TRAVEL
LA DOLCE VITA:
VILLA DELFINA, NERANO BY CV VILLAS
BY SAMANTHA READY
There’ s a particular quality of light on the Amalfi Coast that I’ ve never encountered anywhere else; it’ s golden and crystalline all at once, the kind of sunray dance that makes even the most mundane moment feel like a scene from a Fellini film. And nowhere is this quite as intoxicating than in Nerano, a quietly sophisticated fishing village that sits between the tourist throng of Positano and the bustle of Sorrento, it’ s a place where locals still outnumber visitors and the pace of holiday life is dictated by the rhythm of the aqua sea.
It was here, perched above this impossibly blue stretch of coastline that I found Villa Delfina, a CV Villas’ property that instantly felt less like a holiday rental and more like a home I’ d somehow forgotten I’ d owned aided not least by the wonderful duo of Italian mammas( too young to be nonnas but channeling that energy) who were sent to be our private breakfast chefs for our stay( if only dreams could become reality, huh?). The approach alone is an experience, winding down cliffside roads past tumbling bougainvillea until the villa reveals itself all whitewashed walls and impeccably presented, clinging to the cliffside with the confidence of something that has been there for centuries.
CV Villas has built its considerable reputation on curating properties that transcend the usual holiday let mediocrity, and Villa Delfina exemplifies precisely why. This isn’ t just about four walls and a view- though my word that view is jaw-droppingly incredible- it’ s about stunning locations, access to experiences, to local knowledge, and to the kind of stay that makes you feel like an insider rather than a tourist. Their team arranged everything, from private breakfast chefs to pizza making classes, incredible chartered yacht tours
( following in the wake of one David Beckham, no less) to guided walking tours and pitstops at some of the best eateries from Nerano to Sorrento, with the sort of seamless efficiency that makes luxury feel effortless.
The villa itself sleeps 12 across six beautifully appointed bedrooms, four of which offer glorious sea views with two boasting wraparound balconies and dual-aspect vistas, all with a distinctly modern touch. Ceramic tiled floors stay blissfully cool, while white crisp linens and shuttered windows create that particular Mediterranean atmosphere of hushed, siesta-ready tranquility. But it’ s the communal spaces where Villa Delfina truly shines. There is a wonderful kitchen area with plentiful wine fridges, an outdoor terrace with pizza oven, and a stunning terrace that offered the perfect seaview breakfast spot and easy access to villa’ s pool and gate leading down the cliffside to the pebble beach beyond. Yet it was to the rooftop that our group were always pulled. To a backdrop of the bay of Nerano and the loom of the Lattari Mountains, we took in stunning sun-drenched morning views, spent afternoons sipping chilled Prosecco in the hot tub and by night watched the moonlight dance across the sea while luxury yachts sailed by in many a‘ pinch-me’ moment. I found myself constantly reaching for my camera, then putting it down again, knowing no photo could possibly capture this.
The rooftop and terrace became our daily ritual, woken by the busy mammas preparing fresh cornetti, bowls of ripe fruits, San Marzano tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and really good coffee to kickstart our day, before we ventured out on one of the many excursions that took this stay from one of brilliance to incomparable memory.
130 • www. insidekent. co. uk