Close to the Gods by Steffi Kammerer | 11th February, 2025 | Destinations

From up here, anything seems possible. As you step onto the terrace perched on the steep cliffs and take in the panoramic view, you may well feel a certain euphoria, triggered by the knowledge that you are surrounded by a sublime landscape drenched in history. In front of you Mount Vesuvius towers majestically and the horizon shimmers in shades of blue, while yachts bob languidly on the glittering waves in the foreground.

The legendary tenor Enrico Caruso came to the hotel in 1921 and performed live for the last time. He died soon after his sojourn here, and his memory is preserved in the Caruso Suite, which remains essentially as he left it, with his piano, and with private letters and historical photos on the walls.

The Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria’s list of prominent guests doesn’t stop there: The visitors’ book contains such illustrious names as Richard Wagner, who completed part of his epic opera “Parsifal” here, Catherine the Great, Princess Margaret, Jack Lemmon and Sophia Loren; Gerhard Richter did a painting of the building.

The Excelsior Vittoria is in Sorrento, a small coastal town on the Amalfi Coast, less than half an hour’s drive from Positano. The hotel has been owned by the same family since it was founded more than 190 years ago. Some staff members have parents and grandparents who worked here. All rooms are lavishly furnished with carefully selected antiques, and no two rooms are alike.

Built in the 19th century, the Excelsior Vittoria was the region’s most modern hotel because it had private bathrooms, explains Guido Fiorentino, president & CEO Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria and fifth-generation owner. Fiorentino had embarked on a career in the leather industry when his father asked if he wanted to return and help manage the Vittoria. He requested a month to consider, as the task seemed so daunting. Having never formally trained as a hotelier, Fiorentino picked up everything he knows from his father, with whom he worked closely until his death, and has run the hotel since 2010. His childhood was shaped by conversations such as “Mrs. X, who is so fond of tiramisu, is arriving, so please prepare the dessert.”

In Manhattan, he once visited a regular guest at home, in his apartment adorned with real Picassos. Signor Fiorentino brought him a jar of pickled tomatoes from the hotel garden. Delighted, the New Yorker vowed to save them for a very special occasion, as one would a very fine wine.

The hotel’s magic unfolds the moment you step into the garden. Located right in the bustling center of Sorrento, you pass through a wrought-iron gate topped with “Excelsior Grand Albergo Vittoria” in golden art nouveau letters. The lush vegetation of the extensive grounds miraculously absorbs the noise of the street and the babble of voices. You stroll past lemon trees, hydrangeas, bougainvillea and palm trees to reach the airy, light-flooded lobby, where a champagne bar awaits under a thick canopy of wisteria. Last year, Travel + Leisure magazine named the Vittoria the best resort in Italy.

An elevator takes you straight from the hotel down to the harbor and the beach. The ancient Romans built a tunnel for this purpose, and the remains can still be seen. For all the historied past and classic elegance, the hotel also moves with the times. It has had an Instagram profile for the past eleven years, and the sixth generation of the family, sons Luca and Peter, who are consummate digital natives, will one day guide the prima donna into the future.

They won’t be changing much; alterations to the exterior are prohibited due to the strict rules of the heritage authority. Also, their hospitality philosophy has been honed to perfection over five generations. Guido Fiorentino recalls his father telling him that the most important thing is to make guests happy. So happy, in fact, that they will be a little sad when they depart. If you’ve done everything right, perhaps they will return. To bridge the waiting time, there is an online boutique that sells marmalade and olive oil, all, naturally, from the hotel’s own garden.