Hotel Villa Garden

Hotel Villa Garden is a family villa turned boutique hotel, set on a rocky spur above the Bay of Naples in Sant'Agnello. The site has a long past: ancient Romans built a maritime house here, and by the late 16th century the grounds belonged to a convent orchard, painted repeatedly by European artists drawn to the view. Agostino Gargiulo bought the villa at the turn of the last century, and it was his son Roberto and daughter-in-law Carmela, who once ran a local ice factory, who restored it and opened it as a hotel in 1968. Their children later added a pool and a restaurant facing the sea. The fourth generation now runs it. Rooms number 19, finely furnished, and many open onto a balcony with a sea view. You can watch Vesuvius from the belvedere terrace, with the coast's villages strung along the water below. The Paravisiello restaurant serves regional dishes and Italian wines by candlelight in the evening, and breakfast runs as a full buffet with home-made cakes and local cheeses. The beach lies 50 metres away, the port about 1,500 metres, and Naples is 49 km by car. It remains a small hotel, family-run, close to Sorrento's centre but set apart from its traffic.