From lemon-infused desserts to lazy boat days on the Amalfi, Anna Selby finds herself brushing shoulders — if only virtually — with celebrity neighbours, while Villa Delfina proves the ultimate hideaway for living la dolce vita without the paparazzi…
It just so happened that, having returned from my own day of glorious sunshine on a private boat charter, David Beckham posted to say that La Tonnarella (where we’d stopped off for lunch) was right next door to where he was staying. It came as no surprise. This glorious bit of the Italian coastline has long been a haunt of the rich and famous, its combination of fine food, clear blue sea and the possibility of real seclusion (unless you’re busy tweeting, of course) all adding to the siren call.
If it’s privacy you’re after, naturally you’ll need a place of your own and, in my case it was the Villa Delfina in the quiet spot of Nerano, more village than town, but with no shortage of excellent restaurants a short stroll away (I recommend Lo Scoglio built out over the water and delightfully lit up for the evenings). A half hour’s drive from Sorrento, Nerano is considered to be part of the Sorrento Coast – where a series of towns perch on top of or between cliffs that drop dramatically into the sea. It is also, though, the closest of these to the Amalfi Coast so you can just as easily take the road down to the other side – or explore it all by boat.
This is surely the best way to see any coastline and my day out with Luxury Boats Positano lived up to its name (sunshade if required or vast sun lounger on the foredeck if you’d prefer – not to mention seemingly endless bottles of fizz).
Having picked us up at Nerano’s tiny jetty, our captain Gabriele took us first to spend the morning visiting Positano “the vertical town” built on the cliffside with cobbled streets full of tempting shops and Roman ruins where the hour we had planned turned easily into two while enjoying the local sorbetto al limone served inside the centre of a gigantic lemon. This, of course, is Italy and so timings are flexible and dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing) is the order of the day.
Lunch was rather later than expected but the owner of La Tonnarella was entirely unsurprised and accommodated our party of eight on a table right by the beach (stony in these parts, of course) and the sea beyond. After an array of antipasti and pasta, we were going to pass on the desserts. This decision appeared to induce shock, so a “tiny” tasting plate arrived with four desserts, three of which featured those famous local lemons – a cheesecake, a sponge as light as feather and something very like rum baba with lemon instead of rum. There was a final destination in Amalfi – spiritual home of those lemons – with the odd stop along the way to dive into the clear blue water.
Staying at Villa Delfina, you don’t really have to travel much at all. There’s a massive kitchen and various areas to eat around the villa, inside and out, and you don’t even have to lift a finger. Breakfasts were provided by two delightful cooks who produced strawberry pancakes and tomato bruschetta, croissants filled with almonds and freshly squeezed juices. There was even Delizie al limone (that lemon delight cake, as featherlight as we’d tried at Conca del Sogno).
You can have a local chef for the evening, too. Ours was Antonio who runs his own restaurant in Positano, Km0 – symbolising 0 kilometres as all his produce is local. For us he not only made pizzas, he gave us a lesson in how to do it professionally – there’s a pizza oven outside, of course, as well as a barbeque. There’s a small pool, too, a hot tub, a “gym” (well, a couple of machines) and a path from the villa directly down to the beach.
The Villa Delfina itself is expansive with six generous double bedrooms (all en suite), cleaned and stocked daily, hotel style. They all have glorious sea views and balconies and there’s a huge roof terrace which has the best views of all. It is run by CV Villas who have dozens of properties in the region and offer a service that includes all of the cooks, tours, pick-ups, boats and restaurant bookings you could possibly wish for. So if you fancy a week on the Sorrento coast, à la glitterati look no further. Just watch out for those pesky Beckhams.
Villa Delfina is available from £1,034 Per Person for Flights and Villas (based on full occupancy for 7 nights). Villa only from £10,499 Per Villa. For more information, please visit www.cvvillas.com.
