When I first dreamt of visiting Italy many years ago, it was Abruzzo that first caught my eye. Contained within high mountains to the west and the sparkling Adriatic Sea on the east, hidden from the hordes of tourists that had overrun Amalfi and Umbria, Abruzzo seemed to have it all, from stunning seaside vistas to the breathtaking peaks of the Apennines. In Abruzzo it was Pescara, the bustling city on the sea where the poet Gabriel D’Annunzio once lived, that attracted me most of all.
Reviewing a Pescara Hotel list, I discovered that for a price of a Pescara Hotel room you can rent your own Villa with rates starting at Euro 280 per night
Below is a list of the well known Pescara Hotels that I had reviewed:
Pescara Hotel:
Hotel Esplanade, Pescara
Rates Starting at – Euro 148 for a double room
Piazza I Maggio 46, Pescara 65122, Italy
A renowned Hotel in Pescara known for its proximity to the beach – it had a great location, but seemed cold and impersonal
Victoria Hotel , Pescara
Via Piave 142, Pescara 65122, Italy
A 4 Star Hotel that is known for its good location, aesthetic grandeur and hospitable service – but ultimately, the size of the hotel made me reconsider. I didn’t want crowds of tourists flocking around, but rather a
peaceful escape from which to enjoy a more introspective form of travel.
Best Western Pescara Hotel
Rates starting at Euro 89 – 139 for a double room
Piazza Duca D’Aosta 4, Pescara 65121, Italy
A 4 Star Hotel that is located close to the seafront. Yet the idea of staying in a branded chain made me wary; I wanted an experience uniquely tailored for me and my needs, rather than hundreds of guests worldwide.
Hotel Alba, Pescara
Rates Starting at Euro 120 for a double room
Via M. Forti 14,
Pescara 65122, Italy
A 3 Star Hotel that offers a stunning lobby and reception area, with intricate paintings and carvings on the walls reminiscent of a Venetian carnival. While this hotel was conveniently located near the railway station, it was a kilometre from the city centre, and while the distance alone wouldn’t bother me if I were staying alone, I was wary of being exiled to a “resort enclave.”
Regent Hotel Pescara
Rates starting at Euro 122 – 158 per night for a double room
Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 64/66, Pescara 65100, Italy
A 3 Star Hotel known for its rock-bottom prices that seems to be catered for a business crowd. However, for a truly special Pescara experience, I decided to do a bit more work to find a more tranquil place to stay for a similar price.
Hotel Maja Pescara
Rates starting at Euro 110 per night for a double room
Viale Riviera 201, Pescara 65123
A 4 Star Hotel that is known for its and clean, simple design. But I found the sparse, minimalist décor to be too impersonal for my taste. While Italy is known for stunning contemporary design, this hotel felt more like a conference room than a seaside hideaway!
Hotel California, Pescara
Viale Primo Vere 152, Pescara 65100, Italy
A 3 Star Hotel that is much smaller than its competitors, offering a very basic no frills hotel room.
After having researched Pescara hotels, I decided that I didn’t just want by-the-books Pescara Hotel room service, a clean bed, and a vaguely competent concierge. I wanted to experience the magic of Pescara, to cook fresh food purchased from the open markets and then enjoy them? with a glass of Montepulciano D’Abruzzo wine in my very own private kitchen, to have a “cappuccino e cornetto” breakfast at my own table, to embody what life in Abruzzo, Pescara was really like. None of the Pescara hotels I looked at could offer me that.
So I took a chance, choosing to forego the all-too-corporate hotel experience in order to rent my own vacation home in Pescara, overlooking the deep, penetrating blue of the Adriatic. I’ve never looked back since. Each summer – and every few winters – I’ve returned to Pescara, and still haven’t exhausted the region’s charms.
I’ve visited the romantic castles and winding medieval streets of nearby villages like Città Sant’Angelo and Rocca San Giovanni, skied down the slopes of the Apennines, and napped in the balmy afternoon sun on the beaches of the Adriatic.
When a good friend joined me one summer, I found myself experiencing Pescara’s pleasures as if for the first time. We visited sights both old and new – from the birthplace of Gabriele D’Annunzio to the Dedalo contemporary art center, the stunning medieval church of St. Cetteus and the four timeless National Parks only a short drive away from the vacation home where we were staying.
We spent hours walking through nature – escaping from the twenty-first century in favour of winding trails and majestic mountains — and sunning ourselves on the beach, where we were all but alone to experience one of the region’s stunning sunsets.
But best of all was returning to the spacious, airy Italian villa that I had come to love, filling the kitchen with the warm aroma of sizzling tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic, as we prepared a meal together and then enjoying it on our private terrace overlooking the sea. It was then that I realized that this vacation rental in Pescara had truly become more than just a Pescara hotel; it had become a home away from home.
Isabella B. is a travel writer. She has previously written for Metrowize, TripHip, and Nomad Magazine, among others. When she returns to Pescara each summer, she chooses to stay with Villa Adriatica
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Thanks for the useful article.