The Curation: Volume 23
All Italy Everything: Additions to the Italy Hotel List, a guide to Italian Beach Clubs, Capri Q&A, the Frecciarossa, and the Summer culture calendar
It’s the time of the year when, more than ever, I’m getting all the Italy questions. I figured this called for an entire dedicate post to the country. Today! If you like (you should?), I’ll do a part two next week before getting back to regular scheduled around-the-world programming.
We start with 64 hotels that are new additions to The Comprehensive Curation of Hotels in Italy, the Holy Grail of happyhoteling.com. But paid subscribers get all the new in their inbox, as a token of gratitude. Before V2 is released in a few days. In a similar vein, I was in the process of creating a full guide of beach clubs in Italy for the HH website, but realized that’s something you all deserve access to. 113 beach clubs, throughout the country, organized by region. For every type of sea-seeker, including all the names in the Capri and Campania guides. I’m feeling generous!
I also share the most important aspect to riding the high-speed Frecciarossa train: the routes. The key to unlocking the Italian city train travel.
Hoping to help on the Capri front as well, I put together a series of answers to questions I get often, and some resources you may want but haven’t thought about. Lastly, we have a new edition of the Italian Culture Calendar, focusing on music and film throughout the summer.
I did not, in fact, carry on with my tales of Italian summers of recent past, as it didn’t seem like anyone cared. You can’t win ‘em all, folks. If I’m wrong, tell me (but only if you’re honest), and I’ll continue next week. I want to write what you want to read. Mostly, I want to help you make the most special memories – that’s my purpose in life.
Thank you for being here!
New Additions to The Comprehensive Curation of Hotels in Italy
64 additions. To the list of 505 hotels already published. Places that either got lost in the shuffle the first time around, I was waiting for further info on, are newly opened, or that were not yet on my radar. Anytime I have something to add, I add it to the Google Map, linked at the bottom of the downloadable PDF. But every three months, I’ll update you properly with anything new.
I find this exciting! To my knowledge, The Comprehensive Curation of Hotels in Italy is the most in-depth guide to hotels in Italy, while being highly critical and curatorial with the names that made the cut. The most special hotels in Italy, in all forms and frivolities.
As a refresher, here’s what I look for in the country I know so well and love so much: charm, history, inspiration, location without sacrifice of special, authenticity and above all, more than just a play to lay your head.
If you’ve already purchased the Curation, you’ll receive the updated link in the next couple days. But, for paid subscribers, even if you haven’t bought the guide, you get all the additions. Here, now. Again, I never want anyone to feel like I’m “selling,” or worse, pushing something on you. My paid subscribers help me pay bills and do what I love most in the world. I want to be as generous as possible with you – I couldn’t be more grateful.
Some (not all) call-outs:
Le Marche, an area that was previously lacking, has a handful of new gems due to an upcoming personal trip that, naturally, I’ve done all the research for.
A request that kept coming up was for Sicilian hotels close to the beach, and not on an island. There’s a lot more of those. And more Palermo!
Similarly, people want to go to Puglia but they want to be based at the beach. A harder ask than you’d think, hotel-wise. The updates bring good news!
The Tuscan countryside has only a single new entry, as that’s an area of true expertise (the OG has all the goods) and there hasn’t been anything else new. BUT, there are two new additions to Elba Island (Isola d’Elba).
Liguria is well-represented, especially in the smaller, less-touristed towns.
The Lazio list is quite loaded. In Rome, it’s a mix of new hotel openings and new confirmations of quality on existing hotels. But also, the rest of the region has not been forgotten.
Surprisingly, there are quite a few Amalfi Coast and Sorrento/Sorrentine Peninsula additions. Mostly, due to new local recommendations and property re-openings. No additions on Capri, Ischia, or Procida – I already had them entirely covered.
HAPPY HOTELING, you Good People with Good Taste!