Here you will enjoy the comfort of modern amenities in the elegance of baroque rooms.Look around and revel in the period charm of your rooms: damask walls, marble fireplaces, wood panelling. There are historic architectural details and original Renaissance frescoes.Then look out of your windows. You will see the boats passing in the Grand Canal and long row of beautiful balconied windows across the waterway.The canal waters reflect dapples of light on your ceilings. Here you really feel you are in the heart of the Queen of the Sea.

Here, you will spend your days suspended in a realm of beauty between sea and sky. And if you have read and loved Axel Munthe’s The Story of San Michele, you will feel this is the place for you.Not only because you will be a step away from San Michele itself. But because you will experience that view, that inebriation of blue, that sense of a place of ancient history and art, that captivated you in Munthe’s memoirs. And if you haven’t read them yet, rest assured — you will. Lodge in a palace on the high cliffs, surrounded by Mediterranean gardens and terraces, in a place that feels closer to heaven than to earth.

You will notice it at once — the faint but unmistakable scent of larch and pine. It’s the wooden floor and ceiling, the furniture and panelling. Smooth, light-coloured wood that creates a unique alpine charm.Just sink into your bed and take in the elegant, snug country décor. It matches the view from your balcony, which reveals mountain slopes, conifer forests and the charming small town.Red geraniums on the balcony, and the fresh mountain air. Cozy candlelit dining just a few floors below. It’s certain, you will spend happy days here.

White, well-lighted rooms, with details in blue and green. A simple and charming décor.You look out of the large windows, step onto the balcony, and the waves are crashing on the rocks right below your feet. From here you can see all the way to the horizon.You will enjoy your Michelin-starred meals on the terrace, open to the briny scent and the rumour of the Mediterranean. And you will remember Keats’Ode to a Nightingale.“Magic casements opening on the foam of perilous seas, in fairylands forlorn…” Forlorn, no. But magic fairyland? Definitely.

White and blue. Classic and modern. You will love the clean nautical décor of your comfortable rooms. Then, the terrace, all stone and wood and flowerpots. Next that view of blue waters, extending all the way to where the sky comes down to meet them.You will never tire of the view. During dinner, you will lean back in your chair and look out to the sunset horizon. It’s all so beautiful you might get lost in contemplation, and that is the highlight of this accommodation.

You will feel at home right away in this luxurious but cozy family-run hotel. Your room has typical whitewashed walls and vaulted ceilings. Its décor — a happy mix of classic and modern — includes antiques and artworks from the family’s collection. Enjoy breakfast on your private balcony, with a view to the town and the sea down below. Think fresh sea air, stunning blue sky, plus the pleasure of being in a house where every tiny detail is lovingly taken care of.

Disappear into your rooms, and lose yourself in the stunning window view. Or else, vanish into the spa, and come out fresh and regenerated.Then, socialize. At the pool, at the library, at the bar, strike up conversations and make new friends who love the Amalfi coast as you do.Whether you are in the mood for quiet privacy or for discovering new people and new laughs, you will be able to have your heart’s desire here. And it’s always with a view to the eternal beauty of the Mediterranean.

When historic Italian jeweler Bulgari wanted to build a hotel there was only one city in question. Of course it was Milan, exemplar of fashion, the city where fashion is paramount. And what a hotel Bulgari created! Five stories of boutique opulence, where marble and granite meet genuine privacy and space. Completed by an enormous terraced garden, this deluxe five-star hotel is hidden away down a cul-de-sac in the luxury shopping quarter of Via Montenapoleone. While the bar and restaurant generates a daily buzz, the hotel’s sleek rooms are the big highlight. Think romance and an immersion in the Milanese fashionista.

A country estate from a Tuscan dream, Hotel Lupaia is a boutique hotel and working farm in the hills around Montepublicano. Vistas stretch without ending from your suite and the atmosphere is as peaceful as the surroundings.The villa and grounds reflect 400 years of cultivated history and there’s been an ecotourism project here since the 1970s. Expect vintage furnishing and the rural bliss that makes Tuscany so rewarding.Up here you’re far from the crowds, far from anything but vines and dusty roads. You can retreat from the world and dine on classic Tuscan cuisine - the restaurant’s open kitchen concept is awesome. And Montepulciano is just steps away.

Peer out of your hotel window and you can almost hear the lions roar. You can see the Colosseum, so close you can taste history on the breeze. For Ancient Rome you have the best location in the city. Yet remarkably, the surrounding Celio enclave has remained mostly free of overtourism. Nestled in the hotel you feel like a Roman count.2000 years of changing Roman styles create a unique interior (the exuberant design of legendary Giorgia Dennerlein), and from the rooftop there’s no better view of Rome. Oh, and that rooftop is also home to a Michelin-starred restaurant, such are the little touches at Palazzo Manfredi.

You can’t be better placed in Florence than Portrait Firenze Hotel. Gazing over the Arno River, a few steps from Ponte Vecchio, less than ten minutes on foot to the Duomo, Uffizi and other key highlights. Instead of Renaissance, the hotel’s interior is retro haute couture from the 1950s and 1960s. And it’s glorious, an echo of dolce vita from another time. This is a wonderfully private and low-key boutique hotel. Expect discreet pampering, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Florence, and a sense of escaping to a forgotten Italian era.

Lake Orta is an enchanted place. And since you are entering a fairytale, you might as well do it all the way.So, you will find yourself in a Moorish style 19th-century country palace. Your rooms are decorated with stylish period furniture and damask-covered walls, and it all evokes a taste of distant Eastern countries. Through the large glass panes you see the picturesque lake and the tall mountains enclosing it. You will just sit on the couch, cuddle, and enjoy the view.A few steps from suite you dine in Chef Cannavacciuolo’s two-star Michelin restaurant, and you eagerly plan to dine again the following evening.

As you arrive, you can’t help but remember your silver screen idols. Cinema legends such as Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Gregory Peck once lodged at this 14th century estate.Villa la Massa allies manor stateliness and countryside charm. Your rooms are in typical Tuscan style, tempered by a touch of contemporary luxury.Admire the Chianti hills from your windows. Wander through the splendid gardens and immense park by the Arno River. Float in the pool, looking up at the blue Italian sky.  And crown your day with a riverside dinner at Il Verrocchio restaurant.