I don’t know about you, but sometimes it takes me a ridiculous amount of time and effort to find a good place to stay. Finding the right town, the right area within that town and the right hotel/B&B/Airbnb can be a real struggle. My personal gauge is an emotional one: Do I feel good about this? Does it feel right? Am I excited about it? If the answer is no, I keep looking.
When I was planning our trip to the Royal Palace at Caserta (which you can read about here) the logical place to stay (and where most people seem to stay) is Caserta. However my intel on Caserta wasn’t good – ugly, run down and a bit dodgy – it just didn’t seem like the kind of place I wanted to spend any time (even if it was only one night). Sometimes I’ll put up with an ordinary town if the accommodation is excellent and vice versa, but no combination seemed right.
And then one night when I was looking at a map I spotted a town not far away called Casertavecchia (old Caserta) and decided to investigate. Within minutes I’d found a great B&B, scoped out several good restaurants and just like that everything was sorted, it felt right, and I was happy.
I don’t have any magic answers on finding the right place to stay: for me it’s persistence, and not wanting to spend time in horrible places. Plus I love the process of researching trips.
By the time we arrived in Casertavecchia late on a Sunday afternoon it was full of Italians still enjoying a leisurely lunch and taking a stroll around the village. It’s a tiny place perched on top of a hill, with two churches, the crumbling remains of a castle, a lot of restaurants, three bars and a couple of B&Bs. It’s extremely atmospheric and great for a wander.
Let’s have a look around …
If you’re planning on visiting the palace I’d thoroughly recommend Casertavecchia as a great town to stay in.
We stayed at Conte Spencer B&B owned by a lovely chap, and we ate at Osteria La Mediovale and had an excellent parpadelle with wild pig.
Until next time, happy travels,
The Travelling Pantaloni
