Ahhh…Amalfi
August 22, 2008
The world's most bellissima coast
By Maryann Hammers
Italy's Amalfi Coast may not be the first place that comes to mind for an incentive trip. There's no championship golf, no large chain hotels, no mega-spas, no all-inclusive resorts.
But the region more than compensates with classic appeal. Colorful centuries-old villas with terraced gardens are tucked into seaside precipices, and the famous Amalfi Drive twists its way past citrus orchards, vineyards and dramatic cliffs rising from the brilliant blue sea, as it connects small villages like pearls on a tangled chain.
"From a planner's perspective, you can't go wrong," says Brad Frick, principal with Edward Jones, which takes 80,000 financial advisors on meeting and incentive trips every year. "We go all over Italy, but the Amalfi Coast is especially breathtaking, with quaint towns, beautiful jagged coast, and charming shops and restaurants in little alleys.
"There's so much to see and do," Frick adds. "We offer tour guides and optional bus excursions to places like Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. And we offer train passes for our more seasoned travelers, who prefer to explore on their own. It's pretty easy to get around."
Sorrento, which overlooks the Bay of Naples, is many planners' first choice as a base for an Amalfi Coast trip. An easy drive from Naples, the sunny, relaxed town lures visitors with a palm-shaded piazza, flowers spilling over balconies, and cobbled streets lined by galleries, wine shops, ceramic shops, gelaterias, boutiques and fruit stands where cedri lemons are as big as grapefruit.
"A multitude of restaurants and nightclubs are in Sorrento," says Peter D'Attoma, owner of DaVinci Travel, an Ohio-based company that has organized trips for ComDoc, Shell UK, Bernafon Canada, Perry Group and Sterling Inc. "From here, it's easy to hop on a hydrofoil—or arrange a yacht tour—for excursions to the islands of Capri or Ischia, and the archeological ruins of Pompeii and Herculeum are an hour's drive away."
Sorrento offers a choice of hotels, from intimate villas to luxury properties, such as the 116-room Imperial Hotel Tramontano, an elegant seaside property dating to the 16th century, with Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius views. The guest list reads like the syllabus in a college lit class: Milton, Goethe, Byron, Scott, Shelley, Keats and Longfellow all stayed here. It was here that Harriet Beecher Stowe was inspired to write Agnes of Sorrento, and Henrik Ibsen wrote the play Ghosts during a six-month stay.
The hotel's conference/meetings facilities accommodate up to 200 people. But beware—as is often the case in old European hotels, some guestrooms are much nicer and larger than others. So some attendees may get stuck with a closet-sized accommodation and tiny window, while others luxuriate in palatial bay-view balcony suites.
Positano
With its oft-photographed majolica-tiled cathedral dome and homes and gardens carved into tiered cliffs, Positano is a tiny, delightful resort town. A steep pedestrian road winds down to the sea, with ceramic shops; pastry shops; boutiques selling gauzy floral moda Positano fashions; and shops with shelves full of lemon soap, lemon-scented candles and, of course, limoncello. Once you reach the beach, you are rewarded with umbrellas, boats, kayaks and bars.
"Even though many people have been to Italy, I'm always surprised how few have been to Positano, possibly because of its rarified reputation. But those who come are seduced," says Laurie Howell, co-owner of Amalfi Life, a New York City–based company that coordinated an incentive trip for a major pharmaceutical company. "A trip here can cater to nearly every interest—boating, cooking classes, winery visits, chamber music—or sitting on the romantic beaches and letting one's eyes feast on beauty."
Il Ristorante L'Incanto, which sits on the sand, with sea and cliff views, effortlessly serves groups and is a great lunch stop. And the 62-room, five-star hotel Le Sirenuse in an 18th-century palazzo overlooking the Bay of Positano, offers "unsurpassed hospitality," Howell says.
 Ravello
The picturesque hilltop village of Ravello is known for dramatic sea views and jagged coastline vistas, as well as an outdoor music festival that runs from late June through October (a Chamber Music Festival extends the season for music lovers from the first week of March to the first week of November). A walk through town will take you by a castle, cathedrals and 13th-century buildings.
For smaller incentive groups, Frick is partial to the 48-room Hotel Caruso. Most of the rooms and suites have sea views and a terrace, and function rooms, open-air gardens and theater-style meeting rooms are available for groups.
"I am particular about hotels, but Hotel Caruso is just off the charts," Frick says. "We buy out the entire place. One of the biggest challenges in Italy is that many hotels have rooms of wildly different sizes and quality. But at Hotel Caruso, every person in our group thought they had the best room. The place truly defines a five-star hotel—quality of accommodations, quality of food and most importantly, personalized service."
Michael Putman Estwanik, whose New York City firm, Searchlights, plans incentive travel and conferences, included Hotel Caruso as part of a recent incentive trip through Italy for UniPro Foodservice Inc.
"It's just as glamorous and sophisticated as it was when celebrities such as Greta Garbo, Tennessee Williams, Virginia Woolf, Humphrey Bogart and Jacqueline Kennedy stayed here," Estwanik says. "Novelty-seekers may move on to modern places like Dubai, but Hotel Caruso and the Amalfi Coast are classics that never go out of style."
Planner Resources
Imperial Hotel Tramontano
www.hoteltramontano.it
Il Ristorante L'Incanto
www.lincanto.com
Ravello Chamber Music Festival
www.ravelloarts.org
Ravello Festival
www.ravellofestival.com
Hotel Caruso
www.hotelcaruso.com
Hotel Le Sirenuse
www.sirenuse.it
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