5-star hotel
Hotel Caesar Augustus
If the Roman Emperor Tiberius were booking today, he’d skip his crumbling Villa Jovis for this cliffside marvel in Anacapri. Suspended 1,000 feet above the Bay of Naples, Hotel Caesar Augustus doesn’t just offer a view; it claims the entire horizon. The former retreat of a Russian prince, this property masters the art of high-altitude seclusion, far removed from the frenetic day-tripper crush of the Piazzetta below. Check into a Junior Suite Cliff Side, where the sea fills every window frame, but for true history, request the Farouk Suite—booked year after year by Egypt’s King Farouk for its sprawling terrace. The design is classic Italian nobility: terracotta floors, arches, and linen-draped tables, devoid of aggressive modernism. Days here revolve around the double-level infinity pool, a masterclass in perspective that visually spills directly into the Mediterranean. Dining at La Terrazza di Lucullo is mandatory; Chef Eduardo Vuolo’s zero-kilometer approach shines in the signature slow-cooked amberjack and the tortelli Genovese, ingredients often plucked from the hotel’s own organic kitchen garden. For recovery, the Maison Orlane Paris spa offers treatments among rosemary and lavender bushes. It is sophisticated, fiercely private, and unapologetically grand.
