30 Best Hotels in Naples, Italy

This impressive hotel on the hillside of Posillipo is famous for its Bay of Naples view, its roof-garden Paradiso Blanco restaurant, and its garden terrace. From your own flower-bedecked balcony you can also take in the immediate neighborhood, less enchantingly filled with apartment buildings. Although the hotel is at the western edge of the city, the nearby funicular takes you efficiently to the harbor port and transportation hub of Mergellina, a short walk from the end of the Riviera di Chiaia.

In a 17th-century palazzo on a tiny square opposite the chapel of Pio Monte della Miseriacordia, this place takes its name from the painter of the amazing Sette Opere della Misericordia altarpiece. The Centro Storico's first "modernist" hotel, the Caravaggio is atmospherically furnished with blocks of volcanic stone in the entrance hall; the guest rooms, some of which have a Jacuzzi, are refreshingly light and airy. The lounge bar in the entrance lobby, open to nonresidents, is a lovely place to grab an aperitivo.

This 18th-century palazzo has a great location and its apartments, all on the first floor, have plenty of atmosphere. Originally owned by the Marchese Nicola Le Caldano Sasso III, whose portrait hangs above the lobby's fireplace, it is now run by his great-great grandson Piero. Antiques from when the palace was new add a personal touch to the elegant guest rooms, some of which have whirlpool baths. One section was once a brothel; rooms there are named for the ladies who then occupied them.

An oasis of what Italians call stile liberty (Art Nouveau style), with impressive stained-glass fittings and striking artwork, this serene, elegant hotel is well placed for touring the Museo Archeologico Nazionale and the Centro Storico. Each room is individually decorated—in the warmer months ask for one with a balcony and enjoy your breakfast alfresco, or opt for a garden room that opens onto the small swimming pool.

Opposite Naples's noted botanical gardens, this 18th-century building has been turned into a spacious hotel whose owner's attention to detail makes the place stand out. Antiques—for sale, no less—adorn the public rooms; 200 guidebooks and art catalogs are available to help acclimate you to this less-frequented historic area of Naples; and the service is excellent. A courtesy car will take you to the airport or train station during the day. Front rooms are noisy if you leave the balcony window open, but they face the gorgeous tropical gardens of the Orto Botanico; a better bet, particularly on summer nights, might be a room in the back. All rooms are spacious, decorated in stylish, soothing greens and beiges, but the real stunner is the fabulous roof-terrace bar–restaurant—fresh grilled fish is a specialty—with views over the gardens and the Sanità right up to Capodimonte.

In a rather unspectacular blue-tiled building, the Exe Majestic is perfectly located near the swish Via dei Mille shopping street, the buzzing Chiaia nightlife, and the PAN contemporary art gallery. There's a spacious and welcoming lobby area, which makes for a great meeting place if you're in town to check up on friends or do business. Guest rooms are delightfully modern, with sleek windows, cool colors, and a lovely restful ambience in such a stressed-out city. Only the junior suites on the 10th floor have sea views, however.

At this "techno-style" hotel, one of the most plugged-in lodgings in Naples, minimal-chic guest rooms are done up in steel grays, night blacks, and rich purples, and the large flat-screen TVs (with foreign channels available) compensate for the lack of a view. Downstairs there is an equally chic breakfast room, replete with Lucite chairs, as well as a sleek bar, so drinks or snacks are available around the clock. Though tucked away at the top of a street, the Golden is a five-minute stroll from Centro Storico and just a short walk from the Molo Beverello and the Castel Nuovo–Via Toledo downtown quarter.

A little up the hill from Chiaia, with fine views of the bay and distant Capri, this landmark hotel, first opened in 1870, continues to serve up a supremely elegant dose of old-style atmosphere to visiting VIPs. The glittering interior is an homage to the neoclassical style brought to Naples by Napoléon and his general Joachim Murat, with gilt-trimmed Empire bureaus, shimmering chandeliers, fluted pilasters, and ornate ceilings. Drink in the view from the superb rooftop-garden at George's restaurant, which serves regional specialties.

You'd never guess from the modern exterior that this is the oldest of the city's great seafront hotels—the place where Enrico Caruso died, where Oscar Wilde dallied with lover Lord Alfred Douglas, and where Bill Clinton charmed the waitresses—fortunately, the spacious, soothing interior compensates for what's lacking on the outside. Guest rooms are in luxurious, traditional style with antique accents, vibrantly colored walls, and gleaming bathrooms. The best rooms overlook the bay. There's a spa with myriad pampering services (at a price), and the famous Caruso restaurant and rooftop Sky Lounge have wonderful views.

In the courtyard of a building on the Mergellina waterfront, this hotel is handy if you're coming or going from the Mergellina pier. On the other hand, perhaps this is why some guests have said they suffer from cabin fever after just a few nights—the constant presence of boats and the portholelike windows might make you think you're on board a ship. The spic-and-span rooms are—no surprise—done in a nautical motif.

Maharajahs, emperors, and Hollywood legends have stayed at this grand-tradition outpost that opened in 1908. The exterior, with the hotel's name magnificently picked out in Pompeian red, is awash in elegant detail, and the interior is a symphony of soaring columns, gilded French doors, and Venetian chandeliers. These days the hotel caters to corporate chiefs, and its ballrooms host company meetings. Discreet but attentive service is the goal here—if you want to hire a yacht, the concierge will oblige. After a day of sightseeing, repair to the peaceful rooftop bar and restaurant, with its sweeping bay views.

A 17th-century palazzo in the Quartieri Spagnoli contains this hotel whose small but elegant guest rooms have original architectural features such as arched or beamed ceilings. Guest rooms are decorated in simple, modern Mediterranean style, and two junior suites have private roof gardens.

On a narrow alley off the humming Via Tribunali, close to Piazza Bellini, this hotel looks out over the 13th-century Pietrasanta bell tower. The modern- and traditional-style furnishings and warm terra-cotta flooring make this a pleasant choice if you want to stay in the Centro Storico, Naples's fascinating medieval center.

Just off the chic Piazza dei Martiri, this is a solid choice among the city's smaller smart hotels—with comfortable guest rooms and a fab location for sights, shopping, and eating. Beyond an elegant stone passageway, a chandeliered, marble-floored lobby welcomes you, its impressive size suggesting a larger hotel than this discreet and intimate place. While not ultra-luxurious, the guest rooms are comfortable and have marble bathrooms, and the hotel does have a coveted location just feet from the Piazza dei Martiri's fancy shops and restaurants.

This contemporary upscale hotel near the Centro Storico's major sights occupies an early-20th-century palazzo, but you won't find heavy, ornate furnishings—the emphasis is on light and space, both in short supply in old Naples. The services and professional approach are on a par with the grander hotels on the seafront, making the Decumani a great choice if your focus is the classic Napoli.

This high-end hotel retains hints of its former life as a Franciscan monastery; the small lobby leads to narrow corridors lined with doors that look dauntingly cell-like, until you enter and find surprisingly spacious, simply decorated rooms, many with their own hot tubs and furnishings no monk would dream of. Also there are majolica-tile floors, and stunning views of the city below and the bay beyond. The hotel's restaurant serves regional specialties, and the wine bar has a selection of smaller dishes.

Masterfully designed by local architect Antonio Scala, formerly of New York City, this concept lodging combines the ultramodern with a playful, at times arcane, take on Neapolitan tradition. The main sitting room proves that with the right lighting and furnishings, the color gray can both soothe and fascinate. In line with a wall quote that declares, "This evening I'm a prince, tomorrow a king," breakfast—including home-laid eggs—is served in tiny white bowls fit not just for a king, but a latter-day Chinese emperor. The guest rooms are well lit and full of playful design touches such as a bathtub in the center of the room and a shower head that changes color with the water temperature. Add in silk sheets and cashmere curtains, and the result is a magical, dreamlike lodging experience.

Neapolitan Lungomare enchantment can be yours if you stay at this luxurious, quietly understated hotel that overlooks the port immortalized in the song "Santa Lucia." Hundreds of boats bob in the water, seafood restaurants line the harbor, and the medieval Castel dell'Ovo presides over it all. The lobby sparkles with chandeliers, mirrors, and gilded antiques, and portraits of Neapolitan aristocrats lend an air of nobility. The comfortable guest rooms are traditional, if somewhat bland (and some are small for the price), the suites come with a whirlpool bath, and the in-house Il Pavone Restaurant offers luxe dining.

A onetime brothel, this centuries-old palazzo has been tastefully transformed into a boutique hotel in a good location only a two-minute walk up from Via Toledo beside the Teatro Nuovo and not too far from the Centro Storico. Rooms are furnished in a pleasing rustic style, and the Spanish influence of the area is reflected in the architecture overlooking the leafy rooftop terrace where breakfast is served.

Enjoying perhaps the most enchanting setting in all of Naples, this modestly priced hotel tops many travelers' dream list of places to stay. In one of the buildings of the toy-size Borgo Marinari harbor, directly within the shadow of the Castel dell'Ovo medieval fortress, Il Transatlantico has guest rooms fitted out in faux-yacht style: all blue and white, with swab-the-decks wood trim. You can compare them to the view of the vistas over the harbor, the Lungomare, and the grand panorama of Vesuvius at the end of the bay—a view that even folks paying $2,000 can't enjoy at the luxury hotels just across the pier on the mainland.

It's not every day you can be a "guest" of a famed 17th-century church, but this distinctive B&B was once part of the giant complex of Santa Maria della Sanità, the main landmark of the Rione Sanità quarter. Before visions of gilded frescoes fill your head, keep in mind that this church was erected by the Franciscans: the hotel's decor would please the spartan taste of their saints, though modern majolica flooring and art photographs of Sanità street life warm the place up a bit. Guest rooms, however, are minimal modern. La Sanità can be a rough district, but this church casts a peaceful halo, and La Casa is genteelly situated at the quarter's far western border on a scooter-strummed byway (double-pane windows cut down on the noise).

Right off Piazza Municipio, in the shadows of Castel Nuovo, this popular hotel is a good choice if you're taking a boat from Molo Beverello. The lobby is sober yet luminous, and the rooms are quiet and tastefully appointed. Breakfast is served on delightful third floor terrace with views over the castle.

Sleek, soigné, and swank, this hotel set in the majestic palace of the very majestic Caracciolos (one of the most gilded names in Neapolitan history) is definitely a diamond in the rough—the rough being its immediate neighborhood, which is a bit far from the tourist or historic quarters. Happily, this problem has been solved by the hotel's shuttle bus and other enticements. The hotel is across the street from the "family" church, San Giovanni a Carbonara, where the multitude of worshipping Carracciolo princes, warriors, lovers, and cardinals resulted in two spectacular Renaissance-era chapels. Although the palace dates from the 14th century, this lodging has been refurbished for 21st-century visitors with red sofas, Gio Ponti–inspired ornaments, burnished black globes, and artworks that mirror Lucio Fontana minimal masterpieces. Done up in silvers and taupes, the guest rooms are cool and contemporary, and they all have thick piperno walls to buffer the din from the noisiest motorcycles, of which there are more than a few in this district. The cloister hosts temporary exhibitions of young artists, which are open to nonguests.

Just a few minutes' walk from the Castel Nuovo, Palazzo Turchini is one of the city center's more attractive smaller hotels. In a 17th-century building, it has an elegant design that incorporates several historical styles, as seen in the combination of marble floors and piperno stairs throughout. Guest rooms are small but soundproofed, and many have views over the roofs and domes of the old town.

The name combines a 19th-century Englishman who fell in love with Naples with a certain Signora Pinto; together they went on to establish this hotel that overflows with warmth, charm, and late-19th-century (but fully renovated) decor. It may make you feel like a character in a period movie, with prints of Naples in the 1800s contributing to the atmosphere. The simple, airy guest rooms are on the fourth floors of an elegant building off the chic Piazza Amedeo. 

A modern, efficient business hotel, the Mediterraneo is within walking distance of both the Teatro San Carlo and the Centro Storico. The lobby is bright and airy, with glass cabinets, cream-color pillars, and couches leading to the check-in area; guest rooms are similarly attractive. A nice plus here is the beautiful roof garden.