Hotel Giardini del Tufo

Hotel Giardini del Tufo sits on a quiet lane at Cuotto, the headland south of Forio, where Ischia’s volcanic tuff gives the walls and paths their warm golden colour. The hotel is family-run: Papà Enzo is at the front desk most mornings, his daughter Chiara runs the dining room and the dog, Pepe, supervises the garden.

The garden is the hotel’s main attraction. There are two heated pools (one thermal, one fresh), a children’s pool, a hot-tub terrace, sunbeds in sun and shade, and a bar under a pergola serving spritz at six. A small spa corner offers massages and mud treatments for guests who want to go further.

Rooms are bright, comfortable and well designed, with white linen, wood ceilings and tiled bathrooms. Garden rooms open straight to the grounds; pool-view rooms have balconies; the family rooms sleep four or five. Everything is air-conditioned and kept spotless.

Citara beach and its sea of black sand is a ten-minute walk away, Forio’s old town and the Soccorso church are fifteen minutes by minibus, and the shuttle to Ischia Porto runs three times a day. Sunsets here are legendary: guests gather on the upper terrace at seven.