Looking for restaurant with rooms by the sea - anywhere in Italy

[sasicka]

Hi there, I was thinking of taking my 6month twins and my in-laws to Italy for a refreshing holiday by the sea. I hate hotel food and hotel rooms, so I'm looking for a nice restaurant with rooms or any old accomodation with great food.

The criteria are as follows:
1) first and foremost, great simple food
2) sea view from my balcony
3) baby friendly = I will have my own beds and food, I just need a friendly attitude
4) family run / owned
5) parking space
6) can be out of town or in a small village or town
7) beach within easy walking distance (no cliffs, no hard access to the beach or sea

It doesn't matter in which part of Italy it is. I would of course prefer anything far from big cities and over-priced locations, such as Tuscany or Venice, but I will be travelling by car, so will eventually get anywhere.

It can also be an agroturismo or an apartment with a good restaurant nearby, but I would prefer the good restaurant on the ground floor.

Thanks very much!

[sasicka]

Thanks guys for a lot of great ideas! I must say I like the Crete tip the best :-D LOL

[roxlet]

We went to Riccione for a squash tournament and stayed at the tournament hotel, which was right on the sea. It was American plan, and we were quite happy with the meals at the hotel, which was almost completely populated with young Italian families. It was extremely family friendly, and the whole area, though certainly not fancy, was great for a kid. My son had a lot of fun being there. This was the view from our hotel window...

[MarkC]

I'm going to go out on a limb here. I stayed at a place that fit your criteria exactly, except for one. It is a family run place with great food and ocean view, easy beach access, immaculate golden sand beaches and warm sea, beautiful countryside, and not too many tourists. Except that it wasn't in Italy... it was in Crete:

http://www.sunset.com.gr/index.php?op...

Also lots of beautiful places to drive to if you have a car. It was one of the most idyllic vacations we ever had. So if Italy isn't essential...

[MarkC]

If you're looking for a quiet beach holiday with views and sandy beaches, then the island of Elba might have what you're looking for.

[barberinibee]

It is possible that Chowhound monitors will remove your post as "not being about food" but in Italy, the tradition fo the Albergo Ristorante is an dining experience you cannot get in many other countries, and it adds to the pleasure of the meal for many of us.

I live in an area of Liguria which is so incredibly car-unfriendly and so cliff and stair ridden, I can't recommend my local favorites. But I wouldn't recommend Hotel Splendido either if you don't want an over-priced location, and Portofino is a particularly poor food town.

If you are willing to roll with something quite less than 4* star, you could check out Hotel Zia Peira in Chiavari. Can't vouch for the food or whether it has a parking space, but you have all of Chiavari in easy walking distance, which is an excellent food town, super-kid friendly and flat. (The hideously-named Lord Nelson Pub in Chiavari rents apartments over its sea-facing restaurant, but it is a very high-end "creative" restaurant with formal service).

You might also look around super-kid friendly and flat Sestri Levante. I would recommend Albergo Marina, which has a down-home restaurant and is family run, but I doubt it has sea views. You can check out the Miramare, which used to be family run and have a passable restaurant, but I think they've changed hands.

By the way, I don't know how much you've traveled in Italy, but hotel food is not always the worst bet in town, and not always "hotel food." Chances improve with family-run hotels, but then the in-room amenities are generally more modest.

Something else you might want to know is that the Medterranean sun is fierce, and western facing sea-front rooms are often the hottest, turing into baking ovens by midday, and shady garden spaces are often the most prized. There is only so much sun you can take in the daytime, and that is especially true of small kids.

[sasicka]

Thanks very much. I have not really stayed at Albergo Ristorante and I allways wanted to do it. This just seems such a great opportunity.

One of my favorite restaurants in Italy is in a hotel (just above Trento). But for this occasion, I would prefer something much less formal, hence my emphasis on family ownership.

I will look through your recommendations. As I've said, the main concern for me is the quality of the food. I've just allways wanted to stay in an Albergo Ristorante or restaurant with rooms of whatever you might call it, I've just never had the opportunity.

Thanks!

[jen kalb]

you might look south of naples for your destination, in Campania, Puglia, Sicily or Calabria. I think that greedygirl wrote a good report on a destination in the Cilento which her family enjoyed.

Sometimes its hard to wrap up a food fantasy + view + beach access. think about it, view implies a height over the beach and a lot of the italian beach destinations are either flat - sandy or view-rocky. for example MANY years ago we stayed at a family owned small hotel in Marina di Ravenna which had a friendly grandma in the kitchen, fantastic brodetto (fish soup) and other items and a Michelin bib gourmand rating - the beach was sandy but nothing to comment on the hotel was utilitarian, certainly no view.

[erica]

I have no personal experience, but a few names come to mind:

Might be too pricey, but this gets good reports for food; on the sea on the Sorrentine peninsula:

http://www.hotelloscoglio.com/#

I hope to check out this place, in the Salento of Puglia, in a few months:

http://www.ristoranteloscalo.it/resid...

[jen kalb]

Here is a thread with some info about destinations in the Cilento, south of Naples.
You might want to look toward this area, or Calabria, Puglia or Sicily, if beaches are a priority. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/716102

I dont know how well elaborate fantasies of this kind fit together. In italy most sand beaches are on flat coasts, not on hilly ones which are usually the ones that will give you a view. Really good food is not necessarily attached to either.
We spent a night in Marina di Ravenna (adriatic coast) MANY years ago. Flat sandy beach with a road running along, faced by unpretentious small hotels. Stayed at a basic family hotel graced by a great kitchen, excellent brodetto (fish soup) and other good things cooked by a friendly grandma, MIchelin bib gourmand (at the time) no view, no amenities, just great food and sand (not a factor for us).

[erica]

The agriturismo that I am aware of in Cilento are not located on the beach, but are within an easy drive. Towns with good beaches include Marina di Camerota and Marina di Pisciotta,
to name two.

Santa Maria di Castellabate has this hotel with a good restaurant, where I stayed a few months ago, and it would appear to fulfill all your requirements, including sea-facing balconies and easy walk to a wide, flat, sandy beach (chairs/umbrella included in room rate). However it is priced above the agriturismo bracket:

http://www.villasirio.it/

BB: Hotel Falli is also calling to me; I may try to at least work in a lunch there (at their restaurant, Da Cosimino) next fall.

[barberinibee]

@erica,

If I eat at Cosimino in a few weeks, I'll let you know. The only reviews of it I've seen were from Gola, and they were positive. If the weather is dreadful, I doubt I'll be staying on the seafront.

[erica]

This is another Pugliese option that I marked; in Sta Maria al Bagno (Nardo) it appears to be on our intended route from the Bernalda area to Ugento, when I am looking for a seafood restaurant for Sunday lunch. The English translations are pretty humorous in places:

http://www.ristoranteartnouveau.com/e...

[barberinibee]

@erica,

Thanks -- place looks sweet. This place might be on your intended route as well. It was a Slow Food pick in 2011 (don't have a 2012 edition).

http://www.acasatumartinu.com/ITA/

@sasicka,

The place I just linked to for erica doesn't have sea views, but it is quite close to the sea and is everything you want food-wise.

[barberinibee]

@erica,

Hope this finds you:

Don't go to Hotel Falli, or Porto Cesareo, for any reason -- certainly not gastronomic.

[erica]

Do tell! I hope that the trip was not bereft of gastronomic highlights. I'm so eager to learn of your experiences!!

[barberinibee]

I'll relate all in a "Puglia" report. Just arrived in Matera (Casino Ridola). Best taste treat so far was found in Molise: olive oil from Larino.

[jen kalb]

really looking forward to this!

[erica]

Me, too!

[barberinibee]

i'm more optimistic than jen about fulfilling these kinds of fantasies, and agree with the advice to check out flat Puglia. Hotel Falli is not small-family-run and perhaps too formal for you, but i've been considering this place in Puglia, between Gallipoli and Taranto, for its restaurant:

http://www.hotelfalli.com/

Also check out Locanda Miranda in the town of Tellaro, which is absolutely small-family-run and mentioned in the slow food locande & osterie guide

http://www.karenbrown.com/B_and_B_Guide/Italy/Liguria/Tellaro/Locanda_Miranda/2689.php

Another town that comes to mind for great food experiences plus beach is Cetara not far from Salerno in Campania. Up the hill, the agriturismo Villa Maria in Minori makes lots of people happy for its home-cooked food and views, but it is not right on the beach and may not be optimal with small twins (no place to walk) even though it has a small playground.

http://www.agriturismovillamaria.it/g...

[Beach Chick]

Grazie barberinibee...love the Villa Maria quaintness and I bet they have fab home-cooked meals.

[Beach Chick]

If money is no object...my fave.

www.hotelsplendido.com