Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

To the ‘Golden Bee’ of Sardinia: Abi d’Oru Beach Hotel & Spa, the first five-star hotel on the Costa Esmerelda, and still a gracious, upscale resort overlooking the white sand beach and turquoise waters of the Gulf of Marinella

Posted on by Julie Spencer
08
Mar

An ancient crossroads between East and West, Sardinia emerged from mystery and obscurity in the 1960s with the creation of the Costa Smeralda by the Aga Khan—and historic Abi d’Oru was the first hotel to be built here on the northern coast. This high-class resort has been welcoming guests for five-star relaxation and pleasures, combined […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy

Mediterranean sun, sea, sport, spa and space: Enjoy the Award-Winning Verdura Resort in Sicily: Exclusive CountryClubuk rates, with or without Golf on Three Kyle Phillips Golf Courses!

Posted on by Julie Spencer
13
Jan

For a peaceful and expansive five-star spa, golf, sun and sea destination in Sicily, award-winning Verdura Resort is a dream location. Set on more than 500 acres of beach-side, mountain-ringed Sicilian countryside, amid orange and olive groves and gardens, award-winning championship golf courses, and more than a mile of private Mediterranean coastline, Verdura is an […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Villa Sant’Andrea, a Belmond hotel, best rates for this stunning five-star hotel on its own private golden beach in heavenly Taormina Mare, Sicily: Luxurious, sheltered, breathtakingly beautiful, live life as if in a private villa in an earlier age: perfect beach holiday and the way to see Mount Etna and the ancient Greek Theatre in style

Posted on by Julie Spencer
12
Jan

Down by the sea, with its own private beach on one of the most beautiful coastlines in all Italy, blissful Villa Sant’Andrea, a Belmond hotel, holds prime position in heavenly Taormina Mare. Remote, sheltered and stunningly beautiful, Villa Sant’Andrea is a portal to a more elegant age—a world of elegant indulgence which is the perfect […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Caruso, a Belmond hotel in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast, a slice of heaven between sea and sky: Perfect peace, tranquility, stupendous views, world-class cuisine and service, together with a rich and romantic history: enjoy exclusive best rates

Posted on by Julie Spencer
02
Jan

Ravello is for those who love peace and quiet and stupendous views. Perched high above the tiny Italian coastal town of Amalfi, it has been described as closer to heaven than to the sea. And Belmond Hotel Caruso, almost suspended between sea and sky at the highest, quietest point of Ravello, is a tiny slice […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond hotel, best rates at this fabulous five-star hotel in Taormina, Sicily, with stunning views of Mount Etna, Michelin Star dining and an elegant sophistication to match its unique history, this is one of the world’s great hotels, where Members enjoy best rates and free upgrades

Posted on by Julie Spencer
24
Dec

More than 23 centuries ago, when Sicily was part of Magna Graecia, the tiny mountain town of Taormina was already famed for its sweeping views, perhaps the best in Italy—and including the towering volcano, Mount Etna. As Sicily’s most fashionable resort, Taormina was described by Guy de Maupassant as ‘all that seems made on the […]

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Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Villa Spalletti Trivelli, Rome, the fabulous palazzo home of a Roman Count and Countess: live as the Romans would like to live

Posted on by cb
11
Aug

There can be no finer place in Rome to stay than the Villa Spalletti Trivelli. It is the elegant family palazzo of a Roman Count and Countess. Neighbours include the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, whose 17th-century Palace is just across the leafy park. The Trevi Fountain is a stroll away. At the Villa Spalletti Trivelli, […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Ca’ Sagredo Venice, best rates in this Venetian palazzo on the Grand Canal: part of Venetian history: blissful nights and days in a palace of fine art, beauty and delight

Posted on by Patrick Fong
05
May

A Palazzo in Venice: luxury down to a fine art Venice is Europe’s most romantic city; Ca’ Sagredo is a Venetian palace overlooking the Grand Canal, its walls lined with ancient frescoes. Together, the experience is out of this world . . . Drifting like a mirage within its watery realm, Venice is certainly the […]

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Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Hotel Metropole Venice, best rates for this celebrated, privately owned five-star overlooking the Lagoon: steeped in rich history and unique style, every inch a baroque ideal of the Italian city: where Vivaldi wrote ‘Four Seasons’ and Thomas Mann wrote ‘Death in Venice’

Posted on by Julie Spencer
05
Feb

Venice’s historic private palazzo hotels are uniquely charming and offer some of the most unusual places to stay in the city. One of the best, and most original, the stylish Hotel Metropole on the Riva, overlooking the Lagoon, is one of the rare private hotels in Venice that is rated five-star—and it is a celebrated, […]

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Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Villa & Palazzo Aminta, Stresa, Lake Maggiore: elegant former family palazzo of the Admiral of the Italian Navy, Francesco Capece, now one of the Leading Hotels of the World: five star lakeside luxury at exclusive Members’ rates

Posted on by cb
11
Jan

The Villa & Palazzo Aminta is the elegant former family palazzo of the Admiral of the Italian Navy, Francesco Capece, and is now one of the Leading Hotels of the World as well as our hand-picked five-star hotel in Stresa, the small, sleepy Italian town on lovely Lake Maggiore. Villa & Palazzo Aminta stands in […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

The ultimate place to stay in Portofino, jewel in the crown of the Italian Riviera: Belmond Hotel Splendido, home of La Dolce Vita as it used to be: and as Groucho Marx said of this idyllic retreat, ‘Wonderful place, wonderful people.’

Posted on by Julie Spencer
30
Oct

Belmond Hotel Splendido is the place to stay in Portofino, jewel of the Italian Riviera. Life here revolves around it. During its vibrant history the graceful building transformed from a monastery to an aristocratic home to a grand hotel above cedar-lined slopes with the finest views of the coast and sea. The Duke of Windsor […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

A Renaissance monastery with a façade by Michelangelo, transformed into a stylish boutique hotel: this is the Belmond Villa San Michele, a prestigious hotel nestled in terraced gardens with views over Brunelleschi’s Duomo in the heart of Florence below

Posted on by Julie Spencer
25
Sep

From its façade attributed to Michelangelo to the fresco of the Last Supper on the wall, surrounding woodlands where Leonardo Da Vinci first attempted to fly, and fine dining Tuscan style within a 15th century monastery, Belmond Villa San Michele is a uniquely beautiful place to stay. As the sun casts golden light on Brunelleschi’s […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Why Belmond Hotel Cipriani, set on an island in the Venetian Lagoon, is one of the Great Hotels of the World: Timeless glamour, history, romance and an air of sophistication combine with superlative service to create a world all its own within the stunning mirage that is Venice

Posted on by Julie Spencer
19
Sep

The Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice would rank at the top of any list of Great Hotels of the World. Not only because of its famous position, with Venice a shimmering vision across the water, giving 270-degree views of the Venice Lagoon and the Doge’s Palace. Not only because, set amid flower gardens on a […]

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Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Hotel Brunelleschi: luxurious, historic, and looking out over the Duomo in the very heart of Florence

Posted on by cb
25
Jun

‘They’re giving me a room at the Brunelleschi’ So wrote Dan Brown in his novel The Da Vinci Code. The novelist returned to the hotel twice in his new novel, Inferno—and now it is our handpicked four-star hotel in Florence, undoubtedly among the finest in this art capital of Europe. The Hotel Brunelleschi is the […]

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Hotels, International Hotels, Italy

Bauer Palazzo, a palace in one of the best locations in Venice, overlooking the Grand Canal near San Marco Piazza: Members enjoy exclusive rates at this historic and palatial five-star hotel

Posted on by Julie Spencer
16
May

Always when day-dreaming of Venice, the luminous, liquid paintings by Canaletto drift into mind. Not only water sets this cityscape apart, but architecture—rising from those translucent blues and greys are the domes of Byzantine churches, the marble of the High Renaissance, and the Baroque, and the pale pink palaces which look out on to the […]

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Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Villa Mangiacane, designed by Michelangelo for the Machiavellis: Glorious Renaissance splendour in Tuscany, near Florence: Exclusive Club rates

Posted on by Patrick Fong
11
Dec

This romantic, glorious villa provides a grand Tuscan country sojourn with easy access to one of the world’s great cultural capitals 15 minutes’ drive gets you to Florence, and even better, 15 minutes’ drive takes you back to Villa Mangiacane at the end of the day. Villa Mangiacane is an amazing 15th-century building, bearing in […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

Hotel Indigo Rome – St George, contemporary hotel in the heart of Rome, offering 360-degree views from its rooftop terrace: One of the Telegraph’s ‘Top Ten Hotels in Rome’: Club Members’ rates from £259 for two

Posted on by cb
11
Dec

For a stylish break amid the artistic, historical, religious and architectural riches of Rome, look to the five-star Hotel Indigo Rome – St George, a centro storico boutique in the Telegraph ‘Top Ten Hotels in Rome’, with elegant rooms, exceptional dining and a roof terrace close to the Vatican, Piazza Navona and Trastevere. And as […]

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Europe, Hotels, International Hotels, Italy, Travel

To Ravenna, home of the most celebrated mosaics in Western Art: Stay in classical Italian style at Villa Roncuzzi, where the owner Patrizia Poggi will welcome you

Posted on by Julie Spencer
11
Oct

Of the hundreds of Italian cities that never reach most travel itineraries,
 none is more worthy of recognition and close inspection than the historic city of Ravenna, home of the most celebrated mosaics in Western art. It is easy to fall in love with the Italian city of Ravenna. Its welcoming people, delicious cuisine, sublime […]

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