Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amista

Dob5672 years ago

We’ve been visiting Byblos for a couple of years now, and without exaggerating, I can say this is our favourite hotel ever. Once you immerse yourself into the everyday life of this place, you won’t want to leave it. For the past three years, we’ve unsuccessfully been trying to visit Verona or Lake Garda. However, every time we had thought we should do something different than just staying at the premises, we discovered another piece of art that delighted us; another exciting corner in the hotel’s marvellous garden that called us to rest there; another wine that we knew it would be hard to find outside the hotel. It’s somewhat of an exciting and inspiring experience to be in Byblos for a couple of days and feed your senses with the perfection they offer. Not only is the building itself and its design a work of art, but also the incredible food, friendly staff, knowledgeable and professional waiters and bartenders should be admired as a work of art itself. ||||This year Byblos underwent some changes in management and service team. Because we deeply care about this place, we were at first worried that the change would result in losing its unique character. Nothing could be further from the truth! Manager Silvia and Matteo, with whom we had the pleasure of speaking at the beginning of our stay, made sure it was unforgettable. It's great to know that our beloved hotel is managed by people who care deeply about making this place flourish. During our stay, every person we dealt with proved (and spoke to us about it during our many conversations) that they love their job. Their recommendations and knowledge repeatedly surprised us and made our days special. That's the magic of Byblos - not only will you be well served, but if you listen well and are attentive to the beauty around you, you have a chance to leave enriched with knowledge and new experiences that you live on until your next trip. I won't mention the names of all the people we made friends with during our stay so as not to leave any out - but if you're reading this, please know that you're doing a great job, we deeply admire it, and we can't wait to meet you again. ||||I have to mention the excellent cuisine of Mattia Bianchi. We’ve been his massive fans before the restaurant got its first Michelin star, and he doesn’t stop surprising us. We’ve been eating in many excellent restaurants as in London (and outside). Still, in our humble opinion, Mattia’s cuisine is just like Byblos - absolutely unique. ||||Dino Facchini, along with a team of the best designers and his staff, created something that cannot simply be copied by anyone else. Byblos is a graceful combination of new and old, classic and modern, classy and kitsch, a work of art that delights and outrages and which, above all, can be interpreted repeatedly in new ways. After so many years, we still feel surprised by new things we didn't notice before. If you ask me, this is the best way you can spend your money - to be among beauty and excellence that has the power of refining your taste and deepening or developing your appreciation of art in its many forms. ||||I don’t really have any cons as every problem we had during our stay was immediately solved. I can reassure you that whenever you go there, you’ll feel like a guest, not a customer. And if you have your eyes open, magic will happen. Thanks, guys, for the wonderful stay and for bravely putting up with our barky dog. See you soon!