Romeo Hotel ★★★★★L

The six of us arrived in Naples and found the Romeo Hotel easily. A strikingly modern blue-lit glass façade greeted us. None of us had ever seen a reception area like it: hardwood and leather, chrome and steel, hand-painted glass, original modern artwork everywhere. This must be the ultimate collection in Italian art and design and hand-crafted luxury anywhere. The staff on reception were polite and very friendly. 

There are 83 rooms and suites in the hotel and we occupied three of them. A couple of friends had a deluxe room, a couple a deluxe sea side, and my friend and I had a studio corner. They were all very large and carried through the signature modern design using the best in glass, steel, wood and Italian marble. The fabrics were gorgeous: cashmere, and embroidered linens and silks. The beds were huge and there was a pillow menu for ultimate comfort. The furniture is all starkly minimalist design in the best materials of steel, leather and hardwood and all of our rooms had bold modern artworks and glass ornaments. We all had lovely big bathrooms of marble, metal and Italian ceramic tiling. They came with toiletry products custom-made for the hotel. The Sea Side Deluxe room had large French doors in blonde wood, opening onto a balcony. We gathered there and just sat gazing at the yachts and ferries in the harbour and the view across to Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri. 

We dragged ourselves away from the view to explore the rest of the hotel. On the ninth floor there is an outdoor pool made for lounging rather than swimming: it even has chaise longues and sun loungers inside the pool! There was a lovely pool bar as well and the same spectacular view. You can just imagine lounging in the pool, cocktail in hand, watching the sun setting over the distant hills. We also discovered an astonishing games room just off the foyer, called Il Salotto dei Giochi, where you can play games or sit and read or chat. It has an antique juke box and slot machine, one of those hand-operated football games with the whole thing made out of pure crystal, a chess set made of black and white alabaster and a designer pool table. We planned to save exploring the spa for a proper lengthy visit the next day, and returned to our rooms to get ready for dinner.

There is a sushi restaurant in the Romeo Hotel, but we went for the Michelin-starred Il Comandante. Tables decorated with orchids were set by the windows overlooking the harbour, now full of sparkling lights and reflections. A really beautiful setting for a meal. A couple of us opted for the Chef Salvatore Bianco’s tasting menus, based on fish and local ingredients. A couple of us chose the prawn salad and red mullet with herb cream. There were lots of other really inventive options and some fabulous deserts too. We had a superb meal, with advice on the most suitable Italian wines to accompany our food from the sommelier.  

We went out the next day to sample the delights of Naples, and saw the magnificent medieval Castel Nuovo in front of Piazza Municipio in the city centre. We sat in a great little café looking out over the harbour, visited some beautiful boutiques full of Italian designer goodies, and looked forward to the next day’s spa luxuries in the Romeo Hotel Dogana del Salle Spa. What a perfect end to a perfect trip!