A husband-and-wife hotelier duo has renovated a hotel in a Venetian-style palazzo on the island of Capri, refreshing its pastel-pink facade and continuing the hue into the guest rooms.
Il Capri Hotel was built in the 19th century as a private villa in the Neo-gothic Venetian style before being transformed into a hotel in 1899.
Its current owners, Graziella Buontempo and Arnaud Lacombe, redesigned the interiors to reflect the grandeur of the property while imbuing it with a sense of contemporary chic.
The duo retained the building’s signature pink-and-white facades, repairing and repainting them. They also chose to repeat some of the same hues and external architectural details throughout the interiors.
“Honoring the property’s history and location, the hotel’s colour palette is inspired by the pink found across the island of Capri and the striking volcanic reds of Mount Vesuvius,” said the hotel team.
A bright red curved awning signals the hotel’s entrance, located close to the town square in the centre of the famous Italian holiday destination, leading guests to a reception desk topped with reddish marble.
Room keys are stored individually in small arched niches within a wood-panelled wall behind, while local gifts are displayed on built-in shelves nearby.
The hotel’s public areas feature checkerboard flooring, black lighting fixtures and red curtains to the match sofa cushions and rug trims.
A variety of antique furniture pieces were curated to make the lounges feel homely while artworks and photos were sourced from the personal collection of Buontempo, whose family has long associations with the island.
Archways divide various seating areas from corridors and one another, creating several distinct areas where guests can relax.
In the bedrooms, pink appears again as wainscoting and on upholstered headboards shaped as ogee arches.
The rooms include sisal floors and other natural materials and are simply decorated so that attention isn’t drawn away from the views.
“Each of the 21 guest rooms pays homage to the culture of the island with decor imbuing a feeling of comfort, no-frills luxury and understated elegance,” the hotel team said.
Il Capri offers several options for dining and drinking, many of which allow these activities to be enjoyed al fresco with views of the island’s dramatic coastline and the Gulf of Naples.
These include the street-level Caprirama Bar, connected to the lobby and extended onto an expansive terrace with a herringbone-pattern tiled floor and groupings of terracotta plant pots, landscaped by garden designer Jonathan Froines.
The all-day restaurant Vesuvio also has a shaded outdoor dining terrace, where caned bistro chairs accompany wood-topped tables.
Sun loungers line up along the rooftop swimming pool, shaded by red parasols with crenellated white edges.
There’s also a subterranean nightclub, Rumore, which is used as a cinema and an events space during the off-season.
A short boat ride from Naples on the Amalfi Coast, Capri is a popular destination for both Italian and international tourists.
Elsewhere in the country, recently opened or revamped hotels include the Palazzo Daniele in Puglia, the Condominio Monti in Rome, and the Aeon Hotel near Bolzano.
The photography is by Jonathan Froines.
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