Three Hotels in Italy

Sunday, 9 June 2013

Our recent Italy trip featured three interesting hotels. In Pistoia for the Dialoghi sull’uomo literary festival we stayed in the Hotel Patria, Via Cripi 8/12 – on the edge of the old town, friendly, efficient, stylishly old fashioned and with great views from our room’s outdoor terrace. Shame it was raining the whole time we were there!

Then we moved on to Capri and the weather improved, particularly from the terrace of our room at the Villa Brunella a 10 minute walk from the town of Capri at Via Tragara 24a. Now we stayed there not because of a guidebook recommendation (even in Lonely Planet’s Naples, Pompeii & the Amalfi Coast guide), but because of Michael Tonello’s Capri rave in his highly amusing pan-European shopping expedition Bringing Home the Birkin.

◄ A late afternoon rainbow from the Romeo Hotel

Then we moved on to Naples and our hotel surprise, the delightful Romeo Hotel at Via Cristoforo Colombo 45. It’s right on the waterfront and at night in particular the port activity is wonderful to watch. Either from the rooftop bar or from the restaurant. Plus the restaurant has really interesting food, not just the Italian pasta regulars this was our best meal during our week in Italy.

 

 

If our conversation over dinner ever lagged there was always some waterfront activity to comment on, like these two ferries making an evening departure, one of them bound for Sardinia. ▼

Plus the hotel was only a short stroll from the Centro Storico, Naples is a city for walking and this is the area to walk in. The outside activity may have been fascinating to watch, but the hotel is equally interesting inside. OK, perhaps it falls into the over-designed category, but I loved the lobby waterfall, making patterns and words, just like the wordy waterfall at the fabulous MONA Museum in Hobart Tasmania. Here the hotel waterfall in Naples is spelling out ‘Romeo.’ ▼