Portofino & Portovenere: monasteries converted into posh hotels

posted: Tuesday 03 June 2008 by Giorgio in: Liguria Travel in Italy

Hotel Splendido

In Liguria, where mountains and steep cliffs drop straight into the Mediterranean, creating a unique landscape that each year attracts millions of tourists, many old monasteries have been converted into posh hotels. The most famous is Hotel Splendido in Portofino. It was a medieval monastery which was turned into a hotel in the early 20th century. Many celebrities of the past spent their holidays there from Grace Kelly to the Duke of Windsor, and from Orson Wells to Humphrey Bogart; just to mention a few!

It’s a beautiful, magical place, elegantly decorated with enchanting bedrooms that nostalgically look back to the Belle Epoque; to that golden age when the world seemed to twirl around in a perpetually dance. Another amazing hotel is the Grand Hotel Portovenere located in Portovenere, a small harbour which actually is just a delightful cove between The Cinque Terre and the Gulf of the Poets where the great English poet Shelley died when his boat was turned over by a storm. The hotel used to be an old convent built in 1200 which in 1994 was converted into a hotel; a luxurious place from which one can see the exotic, breath-taking beauty of the Palmaria Island.

Via | Modapiu.eu
Foto | Flickr.com

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  • Profile of aussiejohn

    aussiejohn

    04 Jun 2008 - 12:14 - #1
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    Hi Giorgio
    You might want to remind people that there are still authentic monasteries operating in Liguria offering centuries old hospitality. I found a site www.monasterystays.com which offers to book you into them all over Italy but which has a lot in Liguria as well.

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