The top resorts in Italy

 The top resorts in Italy

The top hotels in Italy, from the well-known to the eco-friendly and boutique, have been compiled by us.

How do we pick the top hotels in Italy?

A Condé Nast Traveller writer who is familiar with the area and has been at each hotel on this list was chosen independently by our editors. When selecting hotels, our editors take into account both opulent resorts and quaint, lesser-known hideaways that provide an authentic and intimate view of a location. In addition to having strong sustainable credentials, we're constantly on the lookout for gorgeous design, a terrific location, and welcoming service. This list is periodically updated as new hotels open and old ones change.

Vocabolo Moscatelli, Umbria

Featured on our 2023 Hot List of the best new hotels in the world

This small member of the Design Hotels chain is housed in a former monastery in Umbria, Italy's green heart. Relaxed luxury is the name of the game here. The hotel is situated on a 2.5-acre estate with a vegetable garden and plenty of well-kept grounds for dogs to run about on. This hotel serves as a gathering place for the neighborhood and attracts Italians and expats from other towns who come to partake in Sunday lunch at the restaurant, sip inventive cocktails at the bar, or attend events the proprietors arrange. There are just 12 rooms, which contrast the stone walls of the old monastery with modern art and design.The beds, for instance, are all custom designs by fourth-generation ironworker Emanuele Lispi, who uses vibrant colors and simple forms. The on-site restaurant is transformed into a showcase for the chef in the afternoon and evening, bringing Middle Eastern and Asian flavors to this extremely traditional region of Italy. Start off with a unique cocktail or glass of wine in the lounge, which has the ambiance of a living room rather than a hotel bar. Then, settle in for a culinary adventure in the restaurant, where you might begin with ramen in Umbrian beef broth with smoked duck breast and end with bread pudding with ricotta, pistachios, and vanilla cream scented with rose water. Itzkowitz, Laura

Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice

Included on our 2023 Gold List of the world's top hotels

They say that the trip is just as essential as the destination, and when applied to the Belmond Cipriani, the house and garden of earthly joys, it has real meaning. From the terminal or the masses of St. Mark's Square, a vintage motor launch in varnished wood, the epitome of 1970s Venetian maritime style, awaits to bring you to the hotel, where the delightful Roberto, who has been there forever, greets visitors with a particular flourish. The Cipriani was custom-built in 1958 on three acres of property of the Giudecca, then held by Guinness nobility, with lots of elbow room, unlike other luxury hotels in Venice that have been crammed inside pre-existing ancient palaces while buckling under a corset of severe rules.Honor and Brigid, the owners of Harry's Bar, a little paneled pub in the middle of Venice, were admirers of the establishment and urged Giuseppe Cipriani to dream large and collaborate with them to build a hotel. As a result, the location continues to be unmatched for its feeling of urbane hedonism, its kind and attentive service that never falters, its easygoing ambience of calm and seclusion, as well as its air of clubhouse secrecy and rarefied exclusivity.

The Cipriani gives more than just a breath of fresh air during the summer when Venice's waterways become increasingly foul-smelling. The grounds of the orange blossom-scented Casanova gardens, where the legendary lady-killer courted the nearby nunnery, are big enough for tennis courts, a culinary garden, a vineyard, and a spa. They provide as a sanctuary for animals like birds and Roberta the tortoise, who has sadly vanished after a recent acqua alta. Meanwhile, sunbathing is elevated to the level of theatre around the hotel's focal point Olympic-size pool, which is the hotel's beating heart (and a happy scale accident because the architect mixed up his meters and feet). There are also countless opportunities for people-watching on the travertine-marble terrace.Hollywood moguls seal movie deals here while Venetian nobles lounge in cabanas, spritzing free Evian like Chanel No. 5 and greeting the staff as if they were members of their own family. Sadly, Walter Bolzonella, a famous bartender for creating the Buonanotte drink alongside George Clooney, has retired. While Riccardo Canella, the multi-Michelin superstar chef of Noma renown, takes the culinary helm, the skilled Riccardo Semeria has filled his shoes. He is aware that the core of Italian design is to make things natural, straightforward, and recognizable while yet being creative and original. Catherine Fairweather

 

Villa Igiea, a Rocco Forte Hotel, Palermo 

Included on our 2023 Gold List of the world's top hotels

You feel as though you have traveled to another part of Sicily when you arrive at this elegant house since it is such a stark contrast to the raucous Palermo, even though it is only ten minutes from the city center. The Florios family, historically one of the wealthiest families in Italy, purchased Villa Igiea as a private estate. The property was then transformed into a spa resort that was popular with royalty in the early 1900s. It had lost its appeal decades later until hotel tycoon Rocco Forte revived it in 2021. For European dynastic families, who gather for aperitivo hour in dresses and loafers on the outside terrace overlooking the bay, the hotel's pool, restaurants, and airy guest rooms now feel like a flashy clubhouse of sorts. In the corner, a dashing pianist plays the ivories. Just to get the guts to strike up a conversation with the bilingual family from Sweden, will you wish to order that third ice-cold martini? England? - at the table across from you (although listening in is a close second). While no two suites are similar (my was decorated in neat navy and white with brilliantly colorful tiled bathrooms), they seem like a modern extension of what is still very much a traditional coastal resort. Inside, Art Nouveau accents include quirky murals and magnificent staircases. Villa Igiea feels like a hotel with its own orbit even in this most recent edition, one that creates a micro universe of folks having fun against the most fantastical setting. Anyone would want to participate in that, right? Florio, Erin

The St Regis Venice

Few can make the claim that The St Regis has as many water-facing balconies as the other historic hotels in Venice that line the Grand Canal. The hotel opened in 1895, the same year as the first Biennale, and since its stylish makeover in 2019, it has become home to an extraordinary collection of modern art as well as items made by leading Venetian glass producers. Naturally, the St. Regis is where you'll find the biennale crowd when they're in town, admiring the breathtaking water vista with a spritz in hand on the waterfront balconies or terraces—the spacious terrace of the Santa Maria Suite is a particular standout.

Hotel Castello di Reschio, Umbria

 Listed among the top new hotels in the globe on our 2022 Hot List 

The phrase "fairy tale" will probably be used frequently when referring to Hotel Castello di Reschio because it is an 11th-century castle owned by opulent aristocrats—and not in an improper way. 3,700 acres of olive orchards, oak and chestnut groves, and elegantly trellised vines make up the property. The 36 rooms are grouped around a central courtyard, with the irregularity of the original structure dictating their shapes and sizes. The two main eating establishments provide a constantly changing menu of flawlessly prepared, primarily Italian classics. And the spa, which is located in a network of connected cellars below the Palm Court, may be the most magical place of all. Robert King

Belmond Villa Margherita, Ravello

The secret scene

It is difficult to imagine a more exclusive location than the Belmond Hotel Caruso, which is perched atop Ravello, one of the most well-known and difficult-to-reach villages on the Amalfi coast, among orange-scented gardens. However, the elegant Belmond Villa Margherita is currently even further removed from the masses. Beyond its parent hotel, the broderie-anglaise-white house is situated on a separate property with olive trees and climbing roses. Margherita offers the most in-demand amenity in this part of the world—privacy—along with the hotel's signature services, including an infinity pool, truffle and mortadella pizzas, and a concierge who can arrange you rides to Positano. Caruso's shabby gym and hair shop, which had the property's worst view, were converted into a magnificent home last spring. Matisse artwork is shown beneath ceilings with hand-painted trompe l'oeil tree branches and trellised lemons. The villa may be hired as a whole or divided into two apartments, and the upstairs has two bedrooms with a pastoral feel reminiscent of early 20th-century English overseas. For the first espresso or even high tea in the garden, there is a tiny kitchen. a return to the seclusion of the Amalfi coast and Vita Sackville-West's and DH Lawrence's Ravello. From Jo Rodgers Read our thorough hotel review of Villa Margherita.Caruso's shabby gym and hair shop, which had the property's worst view, were converted into a magnificent home last spring. Matisse artwork is shown beneath ceilings with hand-painted trompe l'oeil tree branches and trellised lemons. The villa may be hired as a whole or divided into two apartments, and the upstairs has two bedrooms with a pastoral feel reminiscent of early 20th-century English overseas. For the first espresso or even high tea in the garden, there is a tiny kitchen. a return to the seclusion of the Amalfi coast and Vita Sackville-West's and DH Lawrence's Ravello. From Jo Rodgers Read our thorough hotel review of Villa Margherita.

Mezzatorre, Ischia

The low-key island hangout

Ischia was as radiant at its heyday in the middle of the 20th century as its neighbor Capri. Pablo Neruda learned to swim in the therapeutic springs and bays of eerie green-blue on Ischia, while WH Auden and Truman Capote talked about the light in the pastel fishing villages there. Hollywood soon followed after film director Luchino Visconti purchased a property here. But the flashier Capri took the spotlight. Ischia's idyllic days were no longer remembered, and the term Ischia was once again associated with Neapolitan households and the low-key. However, no pant style was named after Ischia. Marie-Louise Scio, of Il Pellicano, who picked Capri for the group's third property by taking over the famous Mezzatorre - the most talked-about opening of the summer - says the island has glamor and glam, but it's so evident. On the island's untamed north-west headlands, the sea-urchin-colored hotel is an old watchtower and pirate lookout from the 16th century. Verandahs have crenellations, lofty vaulted ceilings, and occasionally six-foot-thick walls. It envelops in a solid stillness. A home built by Visconti in the early 20th century rises above several of the apartments, above which there is raucous bird music in the Mediterranean pines. An indigenous mud-rich thermal spa with deep-green tiled pools of mineral water can be found in the hotel's basement. But the highlight is a stunning outdoor saltwater pool where visitors unwind. Waiters at La Baia by the pool serve platters of carpaccio di mare with glasses of Ischian wine. A native of the island, the chef at the exclusive La Torre restaurant prepares uncomplicated dishes using premium ingredients from the region's volcanic soils. Capri shines. Ischia is stunning but real. Through Laura Fowler

Hotel de la Ville, Rome

The capital connection

Since Rocco Forte first opened Hotel de Russie next to Piazza del Popolo, over 20 years had passed. It set the standard for the greatest hotels in Rome with its neoclassical meets Art Deco magnificence, the result of a cooperation between Olga Polizzi and a local architect named Tommaso Ziffer. As part of their anticipated expansion into Italy this year, their younger sister, Hotel de la Ville, was just born atop the Spanish Steps, further strengthening the family's status as the city's reigning family. The 18th-century palazzo, which was formerly a vintage hotel, initially underwent two and a half years of renovations to reduce the number of rooms to a more manageable 89. This time, the design team from Russia looked to the European Grand Tour for inspiration. A Roman marble sculpture here or a lithograph of the pines at Villa Borghese there hints at a bygone era of travel amid otherwise traditional Polizzi rooms. Larger suites feature vast patios, but nothing compares to the rooftop's panoramic vistas of honey-hued cupolas. Additionally, the two-floor spa makes up for the lack of a pool by utilizing the Sicilian botanicals developed at the group's Verdura retreat. The outside restaurant's fresh-off-the-boat breaded sea bass serves as the appropriate exquisite supper while herbal drinks are being served in the bar against a backdrop of tapestries. However, the little details are what set this out for its hometown. With a dining area and bar that are readily accessible from via Sistina, it freely embraces street life in contrast to its haughty peers like the Hassler next door. Here, a cup of espresso costs one euro. The distinctions between hotel and city life are becoming less distinct as a result of De la Ville's evoking of a centuries-old jet set. Through Sara Manuelli

Il Palazzo Experimental, Venice

The design disruptor

At heart young. In a city where hotels all too frequently stutter unimaginatively under the weight of heavy velvet brocade and gloomy antique furniture, that's a welcome tone to create. This Venice hotel, which dares to be distinctive, was introduced to northern Italy by the French friends that revitalized the Parisian cocktail culture when they founded the Experimental Cocktail Club in 2006.

at heart young. In a city where hotels all too frequently stutter unimaginatively under the weight of heavy velvet brocade and gloomy antique furniture, that's a welcome tone to create. This Venice hotel, which dares to be distinctive, was introduced to northern Italy by the French friends that revitalized the Parisian cocktail culture when they founded the Experimental Cocktail Club in 2006. It helps that the sixth hotel in the chain is located away from the tourist crowd at the eastern end of Le Zattere, a long promenade that runs around the Dorsoduro neighborhood in sunny, café-crawl fashion. The colorful Thirties mosaic sign from the Adriatica Shipping Company still graces the façade of this 16th-century palace, which served as the company's headquarters for a number of years. Inside, Dorothée Meilichzon's design, a collaborator with Experimental in her thirties, feels like a joyful modern take on Art Deco. The candy-striped doors of the guest rooms get a surprising carnival touch from her, while the quirky terrazzo flooring in the public areas pays reference to the Carlo Scarpa-designed Olivetti showroom from the 1950s. The restaurant's witty team of chefs plays on the relationship to the Adriatic. A significant portion of the Experimental's mission is to appeal to the locals. Serious drinks like the house Negroni, which is laced with almonds, and reimagined cicheti appetizers promise to create a lively aperitivo atmosphere on the magnificent garden patio. The cozy bar that houses the Experimental Cocktail Club on the other hand makes a great cold-weather hideaway. This area of the Dorsoduro is the new young heart of Venice since it has been injected with a wake-up dose of vigor and is just a hop from Giudecca's bubbling art scene. Leigh Marshall Read our hotel review of Il Palazzo Experimental.

Lefay, The Dolomites

The green champion

The Leali family became national pioneers when they launched their first eco-spa on Lake Garda in 2008, based on Chinese medical principles filtered via Western science and Italian environment. It was the first hotel in Italy to offset its residual carbon emissions and received a decade's worth of green and wellness awards. It was constructed using local olive wood and was mostly powered by a biomass furnace. The treatments had quirky titles like The Moon In The Lake, and the pool had the appearance of floating over Garda, adding to the heady romantic atmosphere. Their brand-new ski resort, located next to Madonna di Campiglio in a valley with fir trees, now reflects both that vision and sensation for the Dolomites. Hugo Demetz, a bio-architect, designed the main structure out of black aluminum, larch, and glass to maximize natural heat, light, and the mountain surroundings. From the fourth-floor bar, the conifer carpet feels touchable. Fires sputter like boots on falling leaves. From the ski slopes to the indoor spa, oak, chestnut, and silver birch branches suspended everywhere create a linked natural state. The Roman bath-sized complex includes 24 treatment cabins, panoramic zoning-out rooms, and pools. The energy flows that are addressed in Garda's garden correlate to four inside spaces. Similar to mountain air, a salt cave, orange and rosemary aromatherapy saunas, and Turkish baths purify the body, soul, and spirit. Reindeer textile panels suspended from thick drapes in 88 bedrooms lull post-spa sleepers into a dreamlike fairyland; Aperitivo drinkers are bathed in the glow of a blaze from the back-lit onyx bar. Alpine char fished in lakes and Trentino spumante guarantee that every dish is made entirely locally. an Italian role model for fitness, romance, and sustainability. Through Stephanie Rafanelli

Como Castello del Nero, Chianti

The revamped castle

Polenta, chestnut, liver, and grape are not just the region's characteristic interior colors but also its rich, wintery comfort foods. Both are just "too heavy," according to interior designer Paola Navone. After spending her birthday at the castle-turned-hotel and 740-acre estate in the heart of wine country built in the 12th century, Castello Del Nero was purchased by COMO's Christina Ong in late 2018. Then, in just 74 days, she gave her Milanese design partner for Miami Beach, Phuket, and Bali the responsibility of redesigning the old property. This was the group's first venture into continental Europe. Along with an excess of chandeliers, four-poster beds, ruched brocades, offal shades, and Italian Fine Arts Commission-protected murals, Navone also had to deal with nine centuries of Del Nero and Torrigiani history in Florentine history. Less a design than a lighting, was Navone's reaction. The terracotta flooring were sacrilegiously bleached, and she stripped the castle down to its vaulted bones, insisting solely on a rigid two-tone of pietra-serena grey and cloud, matching the celestial ceiling of the private chapel. What remained served as a blank canvas for Navone's clever inventions. She created two sets of chairs, one of which was covered in dappled-gray fake pony skin, for the Michelin-starred La Torre, the old stables. When viewed from above, the other, which is in the shape of a 1930s semicircle, resembles a horseshoe. A castle with a modern style that includes the first COMO Shambhala retreat in Italy. SR Read our review of COMO Castello Del Nero.

Masseria Torre Maizza, Puglia

The rooted rural refresh

Some hotels suddenly appear on the scene, eager for the spotlight. Some wait their turn, like this one. When Maizza first opened in 2006, it was already endearing. It was Torre Coccaro's more private relative. It only required that minor stylistic improvement and a minor service adjustment to be truly exceptional. And now it is: Rocco Forte acquired the home in 2018 and reopened it as his fourth Italian property in May of the same year. At this hotel in Puglia, it requires a keen eye to distinguish between old and new. The bull-white masseria was largely constructed in the sixteenth century. Just as the San Pellegrino-bottle green of a nine-hole golf course fades delightfully into a whitewashed vernacular, ten recently constructed garden rooms mix harmoniously with the surrounding architecture.

Here, everything is up to you. A pool and a pergola for languid meals are hidden by a walled garden full with bougainvillaea. Olga Polizzi, the interior designer, uses local handcrafted fabrics and ceramics to create a Puglian country house that is unlike anything her competitors—not even Borgo Egnazia—can match. Puglian plates form a planetary display on the wall behind the welcome desk. The mustard-colored cushions on the banquettes of the Carosello restaurant add a creative touch to what would otherwise be an urban setting with black and white floors. A testament to the straightforward simplicity of southern Italian foods, local youngster Luigi Barletta's menu is likewise less-is-more: "spaghetti, tomato, and basil." The ideal getaway for lovers, with everything in perfect excellent taste, even the recently upgraded beach club.

Mandarin Oriental, Lake Como

The grand arrival

The fact that this hotel on Lake Como seems as though it has always been there is the highest tribute one can offer it. This chic seaside nest to the north of Blevio would have welcomed its first visitors around the end of the 19th century as the European equivalent of the Oriental in Bangkok in a different reality. But the old villa on the wooded eastern edge of the lake was still a private house in those days. It was the residence of opera singer Giuditta Pasta, revered by Italians as their own Maria Callas, and only converted to a hotel in 2010; the restaurant prized elaborate trills above clean, resonant notes. The Mandarin Oriental, the company's first Italian property, received a standing ovation, which encouraged the company. It began operating this 75-room lakeside estate at the conclusion of the 2018 season as its first resort in Europe. It has polite tree-lined pathways, groomed gardens, and a floating swimming pool. Designer Eric Egan, based in Milan, who is renowned for adding both modern flare and historical vigor to historically sensitive projects like this one, lightened the rooms. The only overtly distinguishing features of the Oriental Group are the Mandarin Room, the reception area, and the afternoon tea lounge. Additionally noteworthy appointments have been made. Samuel Porreca, the general manager, and head bartender Luca De Filippis were stolen from JK Place Roma. The Como scene finally sheds its dingy reputation with its fashion-capital-worthy launch.

Casa Maria Luigia, Modena

The foodie hotspot

Massimo Bottura, shown above, is the Maserati of the culinary world, always pushing the envelope. He was listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2019 in April. His and wife/business partner Lara Gilmore are also making their innkeeping debuts with Casa Maria Luigia this year. Casa Maria Luigia is the newest location of the legendary Osteria Francescana, which has been twice crowned the greatest restaurant in the world. Gilmore describes Maria Luigia as a gathering place for family and friends, where visitors may enjoy the couple's shared interests in cuisine, art, and music as if they were a member of their close-knit group. The property, an 18th-century home amid four hectares of gardens with a swimming pool and a path of love seats, was once lothario Luigi Magelli's playground. The improvements were planned by Gilmore, who also founded the workshop Tortellante in 2016 to teach traditional pasta-making to young individuals with autism. The 12 uniquely created rooms combine a casual elegance with the eccentricities of a creative home. Herons frolic over pink Gucci wallpaper above a bed in one room. With floral motifs and Murano chandeliers, bathrooms are striking. Jazz music may be heard coming from the music room, which is home to more than 7,000 vinyl albums. Inside and out, there are pieces of art by Barbara Kruger, Tracey Emin, and Ai Weiwei. However, the cuisine is what truly distinguishes Maria Luigia as a "casa." Egg-yolk zabaione with cotechino sausage, gnocco fritto dumpling, and a slice of mortadella are typical dishes for breakfast in Emilia. In the evening, fans of Bottura may enjoy songs like "Oops! I dropped the lemon tart," which was inspired by an incident in which a dessert fell to the floor while being served. A hedonistic celebration of life by those who love it permeates the entire area. When asked about his intentions for the future, Bottura replies, "More future."