Parco dei Principi, Sorrento, Italy

Parco dei Principi is just next to the Grand Hotel Cocumella (on the cliff top overlooking the Bay of Naples, a twenty minute stroll from the centre of Sorrento) but style wise it could hardly be further away. Whilst both offer a step back to bygone eras, the faded grandeur of the Cocumella is reminiscent of the Grand Tour but Parco dei Principi whisks you back to the early Sixties in a blue and white swirl.

Designed entirely by Gio Ponti in 1962, Parco dei Principi is now a listed building and all the original details, design and layout are protected from change. The main hotel (large, white, modern, rectangular) sits on the edge of the cliff, making full use of the view of the wide expanse of sea. This, together with two annexes (offering lower grade accommodations without the sea views), is set in lush botanical gardens, with over 30 rare species of trees and C18th architectural features such as a lovers’ bridge and Temple of Venus - legacies of the aristocracy that lived there - first the Bourbon royal family then a cousin of the Russian Tsar. Next to the hotel on the seafront is the pale pink Villa Cortchacow (originally Villa Poggio Siracusa) - a structure that was built in 1792 and which still features many original architectural details - now used for events, dinners and private parties.

Parco dei Principi is decorated entirely in shades of blue and white. On entering the hotel, the eye is drawn to the huge expanses of glass on the far side of lobby looking out over the bay, across the restaurant inside and the terrace beyond. It has a very open atmosphere with a strong sense of the sea. There are several lounges and a piano bar.

For a 5 star hotel, the rooms at Parco dei Principi offer a basic level of comfort, simple and stylish rather than luxurious. Leading off long, blue corridors, the 100 rooms have either sea or garden views and balconies or terraces. Superiors are not much bigger than standards but have less restricted views as their balconies are more open. A suite consists of two rooms and a small anteroom between them. Rooms are equipped with all the mod cons that are expected these days - telephone, fax, modem, satellite tv, a/c, minibar. However, the rest of the room remains as Ponti intended. He designed everything in the hotel, from the pale wood furniture upholstered in blue fabrics in the bedrooms to the 30 different geometric patterned blue and white tiles that adorn the floors to the design of the blue ceramic pebbles and tiles that cover the walls next to the lifts and the pillars in the lobby. Even the crockery is specified as Melotti majolica plates..

The azure sea water pool he described as ‘pond for wood nymphs’ but with its many angles and sharp lines and white diving platform, it is neither pond-like nor does it invoke nymphish thoughts. Intricate stairways down the cliff (or a lift) lead to the small beach where you can swim in crystal clear water and sunbathe on a concrete promontory built out into the sea. There is a seaside restaurant and pizzeria down there for the benefit of the bathers.

Despite the slight tour group feeling at Parco dei Principi, this is a hotel worth looking into. The rates here are very reasonable, for a 5 star with this location in this area of Italy, although reports are mixed about the food. Good for those with children and style aficionados.