It’s not every day you can sleep in a room filled with Pan Am
memorabilia from the 50s or vintage Kodak signs and photographs.
Taking an out-of-the-box approach to its interiors, Capri Tiberio
Palace is the Blue Island’s answer to a design lover’s boutique
hotel. You can’t help but notice the eclectic details as soon as
you step into the hotel’s lobby, where the adjacent Jacky Bar
exudes a feeling of mid-century Cuba, or the hotel’s own Taschen
Library of books covering art, design and philosophy. The property
has worked with Italian designer Giampiero Panepinto to revamp its
now-44 guest rooms. Each one-of-a-kind suite is decorated with a
collection of curated vintage objects and custom textiles by Dedar
& Limonta, giving guests a few new spaces to feel as if they
stepped onto the set of Mad Men. With COVID-19 giving rise to more
private-dining experiences, guests can opt to have their meals al
fresco on one of the private terraces clad in tiles painted in the
typical Vietri sul Mare-style. For a true treat, book the Bellevue
Suite, which draws guests with a 360-degree view of Capri and a
jacuzzi fit for a jet setter.

Le Sirenuse is Positano’s prime place to see and be seen. Today,
the 58-room seaside hotel, helmed by the Marchesi family, pays
homage to its roots in arts and culture through design-forward
interiors and artistic collaborations, plus fashion and homewares
sold through its boutique, Emporio Sirenuse. Emerging from lockdown
and set to make the most of the end of the summer season, the
property has revamped its main hotel bar, dubbed “Don’t Worry” as a
nod to the bar’s neon installation of the same name by British
artist Martin Creed. Beyond sipping prosecco with a view, guests
will have a chance to partake in new open-air experiences,
including fishing excursions, wine tastings and visits to
Positano’s newly unearthed Roman Villa. The hotel recently released
its latest design collaboration with London-based artist Luke
Edward Hall, who has personalised a limited number of sustainable
Veja sneakers with bold original artwork inspired by the Amalfi
Coast. As if we needed another reason to shop on holiday, all
proceeds from the collaboration will go to Friends of Naples, a
charity that protects the artistic heritage of Campania’s
capital.

Tucked away in the charming town of Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi,
the fifth-generation, family-run Don Alfonso 1890 is worth a
journey off the beaten path, especially for the culinarily curious.
The two-Michelin starred “restaurant with rooms” wows guests
nightly with its new and historical creations including “il vesuvio
di rigatoni” and lemon-cream dessert, two of the Laccarino family’s
classics. All of the dishes showcase the organic produce grown on
the estate’s eight-hectare farm in Punta Campanella, while meat,
fish and dairy are sourced from top local producers. The interiors
of the restaurant and eight guest rooms – accented with walls
painted bubblegum pink, bright yellow and turquoise – were designed
to reflect the bright colours of the Amalfi Coast while referencing
the restaurant’s global outposts in New Zealand, Macau and Toronto.
With plans to open a new restaurant in St Louis, Missouri next
year, Don Alfonso shows no signs of slowing down. For an
after-dinner treat, explore the property’s cellar, which holds a
collection of more than 25,000 bottles of fine wine – the oldest
one dating back to 1890 and the most expensive costing €27,000. The
standout feature is the cellar’s tunnels, however. Dug by Etruscans
directly into the volcanic rock, the passageways are said to date
back to the sixth century BCE.

Bringing new meaning to farm-to-table living in
Tuscany, Borgo Santo Pietro is a five-star retreat comprising a
300-acre organic farm, vineyards, holistic spa and skincare
laboratory, as well as a cooking school and Michelin-starred
restaurant. While it’s location in the lesser-known southwest of

Tuscany (just 45 minutes’ drive from Siena) may feel remote,
the property prides itself on self-efficiency thanks to an on-site
dairy that transforms sheep’s milk into cheese and yogurt, plus its
working farm featuring free-range chickens, honey bees and even
alpacas, whose wool is used to craft blankets. Each of the 20 rooms
in the 800-year-old farmhouse estate is decked out with custom
antique furnishings, homegrown flower arrangements and fireplaces,
making the quarters feel more like intimate fairy-tale cottages
than hotel suites. Nevertheless, Danish couple and founders
Jeanette and Claus Thottrup have taken a progressive approach to
building their earthy empire. Last autumn, the property launched
Seed to Skin, a skincare line that blends the natural benefits of
herbal remedies with science-backed ingredients at its on-property
laboratory. Guests can enjoy the benefits via the sumptuous in-room
amenities or head to the spa for a signature Black Magic Glow
Ritual facial. With plans to expand its skincare production
facilities and start producing its own wines, Borgo continues to
build on its “nurture via nature” concept.