Fred Flintstone lived with wife Wilma and daughter Pebbles in the prehistoric city of Bedrock in a super duper cave dwelling. One of the reasons for the ongoing success of the series was the fact that they were lucky enough to live, what seemed to be, a fantastical life, in a cozy cave, surrounded by primitive but working mod cons together with homely creature comforts. I loved the Flintstones; why couldn’t we live in a fantasy cave?
Well, thanks to 21st century wonders, you can live out this primal chimera in contemporaneous ‘yabba dabba doo’ style. The semi-cave dwellings or ‘Suite Eaudesea’ are dazzlingly embedded into the mountainside beneath Amalfi’s most heavenly boutique hotel, Casa Angelina. We have watched these abodes, previously basic fisherman’s cottages, take habitable lux-shape over several years; a project that adhered to exacting standards, insisting on raising the bar on today’s luxury within the folds of Mother Earth. It is no mean feat lugging crates of slate, travertine, marble, plasma screens and gargantuan mattresses down a few hundred stone stairs!
The barefaced rock is no longer dripping with stalagmites, bats and droppings; instead it is lit with magical allure, encasing the cave’s comfort with a reassuring coziness unlike any other luxestay away from home. The outstanding endresult was well worth the Herculean effort. The sexy interiors combine modern-chic with an exclusive nautical flavour and offer the latest in technology; such as free standing mega-inched Bang & Olufsen screens, plus remote control almost everything. The tantalizing bathrooms blend organic-rustic (potions and lotions in a cut out rock shelf) with state-of-the-art fittings.
The ‘ elite yacht’ style of interiors flatters the airy open-plan of the suites with a littoral refinement; there are no frills, no chintz, no tampering with nature’s colours. Just slick minimalist luxury: smooth whitewash beside textured cave face; seamless fruit and hard wood finishes and fittings; remote control white canvas blinds; suede taupe ‘demilune’ chairs, and atmospheric halogen lighting. For once too, pebbledash has earned a place.
The luxury inside the cave-home is sublime... almost a match for the outrageous and priceless vista that stretches across the sparkling sapphire Bay of Solerno, as far as Capri. Can’t really better that... Nor the awesome crimson and slate-blue sunsets, admired a la cave’s private terrace, followed by the lambent lights of a nocturnal Positano, reflecting its evening iridescences, together with that of the solar system, across the ripples of an ink-blue sea. While the soothing rhythm of the swell below mounts the rocks and little pier, you can enjoy cocktails by candlelight, even dinner, just beyond your door. Or, simply recline on your expanse of glorious white bed…
Read the full review and book online at www.luxuryexplorer.com
