Pensione America – The Leading Hotels of the World — Hotel Review

Condé Nast Traveler

3 days ago

Why book?
Because as soon as you step foot on the adults-only property, you'll feel your shoulders relax and any stress will melt away. The wealthy Florentines who own villas in Forte dei Marmi have been happy to keep this posh beach town off the tourist radar, but the opening of this new member of the Leading Hotels of the World is primed to put it on the map.
Set the scene
The streets of Forte—as insiders call it—are a maze of tall box hedges and gates that shelter private villas built for wealthy and aristocratic Italian families. Set on a residential block a five-minute walk from the beach, Pensione America is nearly invisible from the street, but as soon as you step through the gate, a leafy pergola leads to the peachy pink L-shaped hotel with its shaded verandas. In the crook of the L is the pool flanked by cushy green sunbeds and surrounded by a perfectly manicured lawn.
Every design detail conveys that this is a place meant for lazy summer days that are the very essence of il dolce far niente: pale terracotta floors, bamboo and wicker furniture (including egg-shaped wicker hanging chairs), huge potted plants (banana plants indoors and kumquat trees outside), cushions printed with images of the area's emblematic umbrella pines, a white baby grand piano and chess set just waiting to be played. It's meant to evoke a sense of villeggiatura, the Italian tradition of decamping to the seaside for the whole summer.
The backstory
The Maestrelli family, which owns and operates the hotel, has deep roots in Forte dei Marmi, where they've been summering every year for six decades and counting. They already own another boutique hotel in town, which has a loyal clientele, and Pensione America had always fascinated Sara Maestrelli, who played at the adjacent tennis club every summer.
It was built 1899 as a private villa for a Roman artist and became a pensione (a humble boarding house) in 1922. When Sara and her aunt Elena purchased it in 2021, it was in desperate need of some TLC. They embarked on an ambitious renovation that took four years, pouring their hearts and souls into the project, which is the fifth hotel in their slowly growing hospitality brand, Collezione Em.
Travelers who have stayed at their other hotels, in particular Violino d'Oro in Venice and Villa Roma Imperiale a few blocks away, will sense a through line in the sophisticated design (like all of their hotels and homes, it has interiors by Piera Tempesti Benelli), the emphasis on genuine cuisine, and the warm hospitality conveyed by the mostly female staff.
The rooms
There are 17 rooms in the main building and a two-bedroom villa overlooking the pool. Like the public spaces, the rooms and suites embody a nostalgic Italian coastal style with a predominantly white color scheme accented by varying shades of greens and blues. The bathrooms feature colorful tiles with geometric patterns by Sicilian ceramicist Nicolo Giuliano and come stocked with full sized bottles of bath products by Florentine brand Santa Maria Novella.
Each room is slightly different from the others; some have refurbished antique dressers from the original pensione, while others are adorned with contemporary art. The Apuan Terrace Loft features high ceilings and a large terrace. For more space and privacy, book the two-story, two-bedroom Villetta, which is essentially its own standalone home, albeit without a kitchen.
Food and drink
Though there's only one restaurant on the property, a snack or a drink is never too far away. The day starts with breakfast served a la carte on the veranda. I loved the croissant filled to order with pastry cream, which I attempted (unsuccessfully, no doubt) to offset with a green detox juice. Lunch is served here too, but during the day most guests prefer to head over to the family's beach club, Bagno Assunta, which serves classic Italian summer fare, like a solid insalata caprese and spaghetti alle arselle (tiny local clams).
Complimentary tea and cookies are set out in the restaurant every afternoon from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and aperitivo is served from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. For dinner, expect unfussy cuisine with a few flourishes (the signature seafood-filled ravioli are heart shaped). Upon request, you can opt for half or full board, a nod to the pensione's early days, when guests would have eaten all their meals there.
The spa
No spa, but a treatment room adjacent to the gym is in the works. Guests can book treatments with trusted local therapists through the concierge.
The neighborhood/area
Far from the glitzy Amalfi Coast, Tuscany's Versilia coast is a bit of an unsung beach destination in a country known for them. It's all about quiet luxury here: the big outdoor market, which takes place on Wednesdays and Sundays, sells cashmere sweaters and high thread count cotton sheets. Streets in the center of town are paved in marble from the nearby quarries of Carrara. Designers including Giorgio Armani and Prada have set up shop amid the more local boutiques, like La Cestaia, which sells the kind of rattan tableware and baskets that are all over Pensione America, and Giovanni del Forte, an artisan who makes made-to-measure wooden soled sandals. The sandy beach stretches on for miles, much of which is given over to beach clubs. It's very much a summer destination that starts to fill up in June and empties out as soon as school is back in session. Pensione America closes in October and reopens around Easter.
The service
The service leans toward the more low-key end of the scale, with staff who are friendly and ready to offer suggestions and make reservations. Complimentary bikes—the preferred mode of transportation in Forte—are on hand for guests to use and an electric vehicle (shared with sister property Villa Roma Imperiale) is available to shuttle guests around Forte upon request.
For families
Though this is an adults-only resort, teens are welcome from the age of 13 and up. The Apuan Terrace Loft can be joined together with the adjacent room and closed off for added privacy, but the best solution for families is the Villetta, which has an exterior staircase as well as an interior one, so teens who sneak off to La Capannina or Twiga can return in the wee hours of the morning without disturbing their parents.
Eco effort
Solar panels on the roof contribute to the property's energy use and the hotel avoids single use plastic whenever possible, opting for glass straws, for example. Nearly everything in the hotel was crafted by hand locally.
Accessibility
There are handicap accessible rooms and bathrooms as well as elevators to reach the upper floors. The lobby lounge, restaurant, and pool deck are on the ground floor.
Anything left to mention?
Guests staying at Pensione America have privileged access to the tents, umbrellas, and sunbeds at Bagno Assunta, where the first rows (those closest to the water) are reserved for them. The Maestrellis have also purchased the adjacent tennis club and are planning to revamp it and incorporate it into the hotel.