Tuscany Italy Hotel Reviews - Hotel Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole

Hotel Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole Cliffside Swimming Pool

The main Il Pellicano swimming pool (with heated sea water) shimmers at the edge of the cliff. An elevator awaits to take you down to where the sea meets the rock face. There, some very expensive engineering work has provided a secluded sun deck and bathing platform. Or you can take the stairs, if you've a strong stomach for heights.

There is nothing hotel-like about Il Pellicano. For one thing, you seldom see the other guests, except at dinner and lunch. Even their cars are hidden away in the underground garage. The experience is more akin to staying at a very well-appointed summer cottage. Except that just down the hill you can dine elegantly in the restaurant with its panoramic view of the sea and its top-notch cuisine. The seafood is especially memorable.

Service is superb. For lunch, there's al fresco dining by the pool with a hot and cold buffet that is truly exceptional. Waiters driving silent electric golf carts bring breakfast to your terrace doorstep along with the morning paper.

It is impossible to avoid using superlatives in connection with Il Pellicano, a member of the exclusive Relais et Chateau. In its aim to provide secluded, informal, romantic luxury in a setting that blends perfectly with its spectacular setting it could scarcely be improved upon.

Like a dinner in a Michelin three-star restaurant, for most of us this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that is shockingly expensiveó but worth it. The memories are priceless and they last forever.

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