Our story · since 1924
In 1924, the Aurelli family raised a stone villa on the edge of the cliff, facing the sea. A hundred years later, the same arches welcome the same sunset light — and we greet every guest as a visit to our own home.
Manifesto · Three generations
We never wanted to be the biggest hotel on the coast. We wanted to be the place where you feel expected.
Elena Aurelli
General Manager · granddaughter of the founders
The main lobby · unchanged since 1958
We did not build a hotel. We built a house with windows open to the sea, so that anyone who crosses the threshold feels at home.
Chronicle of the house · 1924 – 2024
Each generation added something — and kept everything worth keeping. Scroll to travel through a hundred years.
01 / 051924 · The villa on the clifftop
The Aurelli family builds a villa on the edge of the cliff, stone by stone. No grand plans — only the wish for a big table, a terrace facing the sunset and room for everyone they love.
02 / 051958 · The gates open
The villa becomes a hotel. The great names of the day arrive on the clifftop, and the guest book begins to fill with handwritten dedications and promises to return.
03 / 051987 · Ostria
Ostria restaurant opens: fish brought in each morning by the fishermen from the harbour, oil from the family orchard and a single rule — a meal is never rushed.
04 / 052011 · Velmora is reborn
On the site of the old villa rises the new Velmora: white volumes suspended above the sea, travertine terraces, floor-to-ceiling glass and a 1,800 m² Thalasso Spa carved into the rock.
05 / 052024 · A hundred years
At 100 years old, we open the villas with private pools, hidden among the cypresses. The same unhurried pace, the same family at the table — and a story that is only just beginning.
What guides us
They are not rules written on the walls. They are habits we inherited and pass on, every morning.
We know your name, your coffee and your favourite hour for the sunset. But we never ask you twice.
Travertine from the quarry at the foot of the hill, clay fired in old kilns, linen and olive wood.
Solar energy, rainwater for the gardens and zero single-use plastic, in every room.
What the sea brings in the morning reaches the table by evening, beside the vegetables and oil from our own orchard.
The people behind the door
A small team with roots in the bay. Many of us have been here for more than two decades.
“My grandfather built a house. I am simply trying to keep the door open.”
General Manager
“I cook with what the sea gives me today. Tomorrow, the menu changes.”
Executive Chef
“Calm cannot be requested. It is created, breath by breath.”
Spa Director
Our commitment
The coast has given us everything. We try to give back at least as much — in energy, in flavour and in respect for the place.
solar energy
local produce in the kitchen
single-use plastic
of orchard and gardens
Recognition
Our favourite award is still a review handwritten in the guest book. But we keep these too.
The next chapter
A hundred years of stories and one more table laid on the terrace. Book direct for the best price guaranteed.
