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Locanda delle Donne Monache
Maratea - Italy
ABOVE: The swimming pool of the Locanda delle
Donne Monache is just visible next to the "Mother Church" of Santa Maria
Maggiore.
If
you're a Sound of Music fan and have always dreamed of following Maria
into (and out of) a nunnery, the Locanda delle Donne Monache
will fill the bill without requiring that you take vows of poverty and
obedience--or chastity, either, to judge from the basket of condoms next to Room
9's sunken bathtub.
The four-star hotel occupies a 300-year-old convent in
Maratea, Italy, an ancient town built on the slopes of
Mt. San Biagio about three hours south of Naples. Many of its 23 rooms and six
suites overlook the tiled roofs of the village, while others face a pool
terrace and gardens that have an ancient church and stuccoed houses as a
backdrop.
The decor blends the ancient with the modern. In the small
reception area, a huge wall clock driven by large gears, weights, and bicycle
chains looks like something designed by a 21st Century Leonardo da Vinci. In the
rooms that I visited, black wrought-iron beds were wrapped in curtains of
striped red ticking, while sofas (in suites only) were upholstered in an
off-white fabric that complemented the whitewashed or subtly tinted plaster
walls.
Rooms and suites
The Locanda's guest accommodations are scattered over several
floors, and each room is unique. All have private bath, air conditioning,
satellite TV, radio, and telephone. Room service is available 24 hours a day.
Suites are more like junior suites than full-size suites. In the
two suites that I visited, the sitting areas were small and rather narrow--more
like entrance foyers with sofas than living rooms.
Bathrooms range from adequate to luxurious. If you're on a
honeymoon or romantic getaway, you'll definitely want to splurge on Room 9,
where the multilevel bathroom is a grotto carved into the rocky hillside.
Page 2 -
Dining
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