Sextantio le Grotte della Civita
Style Boutique Bedrock
Setting Matera’s grand canyon
Sextantio le Grotte della Civita’s caves have a prehistoric birthday and a Unesco World Heritage setting; they’re also breathtakingly romantic. It took 10 years to turn the sassi (stone settlement) into boutique bedrooms, but the resulting hotel is true to the caves’ tufa-rock roots: simply furnished, candlelit and calming.
Need to know
- Rooms 18, including six suites.
-
Rates
Double rooms from $226.89 (€181), excluding tax at 10 per cent.
Prices have been converted from the hotel's local currency (€181), via XE.com, using today's exchange rate.
- More details Rates include breakfast (a princely spread of local produce, Rates include yoghurt, mozzarella, bread, fruit and cakes) .
- Facilities Free WiFi in reception, communal areas and rooms on the first level.
- Check-out 11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
- Children Smith Junior is welcome, with cots for children under six (€15 a day) and beds for older children (€75 a day).
- Eco-friendly Food is organic, seasonal and locally sourced, the caves’ reinvention relied on traditional methods, materials and craftsmen and staff are involved in conservation projects.
- Also Pets can come along for free; just let the hotel know in advance.
Food and drink at Sextantio le Grotte della Civita
- Hotel restaurant The Tasting Room, set in an ancient church hewn into the rock, is a hard-to-beat setting for a meal. In keeping with the hotel’s philosophy, frills and furniture are minimal (the latter being of the antique, liquorice-brown wood variety), food is traditional and local, and service is fuss-free. By night, flickering candlelight lends a romantic glow to the clutch of tables. Elisabetta is a quiet culinary star, using local ingredients and traditional methods: melon with parma ham, grilled aubergine and courgette, cured meats and bruschetta are just a few of her signature treats.
- Dress code Jesuit chic or Italian widow: a white smock or black lace with leather sandals.
- Top table Sit in one of the corner nooks carved into the stone walls and gaze only at each other.
- Last orders Breakfast is from 8.30am¬–10.30am, lunch is served between 12.30pm¬–2.30pm, and dinner is dished up from 7.30pm–10pm.
- Room service In-room breakfast is available from 8am, and drinks and aperitifs can be ordered until 10pm.
- Hotel bar No bar, but you can linger in the Tasting Room with a glass or two of local wine.
Also worth knowing
- Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...
Sextantio le Grotte della Civita DOM S.R.L. Via Civita, 28 (Sasso Barisano), Basilicata, 75100
Join us – it's free!
Sign up now for exclusive hotel offers, money back on every booking, and Smith extras (like the one below) whenever you book with us. more
Smith extra at Sextantio le Grotte della Civita
A bottle of local wine
In the know
Our favourite rooms
Suite 13 is ravishingly romantic – the honey-coloured cave has its own balcony, plenty of candlelit alcoves, and a fireplace beside the bath tub. Suite 4 or 8 are fit for families, with plenty of space. Some of the superior rooms come with both a bath tub and shower.
Packing tips
Bring flat sandals and loose linens for exploring Matera; an erudite tome for quiet moments and a notebook to jot down chef Elisabetta’s pannacotta recipe.
Also
Expect a refreshing arrival: a plate of fresh fruit and a jug of chilled water are left in rooms for guests. Be pampered with an in-room massage.
From the Guestbook…
When we first entered Matera we drove through the new area and to us it looked like any other modern Italian city. Then out of nowhere we turned a corner and our jaws just dropped:...
more
