Hotel & Residence Matarese

Three Generations in Casamicciola Terme

Hotel & Residence Matarese has stayed in the same family, hands across three generations in Casamicciola Terme, on the northern coast of Ischia, and the current building reflects a recent renovation carried out with anti-seismic reinforcement following the earthquake that struck the town in 2017. That detail matters more here than it would elsewhere: Casamicciola has spent recent years rebuilding, and a family choosing to reinforce and reopen their own hotel rather than sell up says something about their relationship to the place. The result is a property split between standard rooms and garden apartments, studios, two-room and three-room units, set around a planted courtyard rather than a car park.

Why It Works

We chose Matarese because it does not accept children, a deliberate choice on an island otherwise full of family resorts, which keeps the property quiet in a way that suits travellers coming specifically for the thermal water rather than a beach holiday with kids. Three generations of family management shows up in small, practical ways rather than a marketing line: a restaurant that leans on the family, own culinary habits, and a location four hundred metres from both the beach and the port that makes arriving without a car straightforward. It is a hotel built around a specific kind of guest rather than trying to serve everyone.

Why This Location

Casamicciola Terme takes its second name seriously: the town has been a thermal spa destination since Roman times, and Terme Belliazzi, a short walk from the hotel, claims the title of the oldest spa on Ischia. The hotel, own four-hundred-metre distance to the beach and the port means both the sea and the ferry connections to Naples and the mainland are within easy walking reach, which matters on an island where driving is not always the easiest option. The town itself moves at the pace of a spa destination rather than a nightlife strip, in keeping with the hotel, own quieter, adults-first positioning.

Fast Facts

• Price: Standard, family-run rate

• Vibe: quiet, adults-focused, thermal-spa, family-run

• Rooms: standard rooms plus garden apartments (studio, 2-room, 3-room)

• Best For: couples and thermal-spa travellers rather than families with young children

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the post-2017 anti-seismic renovation carried out by the same family rather than a new owner

• Dining: on-site restaurant run on the family, own culinary tradition

• Amenities: air conditioning, sea or garden-view rooms and apartments, pets welcome by arrangement

• Attractions: Terme Belliazzi (Ischia, oldest spa), Casamicciola beach and port (400m), ferry connections to Naples

Rooms or a Garden Apartment

Standard rooms at Matarese suit a shorter stay or a couple who do not need a kitchen, each with air conditioning, an ensuite bathroom and either a sea or garden view. The garden apartments, studios through three-room units, sit in the planted grounds around the main building and suit a longer stay or a group who would rather cook some meals than eat out every night. Both categories share the same three-generation standard of upkeep, which after a full renovation reads less like an ageing property patched up and more like a hotel rebuilt with intent.

Ischia, Oldest Spa, on Foot

Terme Belliazzi, claim to being the oldest spa on Ischia is a genuine draw for a certain kind of traveller, and its walking distance from Matarese means a thermal spa day does not require a taxi or a rental car. The four-hundred-metre run to the beach and the port covers the rest of a typical day: a swim, a walk along the water, or a ferry connection to Naples for a day trip off the island. Between the spa, the sea and the port, Matarese sits close enough to Casamicciola, core attractions that a car becomes optional rather than essential.