Five star hotels are aplenty on the fabled Italian island of Capri, but some — such as J.K. Place — standout from the pack. We sent Rosie Paterson to find out how they do it.
J.K. Place Capri is the sister ‘residence’ of hotels in Milan, Paris and Rome — a handsome mansion that holds court over the Marina Grande from its throne-like perch on a steep bank.
And it’s one of the few hotels on the island that can boast being in such close proximity to the water.
The rooms
J.K. has 22 rooms — eight of which are suites and 20 that face the sea. Some of them are decorated in nautical shades of blue and white with New England-style details such as white wooden floor boards and framed black and white photographs of racing sail yachts; others feel grander with canopied beds and weighty, sherbet yellow curtains.
The pièce de résistance is the Penthouse Suite which sleeps up to four adults. The bright white, wainscot panelled walls, linen sofas and subtle Art Deco print upholstery feel like the height of Italian luxury.
However, I prefer the rooms on the building’s lower floors which peer out to sea through recessed windows, framed by arched, stone walls.
Eating and drinking
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in a monochrome dining room that spills out onto a lantern-lit terrace overlooking the Gulf of Naples.
The in-house restaurant, JKitchen, has a fantastic reputation island-wide — especially for its innovative puddings and ways with pastry.
There’s also a lounge bar (above) — where your welcome drink will be served (this was one of the first Italian hotels to do away with stiff and laborious check-ins in front of austere looking desks) — and an informal menu served poolside that’s exclusive to hotel guests.
How they’ll keep you busy
The hotel has its own spa — stocked with Dr Barbara Sturm products — and a small, but very well equipped gym in the hotel gardens. Private pilates classes, personal training and guided hikes are available upon request.
As well as the pleasingly simple, clean angled swimming pool which, with its wooden deck surround, feels like you’re on the deck of a very large super yacht, there’s private access to the public beach — one of the only ones in Capri with actual sand — underneath the hotel.
What else to do while you’re there
People enjoying the sea, off the coast of Capri, Italy, 1958. (Photo by Slim Aarons/Getty Images)
There’s no end of things to do on Capri, but whatever you decide to do you must start with a boat tour of the island. Ideally in a type of wooden boat, typical to Capri, known as a Gozzo. The water here, and along the Amalfi coast, is famous for its clarity and particular shade of azure blue — and there are plenty of caves to venture into and famous villas — the seem to defy physics and gravity from their perilous perches on the side of steep, steep cliffs — to gaze up at.
And don’t miss a chance to drift past the Faraglioni — three, ginormous rock formations that are as iconic a sight as anything else on the island.
For an even better viewpoint, the hotel can organise helicopter tours.
Click here to read our full guide to the island.
Who is it for?
J.K. Place oozes a type of grown-up refinement that’s best suited to couples.
What gives it the ‘wow’ factor
The design.
On the ground floor — a series of interlocking rooms, including a cavernous entrance hall and intimate dining room, all decorated in a beguiling mix of Art Deco, Mediterranean and New England styles that somehow manage to compliment the neo-Classical architecture — recall the buildings original incarnation as a private villa.
The library — packed, floor-to-ceiling with weighty coffee table books and biographies — is particularly impressive.
It’s all very discreet and elegant and still feels more like a home — albeit a very chic one — than a hotel.
The one thing we’d change
The location.
J.K. Place looks out over Marina Grande, the island’s main port which is used by ferries and other commercial boats, whereas the majority of the island’s other five star hotels are located in Capri Town or Marina Piccolo — where superyachts clamour for space in peak season — on the island’s south side.
That said, it’s removed enough to not feel part of the tourist trap shops lining the water’s front and there’s a complimentary shuttle up to the famous Piazzetta (the town square would’ve once served a market square selling fish, fruits and vegetables, but is now better known for its people watching).
Rooms at J.K. Place Capri start from €1,250 (about £1,083) on a bed and breakfast basis. Visit https://jkcapri.com for more information and to book.
