Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, Sorrento, Italy
Hotel Overview
Review of Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, by Matthew Barker
The Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria is a Sorrento landmark; one of Italy's grandest dames has played host to a long list of A-listers and royalty, sunning themselves on its famed terraces since its opening back in the 1830s. The renovated rooms - and certainly the suites - retain more than a whiff of 1920s glamour (the Pompeii and Enrico Caruso suites, of 16 in total, are the best); the views across the Bay regularly take your breath away.
Facilities
Hotel Policies
Rooms
96Come for...
- Romance and refinement
- Abundant gardens, orange and lemon groves
Not Suitable for...
- Haute-design mavens
Eating in
Gorgeous Italian fare at the hotel's restaurant, ranging from local Campania specialities to the finest haute cuisine. Summer dining on the Bosquet terrace is a must.
Reviews
Review of Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, by Joanna Monkhouse
The Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria is in the midst of the Sorrento, positioned at the top of a cliff overlooking the town's port and the Bay of Naples - a complex of two villas and a chalet down a 200m long driveway from the town's busy main square yet set amongst abundant gardens and orange and lemon groves. There is a large swimming pool and a children's pool and lifts takes guests 50m down to the port to enjoy a dip in the sea or to catch a boat to one of the islands (Capri and Ischia) or another of the pretty coastal villages.
The Excelsior Vittoria's terrace with its picturesque balustrade is one of the best places in Sorrento to enjoy the sunset and the view of Vesuvius, marred only by the horns of the cruise ships in the bay and the accompanying kitsch keyboard player. The slightly faded grandeur of the large restaurant the 'Sala Vittoria' is reminiscent of the glory of previous eras, and one feels transported back to the early C19th and time of the Grand Tour. Its large bay windows overlook the bay. The cuisine is Italian using local produce - good but it can be overly rich. In summer, there is a second restaurant on the terrace. There are also many comfortable areas to relax in such as salons, several terraces, the reading room and the winter garden.
Built in 1834 on the site of the villa of the Roman Emperor Augustus and now nearly 170 years old the Excelsior Vittoria is spread over three wings dating from different ages. Archaelogical digs have unearthed many Roman artifacts which have been donated to the Correale Museum in Sorrento. 110 spacious rooms and 10 opulent suites are elegantly decorated, filled with antiques and period furniture and have marble bathrooms. Several of the frescoes appearing on corridor walls, decorating the grandiose stairwells and the ceilings in some suites are original and date back to the days when the hotel was first designed but others were added during restoration in the 1980s. Many rooms have balconies with views of the bay or the five hectares of gardens and some suites have terraces.