Mezzatorre Resort & Spa - Ischia, Italy

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.