinavian restraint (Borgo Santo Pietro's co-owner is Danish). The estate's acres of wildflower meadows, woodland, and pretty gardens lie an easy 45-minute drive from Siena's cultural warren.
IL PELLICANO
Localita Sbarcatello, 58019 Porto Ercole (GR) · +39 0564 858111 · pellicanohotels.com
Clinging to Tuscany's rocky, ludicrously pretty coastline, Il Pellicano is a slice of the old Italian Riviera, where Negronis tinkle in the afternoon light, wet hair is scraped back from sun-kissed faces, and creamy linen billows in the hot Tuscan breeze. Sun terraces stagger down the cliffs, dotted with yellow scalloped parasols, until stage-like slices of cement meet the dappled water. The pool is a watering hole for Rome's glitterati, along with an international slew of film-makers, taste-makers, and low-key yachty types who wash seafood down with cool white wine — and yet this photogenic classic has never grown complacent.
PALAZZO DURAZZO
Via del Campo 12, 16124 Genova · +39 010 2344753 · palazzodurazzo.com
This resplendent 16th-century palace hotel sits at the very heart of ancient Genoa, woven into the city's tapestry. Not only was the palace the foremost of the Rolli — selected by the City Council to host cardinals, princes, and viceroys — it houses one of Italy's most impressive private art collections, including works by Strozzi, Rubens, and Van Dyck. Its reimagining as a hotel clings onto a little of its bejewelled, noble past but not too much, forgoing Rococo overkill for contemporary furniture and clean plastered walls. The twelve suites are all different, from "oriental" to "ceramic."
BELMOND HOTEL SPLENDIDO
Salita Baratta 16, 16034 Portofino, Genoa · +39 0185 267801 · belmond.com
Towering cinematically above one of the world's most famous fishing villages and its twinkling bay, Belmond Hotel Splendido truly lives up to its name. Rooms are as fresh and as classically crisp as the Frette linen draped over the large, luxurious beds, most with balconies and terraces that perch over the bay's dramatic vista like opera boxes. The whole entity appears to have sprung from one of Europe's chicer chapters where coastal escapades were still well-dressed and Elizabeth Taylor or Grace Kelly could occasionally be spotted — every inch the gravity-defying, retro parasol-studded, bougainvillea-smothered Dolce dream its first-timers long for.
ROSEWOOD CASTIGLION DEL BOSCO
Localita Castiglion del Bosco, 53024 Montalcino (SI) · +39 0577 1913001 · rosewoodhotels.com
Despite its 23 suites, 11 villas, and a staggering 500 acres of vineyards and fields in Montalcino, Rosewood's Tuscan iteration bears all the homely trappings of an Italian count's rural abode. There's the outdoor pursuits (including truffle hunting), the hefty glossy furniture and bookcases groaning with antique books, and the excessively large armchairs. But then there is a La Prairie-stocked spa, a lavender-lined infinity pool hovering above the undulating Tuscan landscape, and the swish Ristorante Campo del Drago flaunting the region's feted produce. Parchment walls, chunky country furniture, romantically-lit courtyards where rosemary hangs in the air.
Umbria
CASTELLO DI RESCHIO
Tabaccaia di Reschio, 06060 Lisciano Niccone (PG) · +39 075 844362 · reschio.com
Count Benedikt Bolza, who cut his architectural teeth in London, and his wife Donna Nencia Corsini, a talented artist and equestrian, set about restoring this tired, leaky Etruscan fortress as a painstaking ode to local craftsmanship. A new-meets-old balance was struck — the castle's smooth antiquity (old brick walls and arches) is tastefully interrupted with cubic four-posters, contemporary sofas, and Nordic-style lamps. The interiors are simply delicious in their detail, with each room designed differently, as they would be in a private home. Reschio is really all about the activities: wine tastings, clay pigeon shooting, and scaling the vast estate on horseback.
TENUTA DI MURLO
Str. Antognolla-Ascagnano snc, 06133 Perugia (PG) · +39 075 9978852 · murlo.com
A mere half an hour from Umbria's underrated car-free town of Perugia, Tenuta di Murlo is the perfect expression of authentic Umbria. Its sprawl of farmhouses and cottages enveloped in pillowy emerald-green countryside. The less flashy types flock here — those who still enjoy a good book and take great pleasure in romping through the hills for hours on end, rewarding themselves with a dip in the pool perched like a theatre seat for the dramatic valley views. Unique in its flawless blend of rural bolthole privacy and the pampering perks of a luxury hotel, with breakfasts spread across old farmhouse tables and a private chef service for the villas.
Amalfi Coast
LE SIRENUSE
Via Cristoforo Colombo 30, 84017 Positano (SA) · +39 089 875066 · sirenuse.it
Forever a byword for romance, Le Sirenuse has earned its Amalfi stripes — an oxblood hotel framed like cake icing in fantastical white swirls, inspecting the comings-and-goings of Positano Bay below. The real heartbreaker is the La Sponda restaurant: wrought-iron chairs positioned for the chic maritime action; Neapolese and Amalfi-inspired plates; precisely four hundred candles flickering into the warm night air, guiding silk, linen, and loafers down steps to tables with the curve of the coastline glittering ahead. A rush of euphoria greets guests as they step onto the balcony for the first time — the sedate pool scene unfolding below and yachts gliding through the water ahead.
IL SAN PIETRO
Via Laurito 2, 84017 Positano (SA) · +39 089 812080 · ilsanpietro.com
Architecturally stitched into the cliff, as if part of its geology, and defying gravity with lemon trees, luminous green creepers, and bright flowers all craning their necks towards the staggering Amalfi view — like the guests sipping their early morning espressos or tucking into just-caught seafood at Michelin-starred Zass. The rooms are fresh, zesty, and bright, with blue and green accents, pretty tiles, and shaded balconies. A lift shoots guests down to the hotel's private beach — a warm, typically Italian slab of grey rock with the sequin, mottled turquoise Tyrrhenian below. This Relais & Chateaux member is a little out of town, which sings to those who like to dip into the action, then duck out.
BORGO SANTANDREA
Via Giovanni Augustariccio 33, 84011 Amalfi (SA) · +39 089 831148 · borgosantandrea.it
Blue and white artisanal tiles dominate this design-forward Amalfi Coast hotel perched astronomically high above the shimmering water on cliffside Santo Pietro. Just ahead lies the postcard-pretty fishing village of Conca dei Marini. The views are cinematic, even by Amalfi standards, the seascape shades mirrored throughout the interiors which are, unlike its classically-inclined neighbours, remarkably muted and mid-century. No one feels short-changed on rooms here, with all donning fabulous sea-view balconies, some even their own pools. Guests zigzag down the gardens via parasol-lined terraces to a knockout private beach, where an old boathouse has been refashioned as a hip bar-cum-restaurant.
BELMOND CARUSO
Piazza San Giovanni del Toro 2, 84010 Ravello (SA) · +39 089 858800 · belmond.com
Belmond had big boots to fill, taking on this wildly romantic, ivy-smothered pensione that hosted Jackie Kennedy and Greta Garbo some 1,200 feet above the blinding blue water. The group rose to the challenge, sprucing up its interiors while preserving all the Amalfi magic — frescoes, vaulted ancient-stone ceilings dating back to the 11th century. Every suite lays claim to a private terrace or garden, all perched hair-raisingly high above the Bay of Salerno. Traditional plates line walls, enormous terracotta flower pots frame some of the rooms' views, and that Godly Amalfi light streams in to greet those quaffing orange juice over their breakfast spread, reluctant to leave their privileged perches.
VILLA TREVILLE
Via Arienzo 30, 84017 Positano (SA) · +39 089 8122401 · villatreville.com
Amid the Amalfi high rollers, Villa Treville stands out for its inimitable history as the previous residence of opera singer and film director Franco Zeffirelli, and a sense that you're staying at a blue-blooded cliff-side bolthole rather than a hotel. Zeffirelli's legacy lives on in the artwork and ceramic collections, as well as the kitchen gardens — a treasure trove for the chef. No room is the same, and herein lies Villa Treville's charm. A labyrinth of paths (some secret) and terraces that can only come from an Amalfi old timer are a joy for guests to discover, who soon develop the cliffside confidence of a goat.
Puglia
BORGO EGNAZIA
Strada Comunale Egnazia, 72015 Savelletri di Fasano (BR) · +39 080 2255000 · borgoegnazia.com
It is hard to believe the thumping beauty of Borgo Egnazia's weathered stone arches, its olive tree-dotted piazza, and airy tiled rooms could derive from a relatively new building. Reclaimed local tufa — a biscuit-shaded stone that glows in the Puglian light — was used to carve out a "village" along the sun-baked coast, emulating an ancient masseria from scratch. This hotel is perhaps best known for its family-friendly credentials while keeping things chic for those without children. Two of the four pools are child-friendly, as are the family split-level suites with their own kitchenettes. With seven restaurants and its own private beach club and gelateria, guests are routinely forgiven for never leaving.
LA FIERMONTINA
Piazzetta Scipione de Summa 4, 73100 Lecce · +39 0832 302481 · lafiermontina.com
Found on the pretty fringes of Baroque Lecce, La Fiermontina appears to have been drawn in cream and camel chalk — a fitting Baroque canvas for angular furniture and black-framed paintings. Art lies at the very core of this elegantly pared-down hotel, whose current owners are descendants of Antonia Fiermonte, artist and muse for Rene Letourneur and Jacques Zwobada. Staying here is to float through her surrealist world. Just yards from the hotel lies an art gallery devoted to Fiermonte's paintings, with a serene sculpture garden and private tours for guests. Executive Chef Alessandro Pascali's cooking champions the region's singular identity — expect home-made breads lathered in local honey and jams, and the classic pasticciotto.
Sicily
VILLA IGIEA
Salita Belmonte 43, 90142 Palermo · +39 091 6312111 · roccofortehotels.com
With its Moorish turrets, sandstone towers, and arched windows gazing out towards the endless Tyrrhenian blue, Villa Igiea is the lovechild of all Sicily's plethora of influences, as well as a bastion of Palermo's golden age. Its Old World terrace is possibly the most genteel spot in all of Palermo — where European royals and silver screen icons including Sofia Loren once hobnobbed over Champagne, back when this palace-on-sea was owned by the affluent Florio family. Olga Polizzi and Paolo Moschino oversaw an impressive belle-epoque recovery mission — easing the nymph frescoes, chandeliers, and gilt antiques into the 21st century with orderly lines and subdued-but-sumptuous fabrics.
GRAND HOTEL TIMEO
Via Teatro Greco 59, 98039 Taormina, Sicily · +39 0942 6270200 · belmond.com
Grand Hotel Timeo's cinematic backdrop of Etna surging menacingly in the distance and the glittering bay once captivated Grand Tourees who'd beeline for Taormina's storied hotel, first opened in 1873. Even the most insouciant modern traveller can't help but hang their jaw in disbelief at the view, vibrantly framed by bougainvillea-laced balconies. Guests saunter back from the Slim Aarons-style pool to marble bathrooms for long Acqua di Parma soaks, tumbling into cool, crisp sheets positioned for the same staggering views that bewitched Oscar Wilde and DH Lawrence. The main event is Otto Geleng's theatrical tasting menu, served under flickering oil lamps with various Etna wine pairings.
Capri
JK PLACE CAPRI
Via Provinciale Marina Grande 225, 80073 Capri · +39 081 8384001 · jkplaces.com
There is little hotelly about JK Place Capri. Occupying one of the jammiest gravity-defying spots on this exalted island, it serves up a digestible sliver of grandeur-on-sea: crisp blue-and-white shades, genteel furniture formations, the coastal corollary to an ornate Roman residency. Light-filled rooms spill onto balconies that hover over an electric mass of blue; Mount Vesuvius winks ahead, and below, via a direct path, Capri's summer unfolds in striped towels along a real charmer of a pebbled beach. The Gulf of Naples views from the enormous lantern-studded pool are sensational. Tables take their cue from the views, with JKitchen's elevated takes on Neapolitan cuisine relished to the twinkle of the bay after dusk.
HOTEL LA PALMA
Via Vittorio Emanuele 39, 80073 Capri · +39 081 8370133 · oetkerhotels.com
Part of the glamour-forward Oetker Collection, Hotel La Palma opened recently to a Gatsby-esque fanfare. Its top-to-toe renovation, overseen by the eminent designer Francis Sultana, has captured Capri's golden-age spirit through Oetker's measured-luxe lens. References to Tiberius' villa abound — elaborate mosaics and chunky, uplit pillars — while the smooth undressed walls, white-on-white rooms, and scalloped parasol-lined pool are more retro than Grand Tour. Its raised terrace is a honeytrap for a relatively low-key jetset, while its vast arched innards funnel you up to Bianca — a happening rooftop restaurant with thrilling views from those monumental, mythical limestone heights.
Ischia
MEZZATORRE
Via Mezzatorre 23, 80075 Forio d'Ischia (NA) · +39 081 986111 · mezzatorre.com
From its dramatic perch atop a rocky promontory, this oxblood-hued Aragonese watchtower's crenellations appear to scrape the clouds, while its toes are cooled off in a pool sliced into the cliff. Ischia's Mezzatorre reopened under the auspices of The Pellicano group, with Marie-Louise Scio's knack for carving crisp La Dolce Vita scenes into Italy's sun-baked edges. The Il Pellicano set descend here when Milan and Rome begin to sweat, leaning into the aperitivi and draping themselves languidly alongside the pool. What sets Mezzatorre apart from its Pellicano cousins is its thermal spa, with pools at various temperatures. The real joy is to sit on its pool terrace at sunset, nursing a Negroni and feeling as though you unwittingly slipped into a Slim Aarons shot.
Milan
PORTRAIT MILAN
Corso Venezia 11, 20121 Milan · +39 02 50043661 · lungarnocollection.com
The Ferragamo family have unleashed designer Michele Bönan's aesthetic alchemy on a 16th century archiepiscopal seminary, right in the heart of Milan's fashion district. The Renaissance skeleton remains — the baroque portico, the vaulted spa ceiling, the colonnades — while inside, Bönan's refined modernism tames the vast spaces. The library lounge is a hotspot for the Milanese art and fashion set. Much more than a hotel, Portrait Milano serves as a creative hub, with various restaurants and boutiques filling the old seminary bones. There is only a certain crowd who really knows about this hotel, and therein lies its cachet — hidden in plain sight.
CASA CIPRIANI
Via Palestro 24, 20121 Milan · +39 02 25064088 · casaciprianimilano.com
Sometimes you just need a beautifully-cooked cacio e pepe, and occasionally unapologetic classicism is just the ticket. That is what you will get at Casa Cipriani, lashings of the stuff from the family behind the Venetian legend and the Manhattan flagship frequented by celebrities. Michele Bönan's glossy, lacquered, marbled rooms feel as fresh as an upmarket daisy, with dark wooded whiffs of a British gent's club. Milanese society and visitors fawning over their rituals all tuck under white tablecloths at The Club Restaurant, pretending not to notice the ludicrously beautiful view across Milan's architectural patchwork of rooftops.
