Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Claire heads to Italy. Enjoy.
La Scalinatella in Capri is the only hotel on Conde Nast's 2007 list of reader selections to receive 100 percent score. And this isn't one of those freebie, gym class, 100s. Leaving the editors of Traveler unable to muster a single complaint is like acing the advanced physics exam... when you have mono.
The hotel's ascent to greatness was long and deliberate, and the setting, amenities, service, and ambiance add up to a flawless experience. According to the magazine:
This romantic 30-room boutique run by the Morgano family (of Quisisana fame) feels like a private villa above the sea. (The name means "little stairway," referring to the hotel's terraced layout, with entrance and reception at the top). It's the perfect place for an intimate tryst, with large rooms well-screened from other guests. The rooms and suites are luxurious and modern, with alcove beds, sunny marine color schemes, and tiled bathrooms; all have panoramic terraces. Some have two baths and whirlpools.
Elsewhere on the island, travelers can find cliff-hanging hotels, bars, and Roman ruins. In the main town of La Capannina, you can even pick up a pair of custom-made capri pants. Anyplace with roomy, cotton pants cut short enough to keep from dragging sand and getting caught on our dirty bare feet named after it is somewhere we'd like to visit.
Plenty of hotels slip the word "grand" into their name, but just a few really look like they deserve the title. The Grand Hotel Florence, built in a former palace and with great attention to detail, is one that does seem to fit the bill. Nearly every guest review makes the point that it's elegant and comfortable and has superb customer service: sounds like grand to us. The hotel itself describes:
Antique décor pays homage to the apex of Florentine history. The Grand Hotel Florence's rooms reflect the intricate details of Florentine culture with spectacular frescoes, marble inlays and other decorative touches.
Frescoes get us every time. If you're traveling this summer, be aware that the Grand Hotel Florence is scheduled to be closed for renovations from 3 August until 20 August 2007.
This weekend's UK Times reviewers were getting in early for an Italian coastal summer break. Trying out Casa Angelina on the Amalfi Coast seems like a pretty tough assignment. Well, some parts are tough: if you want to get to the beach, there are a couple of hundred steps leading straight down the cliff.
Casa Angelina was renovated three years back and reinvented in a minimalist style; but the views aren't minimalist, with every room having an outlook on the Mediterranean sea. Spa treatments are available there, but the Times reviewer wasn't too impressed by that--the massage was pretty weak and the aromatherapy oils being used didn't seem to have any aroma. But on the plus side, the breakfast was good, rooms are large and the location is really idyllic, and it's also close enough to archaelogical wonderland Pompeii and hip city Naples to enjoy day trips.
For as long as we have chronicled hotel reviews, it has been duly noted that finding excellent, decently priced, accommodations in Italy can be, how do you say, spotty.
In light of this plight, when we find Italian hotels that appear to hold up, we always try to let you in on the secret.
Back in 2005 we found Pensione Accademia in Venice. A hotel even Philly Phan could love.
A HotelChatter reader recently put our post to the test in Venice. His thought are this way.
[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven Staro had a bang-up stay at the Grand Hotel Besson in Italy where the hotel's noisy nightclub among other things ruined the entire trip. Enjoy.]
Where do I start!
We've just returned from a week at the Grand Hotel Besson in Saux d'Oulx, Italy. It was the worst hotel experience I have ever had. There are some good points, which I will try to state among the many bad points.
The main problem was the noise. Some people can sleep with a bit of noise but not many can sleep with a loud nightclub booming out from 12:30pm - 5am MOST evenings!
No where in the holiday brochure, hotel website or other websites does it mention that there is a nightclub underneath this hotel at the front. The hotel staff could not move us as the hotel was full but we clearly noticed guests leaving and new guests arriving. Our rep also unfortunately could not move us to a downgraded hotel as the whole resort was full! Hard to believe! In the end we moved ourselves out, a night early on our own expense.
All floors in this hotel are wooden and the doors are not very soundproofed plus all rooms have loud TVs. We had some loud young people opposite our room who would stay up late listening to MTV very loud. The hotel staff could or would not solve this problem!
Need a refreshing or relaxing break in the northern Italian alps and want luxury without the crowds? A recent Business Traveller review has sold us on the mountain village of San Cassiano in the Dolomites, and in particular the Rosa Alpina Hotel. Sitting in a village of just 700 people, and owned successively by three generations of the Pizzinini family, the Rosa Alpina hotel and spa complex sounds like it truly has what we mean when we talk about charm.
It's housed in one of the oldest buildings of the village, formerly a parish priest house--but these days instead of sparse priestly décor there are elegant rooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant that sounds especially tasty:
St Hubertus ... specialises in low-fat cuisine using ingredients from the surrounding area ... signature dishes include meadow-fed lamb from the Badia valley with beans and potato terrine, and local river trout poached in a mountain herbal broth with potato and chive purée ... other dishes include risotto with apples and marinated sturgeon, fillet of red mullet with eggplant caviar served in an artichoke heart, and beef fillet poached in extra virgin olive oil served with truffle purée.
If it's not enough to live in luxury and ski whenever you want, surely that list will get your stomach over to Rosa Alpina. Beware that it is a seasonal hotel: open December to April for the snow, and again from June to September for a glorious fresh-air summer holiday.
[ED. Note: Food Network fans, listen up. Hotel Maven Karen let us know about a little B&B in Italy where you can learn how to cook some regional cuisine. Enjoy.]
I recently spent 4 nights at Agriturismo Alla Madonna del Piatto in Assisi. It was the highlight of my trip! We spent 2 days cooking with Letizia at her cooking school and the remainder of the time touring the local towns. The B & B was relaxing and quiet and beautiful. The patio overlooks a valley and the town of Assisi. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to get away and definitely for someone who has an interest in learning something about cooking and regional cuisine.
This month, Travel and Leisure features a hotel in a teeny, tiny Italian town which has undergone a complete restoration, giving it the "charming but rustic" villa lifestyle that we fantasize about when we think of Italy.
And it's not just the hotel that is getting a makeover. Nope, an apparently rich preservationist is restoring the whole town too.
The little town of Sefano di Sessanio now has the Albergo Diffuso Santo Steano di Sessanio, made possible thanks to a handsome $5.1 million renovation tab. The place is described as:
a rustic-chic 30-room inn (14 more rooms will open this summer), complete with a weaver's atelier and herbalist. In a nod to the city's traditions, the emphasis throughout the hotel is on local craftsmanship, from the olive-oil soaps in the bathrooms right down to the handwoven bedcovers colored with Abruzzese plant dyes.
The hotel's website doesn't seem to have an English section but if you're the type of person who can visit ancient building/cathedral/castle day after day and not get sick of it, then you won't mind the medieval lodgings, albeit renovated, of this hotel.
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by ced138
[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven 
This month, 
