Do you love the Italian cuisine? Are
you looking for a holiday destination and an island, but without the crowded
streets of Capri in mid-August? Then look no further but 20 minutes by boat.
Capri’s neighbouring island, Ischia, a peaceful, volcanic island only 45
minutes away from the busy port of Naples, was traditionally known as a health
retreat. I totally understand why this is, after having stayed five days at a
true relaxation haven, Mezzatorre Resort & Spa. This five start hotel is
situated a ten minute taxi ride from the port of Ischia and hidden behind
rocks, pine wood forests and beautiful bougainvillea. It is even so hidden that
even the tiniest of taxis available on the island cannot access the hotel due
to the very narrow streets leading up to the hotel entrance. Instead the hotel
picks you up with its golf cars which definitely makes you arrive in style!
The hotel consists of several small buildings
with pathways, generously lit up at night, leading from one building to
another. Most rooms and suites offer terraces with a splendid view of the beautiful
Tyrrhenian Sea. However, be aware that the rooms come small with even smaller
closets. Therefore, I recommend that you do not bring too many shoes and bags
which risk to fill up the closet quickly! Nevertheless, the rooms are
beautifully decorated with wooden furniture in soft shades of white and sand
with a clay coloured tile floor. The marbled bathroom comes in earthy tones with
a splash of colour from the freshly scented products signed the Italian luxury
fashion and lifestyle maison ETRO (washing myself with ETRO soap definitely
adds to the glam factor!).
Concerning the public facilities,
the hotel pool is tucked into the rocks surrounded by sunbeds, and do not worry
there are enough sunbeds for everyone so you do not need to get up at 8am in
order to reserve your sunbed every morning. From the slightly salted water in
the pool, runs a small staircase cut out from the rocks down to the actual
salted sea water. The hotel may not offer any beach of sand, which makes it
less convenient for families with children, but you can access the water through
a small dive or jump which brings back memories from my childhood years when
diving was a great passion of mine. Nowadays though, I left the diving for my
fiancé and instead I opted for the ladder to get into the refreshing water when
the sun became too hot.
When the hunger turns on, all you
need to do is to walk a few metres to the restaurant terrace open every day for
lunch. Here you can enjoy everything from grilled fish and seafood, salads and
pasta dishes. The food is fresh and tasty, but try to eat early or late as the
kitchen is not capable of handling many orders at once and thus the waiting
easily gets long. But then again, this may not be a problem if you have a good
table company!
Personally, I prefer the hotel’s
lunch restaurant to the gourmet dinner restaurant open every evening with a
stunning view over the pool and the sea. The view is a major plus, and it is
for sure a restaurant to do during your stay either for a romantic dinner for
two or with a group of friends. But, you must not miss the many small
restaurants in the “city centre” offering true local cuisine such as fresh fish
in its many disguises, fresh lobster pasta or a mouthwatering Margherita
straight from the stone oven. And nor should you miss the large selection of
cut fruits, freshly squeezed juices, sweet Italian pastries and omelets and
pancakes made in front of you at the breakfast buffet served every morning on
the restaurant terrace. Are you less of a breakfast fanatic than myself, then
you also have the option of waking up with a cappuccino and fresh pastries
served on your room terrace. However, as all room service breakfasts, the
selection is of course much more limited but the quality remains. It is actually
one of the better in-room breakfasts that I have tried, so a good option if
prefer some privacy before lunchtime.
I think for me, the only true
default at this paradise resort is the spa which in itself is very pretty and appealing
to the eye with its thermal water, steam bath and sauna. Nevertheless, and to
my big disappointment, all spa facilities come at a charge regardless of
whether or not you stay in the hotel and you reserve treatments. My fiancé
still convinced me to try the steam bath which we did (we paid for 15 minutes
of steam bath). And guess what, we had a member of staff waiting outside the
steam bath and clocking us! That, to me, is shocking and not what you can
expect from a luxury hotel!
On the contrary, I still reserved a
facial treatment by Carita to test the spa treatments and the 90-minute
pampering session was as relaxing as I had hoped.
To summarise this stay at Mezzatorre
Resort & Spa, I enjoyed almost a week of total relaxation and calm at what
I can conclude being a luxury resort with injections of surprises increasing the
luxury factor even more, such as the ETRO toiletries and the amount of sunbeds
preventing guests from fighting for one. On the contrary, the beautiful spa
facilities were a true disappointment due to its stingy attitude of charging
all use. Nevertheless, this resort remains a true hidden gem, and my fiancé
keeps asking me when we can go back! I think perhaps already this August! Fingers
crossed that they have changed their spa policy by then.
Read more about the hotel here.
