Best Luxury Hotels in Italy

A short Vaporetto ride from the mainland (this hotel has its own private 4-berth pier on the lagoon), NH Collection Venezia Murano Villa provides super views from both of its terraces. Here you can enjoy a glass of wine or a full gourmet meal. But you can also dine indoors, in the modern urban style restaurant with its live cooking station. The hotel has a 24-hour gym, small spa and 104 airy modern bedrooms, all with Sleep Better Mattresses and coffee machines. NH Collection Venezia Murano Villa welcomes families (including your cats and dogs).

In a perfect location overlooking the Faraglioni rock formation, the villa was designed in 1920 by Le Corbusier for a Lombardy engineer. As the American military base during World War II, it hosted dignitaries like Eisenhower and Churchill, before becoming a summer home for the grandparents of the present owner. Converted into a hotel in 1973, it offers luxury accommodation and upgrades. Facilities include wellness packages, spa, gym area, and two swimming pools. Two restaurants serve Neapolitan fare, while a Gin Club and American Bar allow guests to take in the sunset over the bay.

Close to the beach and port, rooms here provide air-conditioning, tiled flooring, mosaic-decorated marble bathrooms, free WiFi, and flat-screen satellite TVs. A spa, hot tub and wellness centre with sauna, Turkish bath and gym, together with a tennis court and outdoor pool, ensure guests’ well-being. The JKitchen Restaurant serves regional cooking with organic produce, catering for special diets, and meals can be eaten on the terrace with its panoramic vistas.

Located in a quiet quarter of Capri town but near its lively centre, the hotel faces the island’s southern coast, giving guests stunning views from their balconies and terraces. Bedrooms are tastefully furnished with all modern conveniences, including whirlpool baths. A snack bar is ideally placed by the swimming pool, which is hewn out of the rock and shaded by olive trees, while the restaurant invites you to sample local cooking. It’s a good base for sightseeing, but the adventurous should try the Via Krupp pathway, where bends hacked from rock lead to the Bay of Marina Piccola.

Another establishment in the area of Anacapri, with its artisan shops and chairlift to the top of Monte Solaro, the hotel is steeped in history. First noted in 1850 as a private villa, it became an inn that served workers constructing the Capri-Anacapri road in the 1870s, and then a twentieth-century refuge for a Russian exile who added art and culture. Sold around the time of the Second World War to the family of the present owners, it is now a renowned five-star resort. Rooms retain a mix of antique and modern, but with state-of-the-art amenities. Facilities on-site include a fitness centre, spa, infinity swimming pool, entertainment and a shuttle service (a local bus service also passes by), with wine-tastings and cookery classes that have to be experienced! Guests can absorb the breath-taking views from the terrace and bar, or from the restaurant, which has its own kitchen-garden.

Ten minutes walk from the quieter town of Anacapri on the slopes of Monte Solaro, this boutique hotel is convenient for visiting the Blue Grotto or even Villa San Michele, the botanical Gardens of Augustus, Marina Grande and Marina Piccola, or for hiking off the beaten track. Rooms offer all amenities, and a shuttle service will take guests wherever they want to go. The poolside restaurant opens for lunches, with a bar and room service available for later, and a Roof Top Terrace for spectacular views and special occasions. A spa and gym for just two adds to the intimate feel of this jewel.

In a peaceful part of busy Capri town but only a short walk from the buzz of the Piazzetta, this nineteenth-century palazzo has been transformed into a de luxe boutique hotel with individually-designed rooms with all facilities, and pop art decorating the interior. A superior restaurant offers regional cuisine, Kosher and Halal options, and of course, a panorama to wow diners. Also available are upgrades, suites, spa and treatments, indoor pool and sauna, whirlpool tub, bar and rooftop terrace.

According to legend this hotel is built on a site which was once home to sirens, dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors to shipwreck on the cliffs with their enchanting music and voices. Whilst you may see some beautiful people with flowing tresses around the hotel, it’s more likely the jet set and Hollywood A-listers these days. This flamboyant hotel is brilliantly OTT in a truly classic Italian way. Interiors are bold and vibrant, taking inspiration from the natural beauty of the surrounding Sorrento. The hotel’s not short on facilities either with a spa, a gym, manicured gardens, a library, a sunbathing platform, a restaurant, a bar, and a club lounge all on site. We would recommend the Superior Sea Rooms for their sophisticated Italian elegance, opulent chandeliers and antiques, and of course, those incredible views over the Gulf of Naples.

This 180-year-old 5-star hotel features 84 rooms and suites each unique in design with original period furniture and many with almost unbelievable seafront views. Originally founded by the Fiorentino family in 1834 as the Amalfi Coast Hotel, the hotel has had a long tradition of upholding warm Italian hospitality and this amazing service is still at the forefront of the business today. The location, on a high cliff near Sorrento town centre, is supposedly meant to be the site of Roman Emperor Augustus’ Amalfi coast villa. The property is surrounded by lush greenery and gardens, whilst the hotel also boasts a spa, a pool, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a top of the range gym. In terms of style, its elegant with a twist of opulence. There are plenty of original features including marble floors, stucco cupids above doorways, and intricate metal fretwork, whilst furnishings are also pretty traditional. Rooms are peppered with antiques, classical busts and ornamental vases. This one is truly fit for an emperor.

Close to the Piazzetta and the Via Camarelle with its exclusive boutiques and artisan workshops, this iconic location has been welcoming the rich and famous among its clients since 1845. Set within its own grounds and near the taxi rank and bus stops, the botanical gardens and Certosa di San Giacomo monastery are also within easy reach. Inside, chandeliers reflect onto marble floors, while rooms and suites with all luxuries are predominately white to showcase the colours of Capri. A spa, pool and hammam pamper guests, and meeting rooms are available for busier people. Three restaurants cater for fine dining, breakfast, special occasions, and poolside eating, with Bar Quizi and Caffè Morgano fulfilling other needs.

Located in the historic centre of Modena, Hotel Rua Frati 48 is housed in a Renaissance-era building. The boutique hotel has brought contemporary furnishings and technology into the property, while sympathising beautifully with the existing period features. Most are relatively simply (yet luxuriously) decorated, with the exception of the opulent Presidential Suite, where frescoed ceilings, heavy drapes, gilt antiques and a marble fireplace are the norm. A notable change to its original state, is the wellness area, which comprises a small gym, a Turkish bath, a sauna and massage and beauty rooms. Pay a visit to the restaurant and bar for a refined Modenese menu.

A shrine to Italian modernist icon Gio Ponti, the Parco dei Principi opened in 1962 and retains many of the hotel’s original features. It may be outside the centre of the town, but this allows for true peace and quiet alongside incredible views and space for some fabulous facilities. The hotel boasts a private beach accessed by a tunnel through the cliff rock, an amazing salt water pool, the Gio Ponti restaurant with floor the ceiling windows of the sparkling gulf, a three-hectare botanical (and very romantic) garden featuring many rare plants, plus a lounge bar and high spec gym. Like many properties in the area, the land on which the hotel sits has some cultural and historical importance too as it belonged to the King of Naples, Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, who acquired the land in the 18th century to build a stunning villa for his cousin. The current building designed by Gio Ponti is a stunning example of the architect’s modernist work, a structure rooted in the earth, inspired by the ancient villa and the Sorrento coast. Inside, this inspiration continues through a 1960s-aesthetic mixed with blue and white tones influenced by the local natural beauty. Some may find the extensive cubism and cool colour scheme too minimal, but we think it makes for a very tranquil atmosphere throughout.