DE BONART NAPLES HOTEL REVIEW

De Bonart Naples, a Curio Collection by Hilton occupies a restored 19th-century villa offering guests a spectacular view of the Bay of Naples and distinct luxury boutique Neapolitan experience.

LOCATION

To experience Naples is to be consumed by it. Whole. As Neapolitans get on with their business and vespas whine through heaving traffic, between football flags and laundry fluttering from one balcony to another, the sea glimmers gloriously beyond domes and faded palazzos. This is where Carravaggio’s shadow hold hands with the sanctity of pizza making.

High above the Chiaia district, in a genteel neighborhood where old moneyed apartment blocks alongside diplomatic residences, and villas gently cascade toward the Bay of Naples, de Bonart Hotel feels far removed from the city’s commotion, yet intimately tethering to the edge of day to day Neapolitan drama. From the hotel’s elevated position, the bay of Naples unravels in spectacle — Vesuvius looming in the distance, Capri drifting on the horizon. 

Depending on the time of the day, the hotel is a 25-minute drive from Naples-Capodichino International airport. It takes 10 minutes to get to the historic old town and add an extra five minutes to the city’s main train station. Traffic wise, one could say that it’s more philosophical than literal. 


Corso Vittorio Emanuele 133
Naples, Italy
Tel +39 081 0902000 | Fax +39-0810902821
https://www.debonartnaples.com/

CHARACTER & STYLE

What started as a patrician guesthouse in 1870, the Macpherson’s Pension Britannique (the property’s former name) run by a Scottish lady named Emilia Macpherson became a hit amongst well-heeled travelers of the Grand Tour. One imagines the arrival of guests emerging from their long and arduous train journeys with their trunks and servants following suit and being welcomed by parasols unfurled against the iridescent southern shimmer. 

Virginia Woolf and George Bernard Shaw have passed through its doors. The very same that Arthur Conan Doyle slipped in, as his most iconic fictional detective would have done so stealthily. The hotel had its share of royal pilgrims, the likes of Queen Frederica of Greece and Prince Umberto of Savoy, itching for their great Italian Riviera escape. 

Its recent transformation led by the Caraciollo Hospitality group has taken the property to another height, reflecting a more cosmopolitan and contemporary flair evident in its name rebranding — from “Britannique” to "de Bonart .”  

Retaining its dignified 19th-century facade, the interior architecture gestures toward modern Mediterranean esprit, commencing from the lobby, between each floor, and all the way to the rooftop. There is a marble underfoot as you would expect in an Italian palazzetto setting, paired with flattering sculptural lighting, then finished off with warm Neapolitan ochres set against maritime blues.

Unlike the city’s Prosecco-fizz temperament, there is enough restraint in the design, polished and with plenty of inspiration drawn from Naples itself.

CHECK AVAILABILITY: De Bonart Hotel Naples

ROOMS

The rooms, 72 of them, ascend in mood as much as in altitude. The lower floors lean toward a deeper and more intimate palette, with each floor subtly shifting in tone and the aesthetic lightens as one goes up. The six suites (Mito) come with bespoke aspirations and bolder chromatic choices and a few have the duality to be converted into two distinct, independent private spaces.

All rooms are trimmed with avant-garde motifs, molded paneled ceilings with subtle lighting, parquet floors and wood projecting a sense of home while being away from one’s own. Contemporary artwork and photographs neatly framed, punctuate the walls, making the walk along the hallway feel like a sensory art exhibit. 

Most rooms are angled toward the view of Mount Vesuvius, rising across the bay - blushing at dawn, asserting itself at noon and dissolving into a silhouette come dusk.

BEDTIME ETIQUETTE

Naples being Naples, and despite the city’s reputation for high exuberance, one barely hears the murmur of the city. The occasional scooter drifts past but feels entirely distant. Here, the hotel's elevation and double glazing conspire in the guests' favor. The rooms at the back are calmer cocoons and better suited for guests who prefer a more tempered ease.

The beds are generous and remarkably with good rest support. A wide range of pillow selection is also available, from ortho-cervical to anxiety-relieving lavender cushion ensuring better sleep performance. Linens are saintly white, crisp and mercifully thoughtful. The lights operate with a touch of a button while blackout curtains hold back the outside Mediterranean glare for those guests who have had far too much limoncello the night before. 

KEEPING IT GREEN

As a Curio Collection under the Hilton Group, the hotel adopted the group’s sustainability posture “Travel with Purpose," focusing on mitigating carbon emissions, responsible water consumption by utilizing flow technology, zero-waste initiative by sharing the food surplus from the breakfast buffet amongst the staff, discouraging single-use plastics while encouraging guests to use shared electric bikes and scooters during their stay.

The hotel and the city are both complicit in their belief that sustainability is not only environmental but also cultural. De Bonart Hotel serves regional produce of Campania and offers products made in nearby workshops in addition to being a platform for local artists to showcase, as well as celebrate their works of art. To preserve the city’s character is in itself an ecological act.

FACILITIES

 

• Fine Dining (Deschevaliers) Rooftop Restaurants (The Macphersons / Le Pavillon)
• Bar / Lounge ( The NIQ Bar)
• 24-Hour Check-In / 24-Hour Front Desk
• Parking
• Electric Vehicle Charging
• Spa
• Sauna
• Fitness Center / Workout Room
• Business Center
• Meeting Rooms / Coworking Spaces
• Wifi
• Kids Club / Babysitting
• Room Service
• Laundry / Dry Cleaning / Ironing Services
• Pet Friendly