Atelier Inès, Naples

The sensory experience begins before you’ve even reached the doors of Atelier Inès, the chicest address in Naples. First, a walk through the chaotic (in the best way) streets of Rione Sanità, where wine bars and market stalls line the streets, and friends shout excitedly to each other from opposite ends of the road. A few more steps, dodging the mopeds and cars that weave through the crowds, beeping their horns in defiance more than warning, and you arrive at a set of nondescript gates. It could be the entrance to any run-of-the-mill apartment complex in the city, but behind these particular gates is a place where beauty meets eccentricity; one of the most charming hotels in the city.

With the wrought iron gates closed behind you, shutting out the noise and frenetic activity, and you enter another Naples altogether. It’s a courtyard filled with trees, where music is playing, and where you look up and see an expanse of deep blue sky – a contrast from the narrow lanes and washing lines that characterise much of the city centre. Marbled steps lead to a beautiful house in yellow, built in 1947 by the great-grandfather of Vincenzo Oste, who still owns the house today along with his wife Inès, the jewellery designer after whom the hotel is named.

Before we get into the detail of why Atelier Inès is so special, a word on Rione Sanità, one of the main characters in this story. The name ‘Sanità’ (‘health’ in Italian) was given to this district in the 16th century, owing to good air quality and the fresh water springs that ran beneath the ground. This affluent area, which the aristocracy called home in the 17th century, experienced a devastating misfortune with the construction of a bridge over the area in the early 1800s that isolated it from the rest of the city and left it vulnerable to mafia control. The years that followed saw Rione Sanità fall ever deeper into depravation and crime. The resurgence of the area has only really happened within the last ten years, and it’s fast becoming one of the most culturally colourful and sought-after neighbourhoods in Naples.

In true artists’ style, the Oste family were ahead of the trend, moving in when the area was still a forgotten beauty. Atelier Inès is built on the site of a former open-air cinema and theatre – the perfect historical spot to find creativity and make art. What would have been the site where audiences sat all those years ago is now the hotel’s tranquil urban garden – a space with fruit trees and outdoor tables, where the eye is drawn to a fascinating sculpture in the corner, depicting a vertical sheet pulled tight, concealing something that the viewer can’t see. Water trickles from behind the sculpture in a soothing lilt, creating a spa-like atmosphere that’s a million miles from the liveliness on the streets just beyond. The eponymous Inès points out the sculpture proudly, explaining that the work – one of her father-in-law’s creations – represents the mystery of life and death, eternity and the after-life.

This encounter epitomises the experience of staying at Atelier Inès – beauty at every turn and a place filled with meaning and sentiment. It’s a delight for the eyes from the very moment you enter the building, through a hallway with angular golden spikes dangling the height of two floors and amber glass sconces on the wall. Before you reach the front desk, you encounter a room with all the hallmarks of a museum space: stark white and dotted with just one or two intentional objects or artworks.

It’s here that we meet Inès for the first time, resplendent in a statement jacket and with a beaming smile. Over coffee we discuss the key ingredients that have created the essence of Atelier Inès: the history of the house, her family’s artistic legacy, her journey from Tunisia to Italy as a jewellery designer, and her deep passion for Naples – the sort of love that forms only when you’ve actively chosen a place rather than having been born there.

One of the special features of a stay at Atelier Inès is that you’re temporarily given access to the inner circle of Neapolitan secrets. In every room, Inès has left a list of her personal favourite spots: lively squares for Friday night drinks, art galleries and cultural finds, and restaurants with the magical instruction, “tell them Inès sent you”. In reality, we have little need to venture to the exhibitions signposted on the list, as we find ourselves in our very own mini art gallery within the hotel.

Our room, the Prototipi (Prototype) Suite is a work of art, filled with treasures designed by Vincenzo and Annibale. Serrated double doors slide open to divide the suite in two, revealing a bedroom in tones of ecru, the wall behind the bed adorned with giant clay-like forms that replicate pieces of fossilised coral. The suite – a generous space of 55m2 – is furnished in a deliberately minimal way, in the style of an exhibition space.

This minimalism ensures that the eye is drawn to statement pieces such as the minibar, concealed inside a cabinet atop which a sewing machine sculpture in bronze creates an imaginary thread on a beam of sculpted light. The chest of drawers in the bedroom is a surreal form with shell-like cabinets embellished with tiny metal busts. At first glance, the figures appear biblical in design, but a closer look reveals dreamlike poses and contorted expressions.

The suite’s unusually high ceiling also feeds a sense of otherworldliness, with two floor-length French windows that offer guests a portal back to reality. Outside one of the doors is a private terrace with table and chairs.

In the morning, we’re back in the space where theatre-goers sat decades before, enjoying a decadent smorgasbord of local favourites. The team employed at Atelier Inès has clearly been carefully selected to embody the same warm welcome and care for quality as the Oste family; We see this evidenced again at breakfast, when our server passionately describes the apple juice, made with fruit from the hotel’s own garden, and flourless Caprese cake, still warm from the kitchen, served alongside fresh pastries, fruit and yoghurt pots, omelette, and good, strong Italian cappuccino.

The breakfast room has a wall of glass windows that can be fully opened to create a chic indoor-outdoor space that merges with the garden. Guests can choose to dine under the shade of a pomegranate tree, or stay inside to marvel at the sleek furnishings and curated pieces dotted throughout.

Atelier Inès is truly an art lover’s dream – from the aesthetic perfection at every turn to the fact that guests can fully immerse themselves in an artistic experience such as jewellery-making and sculpture workshops using real professional tools – a chance to create a piece that will forever remind you of your time in Naples. The hotel also organises special add-on experiences such as wine tasting, excursions to Amalfi and Rome, pasta-making classes, and a city walking tour.

A stay with Inès and family is the absolute pinnacle of an Italian experience: going to sleep in a historical building surrounded by generations of cutting-edge design; finding yourself on the guestlist of the neighbourhood’s best eateries; joining the booming Friday night revelry with the locals in a trendy square; temporarily becoming part of a family and experiencing a deep passion for their city and home.

Staying in a hotel that doubles as a design studio is very special, but it’s just one part of what makes Atelier Inès so unique. So, ramble through the labyrinthine streets, past the street sellers and fried pizza stands, through the din of crowds and scooter motors, until you reach those unostentatious gates. A sanctuary awaits, and Inès will be there to greet you.

We stayed
in the Prototipo suite, priced from €330 in low season, including an excellent homemade breakfast.

For best rates and offers, always book directly on the hotel’s website.

This was a press stay – all opinions are our own.