Il Fogliano Hotel ★★★★SUP

Rural Lazio does a great job of being hidden in plain sight. People think that to see the great natural beauty of the Italian countryside they must head to the lakes and mountains in the north, the Amalfi coast in the south, the picturesque Mediterranean islands, or the rugged hills and plains in the most remote parts of the country. True, these are all lovely parts of the world, but VeryChic had let us in on a little secret, so we were heading off to one of the corners of Italy which is, paradoxically, little known and seldom visited despite being so close to Rome. In fact, the Italian capital lies right in the middle of the Lazio region, and Il Fogliano sits just an hour outside the city in a little spot of coastal perfection.
There is no ‘hiding in plain sight’ for the hotel. Amid the idyllic beaches, sand dunes, lakes and lush greenery of the Circeo National Park, it is conspicuous for its striking architecture and dazzling modernism. We drew up outside Il Fogliano, on a thin strip of land with Fogliano Lake on one side and the Mediterranean on the other, and we could just tell, gazing up at the beautiful, imposing structure before us, that we were about to enter into a world of modern luxury. And so it proved. Inside everything is just as sleek and stylish as you would expect from the exterior: clean lines, contemporary furnishings and minimalistic shades of white and sandy gold, all with an unmistakable air of extravagance and indulgence.
It was a sweltering summer day and we were eager to head out to the private beach, so we promptly made our way up to our bedroom to get changed. The design was no less striking up here, but there was also a noticeably homely, warm and comforting atmosphere. Best of all, VeryChic had put us up in a Deluxe Room with a sea view, meaning that the Mediterranean lay tantalisingly just beyond our spacious private balcony. The gorgeous colours of the twinkling water and the clear sky were picked up by the soothing shades of blue in our room, while there was plenty of substance to go with our style, with exemplary facilities including a gloriously roomy bathroom.
We paused just a moment on our balcony, sipping drinks from the free minibar at our outdoor table and looking out at the endless Mediterranean horizon, with the Pontine Islands rising out of the water in the distance. I mused that it is no wonder Italy produced some of the world’s most famous seafaring explorers and maritime adventurers, such as Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo, when the sea sits there so alluringly and invitingly. So invitingly, in fact, that we soon pressed on with our plans to head down to the private beach, a serene and sublimely beautiful spot to bask in the Mediterranean sunshine. We let the hours slip by as we sunbathed on the loungers with our toes in the soft sand, swam in the warm and crystal clear waters, and admired our incredible surroundings, with a long expanse of pale sand leading all the way up to Mount Circeo in the distance.
Never ones to over-exert ourselves on the first day of a relaxing holiday, we had already planned a whole evening without even leaving the hotel. Step one was a no brainer – as the sun began to descend over the horizon, what could set the tone for the perfect romantic break better than a wallow in the rooftop Jacuzzi? We had no company up here apart from each other, and we also had the best viewpoint to gawp at the kaleidoscope of warm colours reflecting off the calm water. Though I could happily have stayed there all night, we tore ourselves away and returned to our room to get dressed up for dinner at the Vistamare restaurant, which we had only narrowly chosen ahead of the Agro Del Fogliano bistro. We took a seat at a table beside the glass wall overlooking the sea, where we made our way through three courses of mouth-wateringly delicious, fresh Italian cooking, washed down with plenty of wine.
Almost bordering on uncomfortably full, we decided to work off some of the excesses of our excellent evening with a moonlit stroll along the beach. As we dipped our feet into the shallows, discussion turned to all we still had to do when we finally made it out of our hotel – discovering the beauty of this national park, climbing the mountain and visiting the islands which we could see in the distance, shopping, eating and drinking, finding ancient monuments and gardens, and the inevitable visit to Rome. I will admit that it was with a rather smug smile that we headed back to our luxurious room, delighted with ourselves for having come across this inexplicably undiscovered gem of a region.