La Posta Vecchia, Ladispoli, west of Rome on the sea, roughly 20 miles from Rome Airport, 19 rooms

Our final hotel was La Posta Vecchia. It was a great place to stay prior to a flight, just 30 to 40 minutes west of the airport. It is a stunning property, once owned by J Paul Getty. The property is built on the site of an ancient roman villa, and a mosaic floor was found below ground. It was built as a home some centuries ago. Getty bought it in the 60s and lived there for 10 years. The current owners, a family, converted it into a hotel. It is open seasonally, from March 1 til October 31.

We loved it. It immediately became one of our favorite hotels throughout the world. It had beautiful spaces both inside and out. All food service was outside facing the ocean. There was a long line of comfortable seating where one could get bar service as well as the tables for meals. At the north end of the hotel was a gorgeous indoor swimming pool surrounded by windows. Beyond the hotel was a tiny cove where they had beach chairs set up. There were extensive interior spaces from a cozy bar to a lengthy library lounge. With just 19 rooms there was always some place where you could be private, of importance to me in this time of Covid.

We had the Getty suite which we enjoyed tremendously. It is enormous at 100 sq meters or so, though the bedroom and lounge are one massive room. It is a corner room overlooking the Tyrhennian Sea on both sides. It was wonderful to swing the windows open and let the sea breeze thru. It had a separate cove that perhaps was a tiny prayer chapel at one time, now with a statue as the focal point. There was a huge dressing room, space that was not well used. The bathroom was a negative. It was huge yet had no walk in shower. When taking a shower in the tub, the design was so poor that water ran off the lower end and out across the floor. My husband took pictures and shared them with staff. He urged them to do something as it is a genuine safety hazard. We saw the Castella Suite today, a senior suite, and it had a nice bedroom/lounge with a walk in shower.

The welcome setup in the room included a tiny tin of caviar. This was a first for me and I thought it very special. Service was superb, whether from the staff in the lobby to the dining room staff. We had a great breakfast that included coconut water, mozarella and tomatoes, and peaches peeled and sliced, along with all the typical options. One odd thing I noted was that the bill for the dining room had a line for a gratuity. This is the last day of our trip and the first day to see that. Every other restaurant presented a bill with the total and no option to tip.

It was an absolute delight to stay here and a great way to end our trip.