Sign in with Facebook
Understated Italian Elegance
If you want to experience a grand old Hotel on the Ligurian Sea this might be it. I was there in the late Spring, just before the season began, and it was perfect. The castle was converted into a Hotel a few decades ago and it is elegant without being pretentious. It overlooks the sea and is set in a park which comprises the entire peninsula. At the center of the park, and overgrown by years of vines, is a tower used by Marconi to test his early wireless devices. In warm weather you can walk through the park and down to the cliffs which surround a small private bay where you can swim or access the sea. There is a small cafe near the water, just through a door, that sells ice cream and sandwiches and cold beer. The town of Sestri Levante is much like any other small Italian city. You must take an elevator from the hotel grounds to the street two stories below. You can also enter the port section of the town from a passageway near the cliffs.
The five charming villages which hug the coast and comprise Cinque Terre, are nearby and the larger resort of Viareggio is about one hour south.
Hotel dei Castelli is a great place to visit with someone special ... It is also on the top of my list of Winter places to write my great novel. On a point of land, nestled in a private park high above the Ligurain Sea ...
