Excelsior Pesaro

The fact that the Adriatic coast is so often overlooked isn’t a reflection on the Adriatic coast itself, so much as it is a reflection of Italy’s embarrassing wealth of extraordinary places. In any other country Pesaro might be a household name — here it’s the next resort city, a few towns down the coast from Rimini. It’s the sort of situation local merchants probably despair of, and tourism boards scheme to fix. But the Excelsior Pesaro, cleverly, makes its hometown’s slightly off-the-radar status a strength.

That’s how you manage to find a modestly sized luxury boutique hotel in an Italian coastal town that’s not beset with massive crowds — anyone who’s been to Rimini’s beaches can tell you how unusual that is. Fifty-two rooms isn’t quite guest-house intimate, but it’s not big enough to get lost in either. Though the visual references run the gamut from Cinecittà to contemporary European design to the Hamptons, of all places, the atmosphere is one of slightly retro mid-century elegance, a sort of sunglasses-and-convertibles, grainy black-and-white escapism. It’s no coincidence that the restaurant is called ’59. You come here to get away from the crowd, not to immerse yourself in it, and while by night you may hit the town, your mind’s probably still on the afternoon’s spa appointment.

How to get there:
Pesaro train station is approximately 5 minutes by car from the hotel. Approximate travel times by train: Milan (2h 50min), Rome (3h 15min), Venice (3h 20min), Florence (2h 20min), Bologna (1h 15min), Naples (4h 50 min).

By Air: Rimini Airport is approximately 25 minutes by car & Bologna Airport, 90 minutes by car.