Hotel Regina Isabella: World’s Only Five-Star Luxury Seaside Thermal Spa

The Hotel Regina Isabella on the Mediterranean island of Ischia is an exclusive five-star luxury hotel and thermal spa where guests can experience life lived well. From gentle pampering at the resort’s private hot springs to healthful Mediterranean cuisine prepared by a world-class chef, every experience is designed to enhance wellbeing and delight the five senses. The Regina Isabella welcomes visitors to replenish body, mind and spirit with attentive five-star service that treats guests like family – all in an environment of stunning natural beauty enhanced by the soft music and gentle breezes of the sea.

The Hotel Regina Isabella is nestled on a tranquil cove framed by spectacular rocky cliffs and a lush Mediterranean pine grove. The resort is situated on a private beach in the town of Lacco Ameno, renowned since ancient times for its rejuvenating hot springs. The island’s mild climate makes it an enchanting year-round destination. It is also less famous– and less crowded – than its better-known neighbor, Capri, making Ischia an enchanting hidden jewel just waiting to be discovered.

The resort was designed by Gardella, Rossi & Tufaroli and built in the early 1950s by publisher Angelo Rizzoli. The Regina Isabella soon became a hot spot for the international jet set and played host to some of the great celebrities of the century, from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable, not to mention numerous kings, queens and nobles.

Now under the ownership of Giancarlo Carriero, the Hotel Regina Isabella is an ideal island getaway for people who want to extend their healthy lifestyle to their vacation experience. Personal attention to each guest ensures an advanced, integrated experience of wellness. Every member of the Regina Isabella family, from the owner to the chef to the spa’s medical director, is passionate about their contribution to guests’ wellbeing.

Visual Splendor
Stepping into the Hotel Regina Isabella, guests enter a world of noble spaces full of light and life. The majestic architectural environment is designed in the rich style of the 1950’s. Corridors and public rooms are decorated in real artistic treasures: authentic Capodimonte ceramic floors; hand-painted Majolica tiles; furniture in the style of grand Neapolitan villas; lamps and chandeliers in Murano glass; paintings and tapestries in exquisite detail – all attuned to Mediterranean aesthetics.

The Capodimonte flooring was created by Gennaro Stingo, a highly regarded ceramic artist descended from the dynasty of ceramic craftsmen who founded the renowned Capodimonte School in the early 18th century. It is rumored that Stingo was inspired by the ceramics in Queen Isabella’s summer residence on Ischia.

Accommodations & Amenities
Each room at the Hotel Regina Isabella is different, with hand painted Majolica tiles that vary in color and design and unique interior furnishings that have been meticulously preserved. All 134 rooms, including 20 suites, feature air-conditioning, satellite radio and television, mini-bar, safe, direct international telephone service, DSL with Ethernet cable or wireless and fax on request.

Real linen sheets are just one of the many exquisite touches that add an extra layer of elegance. Available in March 2005, the hotel will offer seven 1-bedroom suites on the Royal floor, which will each have a private plunge pool filled with either thermal or sea water. The hotel offers four types of accommodation on five floors:

· Suites: The height of luxury, each suite has large bedrooms with views of the sea, two or three bathrooms, and a beautiful sitting room with a small private terrace overhanging the bay. Regina Isabella offers one and two bedroom suites with private plunge pools or five 1-bedroom suites without.

· Junior Suites: These double rooms include a small, elegant sitting room and face either the hotel gardens or the Gulf of Naples. Luxury category double rooms offer either one or two bathrooms with a sea view.

· Superior Rooms: Recently refurbished, these now larger and exceptionally comfortable double rooms all enjoy magnificent sea views. Each Superior Garden View room offers a different balcony and sitting rooms.

· Standard Rooms: Redecorated in pastel shades, these double rooms offer every comfort, with glorious sea views.

Historic Hot Springs
The Regina Isabella Thermal Springs have been renowned for centuries for their remarkable therapeutic properties. The ancient Romans made the thermal springs of Lacco Ameno one of the most popular resorts in the Roman Empire as early as the 7th century BC. The waters gushing from the springs are hyper-thermal: rich in chlorides, sodium, bicarbonate, sulphates and magnesium and register temperatures of 167°f (70° c).

The Regina Isabella Thermal Springs offer an exceptional range of rejuvenating and restorative spa treatments for hotel guests, including thermal water treatments, mud applications, dermatological treatments, and massage therapies, as well as gymnastics, body rolling®, and relaxation therapies.

Private Beach & Breakwaters
The hotel’s private beach is accessible only from the breakwater and the hotel’s small port. The breakwaters in front of the hotel are ideal for sunbathing, equipped with umbrellas and deckchairs, and regularly serviced by beach attendants. The hotel veranda is a perfect place to rest and recuperate in the cool comfort of a wicker armchair under the shade of a pergola.

Swimming & Fitness
Three private swimming pools are available to guests. The first is outdoors in a raised position near the beach, fed by filtered seawater and surrounded by a well-equipped solarium. An indoor pool is filled with hypothermal water, ideal for a regenerating dip. Another outside pool is perfect for a relaxing swim in filtered, heated seawater. The hotel also boasts a tennis court and fully equipped fitness center with personal trainers available to design personalized training schedules for each guest.

Boutique
The Hotel Regina Isabella Boutique offers guests an exquisite selection of elegant merchandise. Of special interest is a scarf reproducing the floor design of the hotel’s Sala Camino, the first item in a project designed to unite the hotel’s historic and artistic heritage with the world of fashion.

Conference & Business Center
The Hotel Regina Isabella’s state-of-the-art Conference and Business Center makes a spectacular setting for meetings, conferences, gala dinners and entertainment events. Set in a magnificent park, this handsome, modern facility can accommodate up to 500 people and is fully outfitted with the most sophisticated audio-visual technology. Simultaneous translation, hostess service and interpreters are also available. In addition, the hotel has five large meeting rooms that can accommodate 30 to 150 people.

Lacco Ameno: A Joyful Location
Lacco Ameno has been a celebrated private resort since its beauty entranced the ancient Romans in the 7th century BC. Lacco derives from the Greek “Lakkos,” meaning low basin. Ameno, which was added to the name by royal decree in 1863, means joyful. This “joyful basin” is a charming seaside town that stretches from the Gulf of Naples to the slopes of Mount Epomeo, Ischia’s highest peak.

The hotel’s main entrance opens onto the picturesque square of Saint Restituta, the patron saint of the island, home to an historic church, antiques market, and a fascinating archaeological museum. The natural landscape of Lacco Ameno offers wonderful sightseeing opportunities, from spellbinding walks along the coast to the hushed enchantment of its Mediterranean pine groves. Lacco Ameno also entices visitors with a splendid variety of nightspots, where the traditions of Neapolitan music lend a special strain of magic to the evening air.

Rates
Prices range from 138 ($182.98) Euros for a Standard single room (with sea view) for one guest to 554 Euros ($775.38) per person for a Royal Deluxe Suite (sea view) with Full Board. The property is closed from January 6 – April 2 and November 10 – December 27.

Getting There
BY AIR: From the Napoli Capodichino airport, take a taxi or regular bus service to Molo Beverello for the Lauro and Caremar ferry or to the port of Mergellina for the Lauro and Snav hydrofoils. (The shuttle bus operates between the airport and ports Molo Beverello and Mergellina.)

BY RAIL: From the station, take a taxi, tram or bus (from the Piazza Municipio stop) to Molo Beverello, a distance of about 2 kilometers.

BY ROAD: Leave the motorway and join the Naples ring road, following signs towards Pozzuoli as far as the Via Campana exit; from here follow the signs to the port of Pozzuoli (for Pozzuoli and Caremar car ferries.)

PRIVATE LIMO or MINI-BUS: Available for pick-up/drop-off from Rome & Napoli airports.

HELICOPTER: Service available from Rome airport directly to Ischia.

PRIVATE MOTORBOAT: Pick-up/drop-off available from Port of Naples directly to hotel dock. Also available for tours and private charters.

EXTRAS: Access to 18-hole golf course via free boat transfer, approximately 20 minutes from Regina Isabella.

SOURCE Hotel Regina Isabella
http://www.reginaisabella.it/