The name Panarea is more Greek sounding than Italian, and on arrival the island certainly has a very Greek feel to it, with its rocky coastline and whitewashed buildings. Greek mythology actually suggests that the Aeolian Islands were where Odysseus took shelter on his travels.  Odysseus was clearly a man of taste. I’m surprised he ever left! 

Panarea is small, very small. It has a surface area of about three and a half square kilometers; you can gently sail your way around the entire island in a boat in just 45 minutes. There are only about 300 permanent, year round residents, which bumps up significantly when the tourists arrive in the summer months. 

The intimacy of the place appealed to me, as did the fact that there are no cars on the island. That’s right; Panarea is a car-free zone! The only fuel burning vehicles are two old trucks used to transport fresh produce when the supply boat arrives.  Other than that, golf carts rule the roads!  Let’s be honest, you know you’re in the right place when there are no cars on the road and your taxi is a golf cart.  And for a runner like me, it makes for a far less stressful morning run if I don’t have to continually dodge rogue vehicles.

I love the simplicity of the colour scheme. Whitewashed or ochre walls; sunlight filtering through sunshades made of bamboo; exposed wooden beams and scattered falling bougainvillea… It’s wonderfully basic, yet enriching.  The hotel has its own informal dress code, where any combination of black and white is the perfect choice.  That’s most definitely my kind of dress code.  Footwear optional, of course! 

The layout is as interesting as the architecture.  When we checked in at the bougainvillea-covered reception area at the portside Hotel, Raya Peppe-Maria, it was clear that this wasn’t your standard hotel experience. I mean, how could it be, when the upper terrace turns into a magnificent restaurant at night? There’s also a fantastic bar on the 3rd level, which is an open-plan terrace looking out across The Tyrrhenian Sea.  In fact, Peppe Maria houses all of the hotel’s bars, restaurants and lounges.

The stroll (or golf cart ride) up the hill to actual accommodation in the area called the ‘Raya Alto’ was just another moment that made me feel good about our decision to come to Panarea. I rightly demand a lot from a hotel but it’s hard to describe how fantastic it makes me feel when a hotel delivers the goods on every level.

The Hotel Raya Alto hosts 30 rooms, all with large terraces offering spectacular views over the sea to the active volcanic island of Stromboli. There’s a small bar that serves breakfast till midday and then drinks later in the day. It has its own picture postcard view down over Peppe-Maria and beyond. There’s also an amazing pool filled with volcanic salt water (it blends seamlessly into the landscape, and was only completed in 2008).

After all these years of wanderlust, you’d think I would have mastered the art of describing something I’d experienced as often as an ocean view, but the fact is, this particular view left me struggling for words. I could tell you that it’s stunning and gorgeous, and there are about a dozen other adjectives and superlatives I could throw in, but I still wouldn’t be doing it justice.  It’s just something you need to see for yourself!

I’m not one for hanging out in the room, so as soon as we checked in I left Sheira to unpack at her leisure, and I strolled five minutes down the hill to the stunning Hotel Raya Basso.  This beautiful six bedroom house been recognized by Italy’s version of Heritage Listing as something to be protected and preserved as a perfect example of rural urban architecture.  It’s not my idea of an ideal place to stay (it’s a little bit in the middle of nowhere) but it is undeniably impressive, and home to a fabulous boutique stocked with gorgeous kaftans, sarongs, fisherman’s pants, jewelry, kid’s clothing and other stylish, hand made items.

Once the sun goes down and the night owls swoop in, the Hotel Raya is home to the hottest nightclub on the island. In high summer, the club doesn’t really get going until midnight, when it instantly becomes the place to see and be seen.  All Hotel guests are welcome, but beyond that, it’s mainly the precinct of the wealthy, under -35 “beautiful people” transplanted from Milan for the season. 

The kind of people who gravitate toward Panarea in the summer are by and large well heeled young Italians who are looking for a fantastic holiday experience, without the burning desire to be on display in Portofino or the Riviera resorts. These are savvy, sophisticated travelers in search of a good time, not a good photo opportunity.

It may seem like an odd thing to say (and I’m not quite sure of the best way to say it) but the type of people who choose Panarea over the more high profile Mediterranean destinations are the kind of people I’m happy to share my holiday with. They add to the quality of my experience; they don’t detract from it.

Before we get to the rooms themselves, I think it’s high time I mentioned one of the most amazing and memorable things about the entire Hotel Raya complex, and that’s its legendary owner, the formidable Myriam Beltrami.

Now in her late 70s, Myriam is a force of nature who dresses like a woman half her age, and is clearly someone not to be messed with. She really is a sight to see as she sweeps into a room, fearlessly bra-less in her flowing kaftan, followed obediently by her ever present companion, a massive dog we took to calling Numbnuts. I don’t really know why, but the name just seemed to suit him, so it stuck.

Myriam and her partner Paolo Tilche were looking for an old building to restore in the late 1950s, and by the mid 60s their project had evolved into what would eventually become the Hotel Raya.  Myriam is the unofficial Queen of Panarea, and one of the most unforgettable characters I’ve ever encountered.  Paolo passed away some time ago, but Myriam shows no sign of slowing down, and her considerable influence can be felt in every facet of the Hotel Raya and its daily operations.  

SUITE DREAMS

The first time we stayed at the Hotel Raya, we stayed in SUITE 218, a delightfully minimalist, sun-drenched room perched high on the hill with its own private terrace. There was a low bed, a nice thick mattress, a simple but stylish blue and white bed cover, plain bedside lamps and a bathroom. That’s it, I loved the simplicity of it all.  It wasn’t contrived either. It just seemed that everything in the room ‘belonged’ there. I love modernist, hip, beachside hotels like the Fasano in Rio, but there was just something about the rustic and basic nature of this room that appealed to me. And it goes without saying, the view was stunning.

However, Sheira, who totally got the hotel aesthetic, has quite a claustrophobia problem for someone so petite!  There’s no denying that this particular room was quite small, but for me, this was part of the charm.  The rooms at the Hotel Raya make no attempt to be as extravagant and plush as those you would expect from a five star hotel. They don’t try to dazzle you with bells and whistles (they don’t even have a TV), but to my mind they’re a perfect complement to their environment.  

But everyone’s experience is different, and if Sheira felt that the room was too small, then the room was too small, and that was something we needed to factor in next time. Tip No 5008: happy wife, happy life!

So, on our second visit a year later, having learned from our earlier experience, we requested something a little more spacious.  As a result, the delightful and accommodating Anna helped check us in to Suite 38.

This was far more to Sheira’s liking, and mine too, if I’m being completely honest! The suite was a duplex, spread over two floors, and with two separate entrances. Each floor had its own sizeable rustic balcony with timber beams and bamboo sunshades, offering a spectacular view over to Stromboli. The design and the overall flavour of the space were very pure and simple, once again decorated in a soothing, Mediterranean blue and white motif.  It offered everything I loved about Suite 218, but more of it!

Depending on the season, suites range from 500 to 750 Euros per night. The suites higher up the hill offer the best views, and they’re definitely worth asking for.