Lungomare / Santa Lucia

Grand Hotel Vesuvio

★★★★★

The Grand Hotel Vesuvio has stood on Via Partenope, the waterfront promenade of Santa Lucia, since 1882, and it has the confidence of a hotel that has seen everything. Its front rooms look straight across the bay to Vesuvius and down onto the Borgo Marinari, the little harbour of fishing boats and restaurants beneath the island fortress of Castel dell'Ovo, and that view is the reason to stay. The guest list is part of the legend: Oscar Wilde, Guy de Maupassant and, most famously, the great Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso, who spent his last night here in 1921 and whose name lives on in the hotel's ninth-floor restaurant, the Caruso Roof Garden, with its panoramic terrace over the bay. The building was badly damaged in the Second World War and rebuilt, reopening in 1950, and today it combines the polish of a classic Italian grand hotel — marble, antiques, chandeliers, attentive and formal service — with the comforts expected of a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. There are around 160 rooms and suites in a range of styles, from classic to more contemporary, with the sea-view categories the ones to book. A fitness and wellness club, a pool and a bar complete the picture. The location could hardly be better for a first visit: the Lungomare promenade runs past the door toward Chiaia and Mergellina, Piazza del Plebiscito, the Royal Palace and the Teatro di San Carlo are a ten-minute walk, the shopping streets of Chiaia are close, and the ferry port for Capri at Molo Beverello is a short taxi ride away.

What sets the Vesuvio apart is the combination of address, view and tradition. Waking up to Vesuvius framed in your window, with the morning light on the bay and the Castel dell'Ovo below, is the image of Naples that the Grand Tour travellers came for, and few hotels in the city can match it. The waterfront is also the calmest, most open part of central Naples: in the evening the Lungomare fills with strolling families, joggers and couples, and the restaurants of the Borgo Marinari are a few minutes on foot.

Living in it: rooms are classically elegant rather than cutting-edge, with fine fabrics and marble bathrooms; sea views are what you pay extra for and are worth it on a special trip. Dining at the Caruso Roof Garden is an occasion in itself, best at sunset; book ahead even as a guest. Service is personal and old-school, and the concierge is skilled at arranging private guides for Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, boat transfers and restaurant tables. Rates are among the highest in Naples and rise in spring and summer; winter brings the best value and often the clearest views of the volcano.

Base math: from the Vesuvio you can walk to the Royal Palace, Piazza del Plebiscito, Via Toledo and Chiaia, and reach the historic centre in about twenty-five minutes on foot or a short taxi ride. The port for Capri and the islands is close, and the Circumvesuviana for Pompeii and Sorrento leaves from Garibaldi station, a taxi or metro ride away. Book it for honeymoons, anniversaries and first visits that should feel grand.