Enjoy The Amalfi Coast Without The Crowds In Cilento

Forbes

6 days ago

Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum Archaeological UNESCO World Heritage Site getty
Roughly 90 minutes south of Naples and the Amalfi coast, is the less visited but equally beautiful Cilento region, a UNESCO World heritage site with sea, sand and ancient Greek temples. Between the Archaeological Park of Paestum and the pine forest-lined beaches of the Mediterranean Sea, The Savoy Hotel & Spa is one of the few hotels in the area, thanks to its location in a protected national park where no other hotels can be built.
Pool at The Savoy Hotel & Spa, Cilento, Italy Savoy hotel
Just 30 minutes from Salerno airport, the family-owned hotel is a member of Preferred Hotels, the world's largest independent hotel brand, which guarantees a luxury hospitality experience. And because the area is not as well known, it's much less expensive than the Amalfi coast. The hotel was founded in the 1980s by Giuseppe Pagano and the business is now run by the second generation. Next door to the Savoy is the four-star Esplanade Boutique Hotel, also owned by the Pagano family.
A suite at Savoy Hotel & Spa, Cilento, Italy www.aquilamattia.it
Inspired by the area's close ties to ancient Greece, the Savoy hotel's design features a white-washed exterior accented by contemporary columns and a series of lush gardens. The Savoy has such a grand, expansive lobby that you'll feel like you're entering a much larger hotel. Instead, it is actually boutique hotel size, with only 44 rooms, suites and villas. The design palette in the guest rooms has a cool, retro Italian seaside feel with red, green to blue, with wooden furniture and marble. Accommodation ranges in size from Classic Rooms with Italian marble baths and forest views to Terrace Rooms with outdoor space and seating areas and Suites, which offer large baths and covered verandas.
Savoy hotel, white terrace for breakfast Gabriele Rivoli
The Cilento area is the birthplace of the original Mediterranean Diet, with an emphasis on plant-based foods, healthy fats and seafood. Prominent cardiologist Ancel Keys studied the population's eating habits here in the 1950s and 1960s to understand the secrets of their longevity. The results of these studies generated a global revolution, leading the doctor to describe this way of eating as the "Mediterranean Diet." And this is the focus of everything served at the hotel which has an impressive kitchen garden and beehives. The Pagano family's award-winning San Salvatore 1988 farm and winery nearby also supplies the hotel with products including Buffalo mozzarella, yogurt, olive oil and wine.
Tre Olivi Restaurant at the Savoy Hotel, Cilento Savoy Hotel & Spa
The hotel's dining options include Bistrot Olivella with a farm-table menu of traditional Cilento dishes. For lunch or dinner, Beach Club 93 Restaurant is bliss. Located a short stroll from the hotel on the beach, the hotel's Mediterranean restaurant serves fresh and raw seafood as well as pizza prepared by the in-house pizza chef. For a really special meal, Michelin- starred Ristorante Tre Olivi is the hotel's gastronomic Mediterranean restaurant. A tribute to the Mediterranean diet and the olive tree, Tre Olivi has been under the helm of German-born Chef Oliver Glowig since 2024. Chef Glowig has lived in Italy for a while with stints at the Grand Hotel Quisisana in Capri with Gualtiero Marchesi and both Capri Palace Hotel & Spa and Hotel Aldrovandi Villa Borghese in Rome. The restaurant offers a fully immersive farm to table experience from the furniture made from olive trees to the scents and tastes of the menu. There is an a la carte menu plus two tasting menus (starting at €160) to choose from served with wines from their own vineyard. Chef Glowig's creations have intriguing, tasty food combinations. Highlights from a recent menu included anchovies with buffalo ricotta; pasta and potatoes with blue lobster and chicken scented with fig leaves and smoked eel.
Beach Club 93 at Savoy Hotel & Spa, Cilento, Italy Savoy
If you're keen to stay right at the beach, the hotel's Beach Club 93 offers three private beachfront villas, each with a spacious terrace with private pool. And for hotel guests, the beach club is a short stroll from the main hotel or you can take the complimentary shuttle service. The private beach club features a saltwater pool with hydromassage, shaded sun loungers, private gazebos and a beachside bar serving cocktails and meals. The beach itself is wide, sandy and uncrowded. Wellness
The spa at the Savoy Hotel, Cilento, Italy www.aquilamattia.it
Hotel Savoy's beautifully designed spa, a haven below the hotel, has three pools of varying temperatures, a salt cave, an ice room, a Turkish hammam and a sauna. Treatments focus on holistic renewal: massages are enhanced by a signature blend of olive oil and the aroma of white mulberry, so distinctive to Cilento. The Ancient site of Paestum
Second Temple of Hera in Paestum, Italy. getty
Following an expedition to Paestum in 1787, the German philosopher Johann Wolfgang Goethe said 'those well-preserved ruins can only be understood after seeing them with your own eyes.' And later, Friedrich Nietzsche said 'it's as if a god here had built his house with enormous blocks of stone.'
Everyone has heard of Pompeii, the world's best example of a preserved Roman city. Pompeii is about an hour away from Cilento and certainly should be visited but if you're staying in Cilento, an incredible Unesco World Heritage archaeological site is right on the doorstep. Although lesser known than Pompeii, the site of Paestum is even older. Paestum was founded by Greek colonists around the 6th century BCE and known as Poseidonia, later coming under Roman rule.
The ruins of Roman amphitheater at Paestum, Italy getty
There are Roman remains from a later city at Paestum but the main reason to visit is to see three fully intact Greek temples, among the best preserved in the world, the oldest of which dates to 550 BC. There's a lot to take in so it makes sense to go with a guide like Silvia Braggio who's been giving tours of the entire area since the 1990s. The three Greek temples in the Doric order, one dedicated to Athena, and two to Hera (wife of Zeus), were built 50 years apart dating from 550 to 450 BCE. It's possible to walk inside both of the Hera temples without any restrictions.
Detail, the Diver's Tomb. in the museum at Paestum, Italy getty
Surrounded by lovely countryside and located near the coast, Paestum also features the National Archaeological Museum, which houses funerary items, pots, etc found in the town, in the nearby necropolises and at the sanctuary dedicated to Hera. Do not miss the museum's thrilling highlight, the Greek 'Tomb of the Diver,' a colorful, painted tomb from 480 BC. Unlike most Greek tombs of the period, which were quite plain, the Tomb of the Diver is decorated with colorful frescoes on the interior walls and lid. There are several scenes of Greek life and an image at one end of an unknown man diving into water is thought to suggest the soul's passage from life into the afterlife. This tomb is the only known example of Greek painting from a tomb of this era. Getting there
British Airways has just introduced a seasonal route of three direct flights per week from London Gatwick to Salerno from May (Mon, Thu and Sat) until October. There are also daily flights from London to Naples International Airport (about 90 minutes from Cilento) all year round.