Some of our most characterful hotels are also some of our smallest hotels: historic Tuscan villas with Neo-classical gardens; boutique stays with individually decorated rooms; family hotels that run on Italian hospitality; rural Trulli and Masserie farmhouses; and even a Sassi cave dwelling kitted out with modern minimalist furnishings.
Browse our collection of small and boutique hotels to find a place that really gets you under the skin of Italy. They’re scattered all over the country, so you could wind up bedding down anywhere from sky-high Ravello to the deep south of Sicily.
Mediterranean villa Botanico San Lazzaro has nabbed a hard-to-beat spot on the hillside above Maiori. Wide-angle bay views are a given.
The Sextantio le Grotte della Civita converts ancient Sassi cave dwellings into 18 luxury rooms. Archaic features like wobbly stone floors and hand-woven bedcovers add to the atmosphere.
A one-time Benedictine abbey, the Relais Santa Anastasia has all the markers of a Relais & Chateaux hotel – including a gourmet Sicilian restaurant.
The 17th-century Villa Don Camillo burrows among the fruit orchards just outside Sorrento. Family run and with just seven bedrooms, it’s got a real home-away-from-home feel to it.
San Giorgio Palace carves out a spot on the rocky hillside of Ragusa. A tunnel leads you to reception, rooms come with country views, plus it’s only a few minutes’ walk from Piazza Duomo.
With its historic locale and vaulted dining room, the Hotel Villa Fraulo isn’t shy about showing off its medieval roots.
Trulli Soave is your chance to stay in a traditional Trulli house. Round rooms, archways and conical roofs are the theme – as well as little extras like al fresco hot tubs and rose gardens with hammocks.