We were delighted by our stay at a new boutique hotel in Scicli at the start of our honeymoon. A late change to our plans had meant we detoured to stay in the lesser known of the Unesco protected Baroque towns and were lucky enough to discover Palazzo Hedone.

A painstakingly and exquisitely restored Palazzo tucked within the atmosperic winding backstreets of the old-town, it has a unique position set against the limestone cliffs with spectacular views of the town and hillside and one of the towns many stunning churches. A view we admired at length from the day-beds on their beautifully planted roof terraces, surrounded by lemon trees with the pool close at hand for relief from the July heat.

It is still very much a new hotel, which meant some of the final finishing touches were being put in place while we were there. But the aesthetics and design, from the antique gilt framed prints of Versailles, to the restored floor tiles, to the silk on the walls, was... more