Petit Hotel Lido di Camaiore – About Us
Petit Hotel was a summer residence of Clara Calamai, a famous actress of the ’30s. It was called Villa Armonia. Purchased in the ’70s by the Bassetti family it was transformed in a hotel named Hotel dei Geranei. After several years, taking up her grandparents job, Marta and her family, Alberto, Emma and Egle, have renewed the hotel. This new petit Versilia gem is now ready to welcome you.
“We left our career to give a new life to the hotel run by our grandparents”
Alberto Altavilla and Marta Bassetti, husband and wife, architect him, and former press officer she, made a choice that changed their lives. Theirs is a story of courage, of the desire to innovate, to change and the desire to offer a new light to a place to which they were very close, in the heart of Versilia.
It all started in 2013 when Alberto and Marta decided to take over a small hotel in Versilia, which belonged to her grandparents and which in previous years had been managed by other people.
This is the Petit Hotel, a hotel in Lido di Camaiore.
“My grandparents – says Marta – have bought this structure, a residential villa, in the ’70s and have restructured and transformed into a hotel, thus starting to make hoteliers in Versilia. Once they retired, however, they gave the hotel to other people and the last contract expired in 2011.
I had always felt the desire to continue the activity that had been my grandparents, but my choices and those of my husband Alberto, from the working point of view, were different: I worked as a press officer for a company that he worked in the environmental sector and Alberto was an architect and worked for a company that dealt with renewables. ”
“While the expiry of the management contract was approaching – continues Alberto – the thought of taking over the structure continued to be more and more present until we decided to give up everything and embark on this adventure, which saw us risk everything we had. In September 2013, therefore, we moved from Cuneo, where we lived, in Versilia and we started the renovation works since the structure still had the original layout of 1973.
I personally realized the project and, once we found that the cost of the work was very large, we requested funding.
We started renovations in October 2013, and in less than a year, in June 2014, we opened the Petit Hotel to the public. “
“Also the project for the renovation of the hotel was done by us”
“During the renovation, we decided to sacrifice a few rooms to make the others more comfortable especially for families, and where it was possible to insert a third bed and have more space. On the ground floor, moreover, we have created a bookcase with books for adults and children and the courtyard has been set up to accommodate the breakfasts, lunches and dinners outdoors. In addition, we have an in-house restaurant that is open to both our guests and the public. ”
Family management, cooking classes, cultural and literary initiatives: “reproduce a home environment”
“My wife and I – continues Alberto – personally take care of the management of the Petit Hotel: Marta, in particular, is responsible for the kitchen and prepares desserts that we serve both for breakfast and in our restaurant. I deal with the reception and to handle any small maintenance.
During the high season, from June to September, however, our team expands, introducing another cook in the kitchen, a girl who takes care of redoing the rooms and two waiters.
We are a small reality and this allows us to give high attention to detail: in fact, the hotel has 9 rooms and the environment is family-friendly.
Finally, we also try to propose cultural and leisure initiatives: among our appointments, there are, for example, cooking classes, meetings with writers, reading workshops and dinners with wine producers. ”
