ITALY / BY LUXURY COLUMNIST
Sorrento is one of the most charming places on the Amalfi Coast, Italy. It’s also easy to explore other coastal gems like Capri and Positano from here. That’s why spending the night or several days here makes a lot of sense. We recommend Grand Hotel La Favorita, Sorrento, one of the best 5-star hotels on the Amalfi Coast for your trip.
Grand Hotel La Favorita, Sorrento
One of the best rated hotels in Sorrento according to TripAdvisor is the Grand Hotel La Favorita. It is a family hotel with a beautiful pool on the roof and an excellent restaurant.
First impressions of the Gran Hotel La Favorita
Grand Hotel La Favorita has a fantastic location just a few streets from the city center and Piazza della Vittoria. The staff are so friendly and instantly put you at ease.
The other thing we immediately noticed was the spacious lobby and beautiful tile floor. This feeling of space extends throughout the hotel, with a large roof terrace, extensive gardens on the ground floor, and a bar.
Grand Hotel La Favorita – one of the best boutique hotels in Sorrento
Overnight at La Favorita Grand Hotel
The 85 rooms of the Grand Hotel La Favorita are beautifully decorated, with unique floral tiles from Vietri. Ours had a lovely balcony overlooking the garden from which we could see the Bay of Naples.
Thanks to the comfort of the bed and pillows, we slept very well. Gran Hotel La Favorita rooms
Our Deluxe Double Room had all the amenities including a flat screen TV with foreign channels, a safe, a mini bar, complimentary high speed WiFi and air conditioning. We also had access to a personalized concierge service.
The hotel rooms are very well insulated and you don’t hear any outside noise. The bathroom also had beautiful flower tiles and a marble sink and was equipped with slippers, bathrobes and a hairdryer.
Breakfast at Grand Hotel La Favorita
A treat awaits you with breakfast at Grand Hotel La Favorita. Unlike some Italian hotels that simply serve hot drinks and cakes, there is a great variety at the Tiffany’s Restaurant buffet.
From 7:00 to 10:00, choose between cereals, homemade cakes, ham, cheese, fresh fruit and salad. There is also a variety of hot buffet dishes and freshly cooked omelettes made to order.
Breakfast at the Grand Hotel La Favorita, Sorrento
hotel amenities
One of the highlights of this hotel is the gorgeous rooftop pool and bar, The Bellavista Terrace. Located on the top floor, it is the perfect place to sunbathe or cool off with a refreshing bath.
From the loungers and the bar, you can admire the tiled dome of a nearby church, as well as Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. The Bellavista Terrace is open from 12 to 16 hours.
Bar and pool on the roof of the Grand Hotel La Favorita
On the ground floor there is even more open space with a sunny seating area at the front of the hotel.
Tiffany Restaurant and Bar
Guests at Grand Hotel La Favorita can enjoy fantastic fine dining at Tiffany Restaurant and Bar. Non-residents are welcome and it is open from 12 pm until 15.30 pm for lunch and from 19 pm until 22.30 pm for dinner.
Tiffany Restaurant is a popular fixture on the Sorrento dining scene, known for its Italian specialties and attentive service. We loved our dinner here, with tasty dishes such as locally caught seafood.
Leave some room for dessert as they are superb, in particular the chocolate cake.
Things to Do Near Grand Hotel La Favorita
Just 200 meters walk from the hotel you’ll find O Parrucchiano. It’s owned by the same family as Grand Hotel La Favorita and is one of the most well-known Sorrento restaurants.
There are a few reasons for that – firstly its vast courtyard gardens bedecked with flowers and secondly due to its cannelloni. The dish was actually invented here over 100 years ago and was formerly called strascinati.
O Parrachiano invented cannelloni and is one of the best restaurants in Sorrento
There’s an interesting art museum on the pedestrianized main street, Corso Italia. Fondazione Sorrento has regularly changing exhibitions of local artists and a permanent collection of music boxes in the basement. Sorrento Cathedral is also on the main street and has a beautiful bell tower.
You’ll find some great boutiques along Corso Italia and in the surrounding alleyways. Part of the fun of visiting Sorrento is wandering through these little alleys with their picturesque restaurants and shops.
Marquetry is a Sorrento specialty and there are a few workshops where you can see craftsmen making it. There’s also a marquetry museum if you’re interested in finding out more about the subject.
One of the most beautiful Sorrento sights is the Cloisters of San Francesco. They were built in the 14th century and are remarkably well preserved in a shady courtyard.
Chiostro di San Francesco, beautiful cloisters in Sorrento, Italy
Above the cloisters, Gallery Celentano has a popular Instagrammable Sorrento attraction on its terrace, a swing with views over the Bay of Naples. You can also sit in a cutaway Fiat 500 car, and wander around the photographic exhibitions. On our visit, there was a great one on Sofia Loren and another on Raffaele Celentano, the owner of the gallery.
Sorrento photography exhibition on Sofia Loren
Sorrento lemons are famous the world over and it’s well worth visiting I Giardini Di Cataldo on Via Correale. They make all kinds of things from lemons including liqueur, jam, marmelade and of course, lemon gelato!
Visitors can take a guided tour around their lemon grove and see the typical pergolas made from chestnut wooden poles, protecting the lemons from adverse weather conditions.
A bit further along the street you’ll come to Museo Correale di Terranova. Over 4 floors, it showcases paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, European porcelain, glass and table clocks. At the far end of the museum gardens, you’ll find a path leading to a great viewpoint of the coast.
Correale Museum, Sorrento, Italy
Head back towards Sorrento town center, past Piazza Tasso and walk through the old town entrance, Porta di Marina Grande to the harbor below. Marina Grande is still a working fishing port and extremely picturesque.
If you’d like to get to Marina Piccola, you can the Sorrento Lift from Piazza Francesco Saverio Gargiulo. It’s free for children less than 1 meter in height, €1.00 for adults or €1.90 for a return ticket.
How to Get to Sorrento
The closest airport is Naples and from here it’s just 48 kilometers to Sorrento. The route along the coast is extremely scenic, just be prepared for it to get quite busy in Summertime. We’d allow a couple of hours from door to door.
There are so many things to do in Sorrento that you’ll want to stay here for several days at least. Grand Hotel La Favorita also makes an excellent base from which to explore the other Amalfi Coast towns such as Positano and Ravello.
With such excellent facilities, it’s easy to see why it’s considered to be one of the best Sorrento hotels. The only downside will be checking out and leaving this oasis behind.
When the charming receptionist joked with us that we should stay longer she also asked if we really wanted to leave.
The answer was no and we’re sure you’ll feel the same way if you stay here. Thanks to Grand Hotel La Favorita, our stay was a pure delight.
Check out our vlog for a virtual tour of this luxury Sorrento hotel and some tips on the best things to see in town.
We arranged our stay via Classic Collection Holidays, the leading tailor-made luxury holiday specialists. They are experts in arranging holidays to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Having previously traveled to Italy with them, we knew that everything would run like clockwork.
They booked our e-tickets and got us the best seats on the plane, sending us a printed copy in a handy travel wallet with a guide to Italy. They also arranged our car rental at Naples airport.
