Eco Del Mare

ITALY

PERSONALITIES

Sea dreamers. Cove seekers. Slow travelers. Honeymooners. Lovers of barefoot luxury.

MOMENTS

Salt drying warm on your skin after a morning swim. Candlelight dancing on the tide at dinner. The hush of a cove before the first boat arrives. The scent of rosemary on the path down to the sea.

BEST VISITING MONTHS

May to mid-July brings calm waters, blooming wild herbs along the cliffs, and fewer boats in the bay. September and early October offer warm seas, softer light, and the sense that the coast has exhaled after summer’s rush.

COST

WHY STAY

Eco del Mare is set deep in the Gulf of Poets, where Liguria’s eastern coastline folds into a series of pine-clad cliffs and hidden inlets. The hotel clings to the rock just above its own crescent of pale sand, facing water so clear it mirrors the sky. Behind it, the hills rise steep and green, studded with olive groves and dotted with pastel fishing villages. You’re not just looking at the view — you’re inside it, folded between mountains and sea.

With just six seafront rooms, each touched by Francesca Mozer’s eclectic, personal hand, the experience is intimate and deeply tied to place. Artifacts from her travels mingle with sun-faded linens, smooth stone, and textures that echo the cliffs outside. Mornings start with the sea’s first whispers, days dissolve into swims and sun, and evenings bring candlelit Ligurian dishes—carbonara di mare, the day’s freshest catch—served so close to the tide you can feel its breath.

WHY WANDER

The Gulf of Poets has lured artists and writers for centuries - Byron swam across its waters; Shelley wrote of its changing light. Nearby, Lerici and Tellaro are postcard-perfect fishing villages, their harbors lined with pastel façades and trattorias. Trails along the cliffs reveal secret inlets, hidden grottoes, and views that make you pause mid-step.

Further out, a short boat ride brings you to Portovenere and the Cinque Terre, where colorful villages tumble toward the sea and terraced vineyards cling to the hillsides. Yet wandering here doesn’t always mean going far, sometimes it’s simply swimming around the headland to see the cove from a new angle, or taking the path above the hotel to watch the sun slip into the horizon.

INDULGE IN

Order lunch to your sunbed — perfectly chilled Vermentino, grilled seafood, and the kind of simple, bright salads that taste best after a swim. End the evening with a negroni on the terrace, the waves keeping their slow rhythm below.

GETTING THERE

Eco del Mare is a two-hour drive from Florence or 90 minutes from Pisa. The final stretch winds through Lerici before dropping down a private road to the cliffside entrance. From there, it’s a steep walk or buggy ride down to the cove — a descent that builds the anticipation before the view opens and the sea greets you.

WILD INITIATIVES

Solar panels power the rooms, reclaimed wood and recycled materials shape the interiors, and the menu leans on locally sourced produce and fresh-caught seafood. The hotel avoids single-use plastics and works with local fishers to promote sustainable practices, keeping the cove’s waters as clear as the day you arrive.

*Images property of Eco del Mare