AmarVite con spa privata

AmarVite is at vicolo Borgogno 2/1, inside the Terra, which is the name Dolceacqua gives to the medieval village clinging below the Doria castle, on the left bank of the Nervia, in the province of Imperia. It is the network of covered alleys, arches and stairways that climbs from the river towards the castle: the village is fifty metres from the door, the old bridge a glance away and the Visionarium five minutes on foot. The bridge is the one Monet painted in 1884; the restaurant a hundred metres from the apartment is called, not by chance, Crep'Monet, and the Osteria di Caterina is a hundred and fifty away. The sea at Ventimiglia and Bordighera is some ten kilometres off, the French border a little further.

The accommodation is an apartment carved out of a stone house in the village, and it shows: the walls are left exposed in split stone, the barrel vaults are plastered white, the beds have an arched iron headboard that echoes the shape of the vaults, and the light comes in through deep windows. It is accommodation for two, with a kitchenette equipped with pots and utensils, a kettle, a tea and coffee set, a flat-screen television, air conditioning, heating and toiletries included. The bathroom has been redone, with a pedestal basin and a shower. Entry is by key, with no reception: check-in is from 16 to 20 and departure between 8 and 10, so anyone arriving outside those hours must arrange it in advance.

The wellness area is the reason this apartment is in the catalogue, and it has to be told for what it is. It is not a hotel spa with opening hours and shifts: it is a private spa inside the house, for the exclusive use of whoever rents it, carved out of a vaulted room with coloured lighting. It includes a whirlpool for two and an infrared sauna cabin, with the relaxation zone in the same room. No steam bath or pool is on record, and there is no garden: the apartment is inside the village, where outdoor space does not exist. It is not a denial by the property, but it is everything that is documented.

On the rules of access the booking portal records the property as reserved for adults and states that children are not allowed: the restriction concerns the whole unit, not the wellness area alone, which is in any case inevitable given that the spa is inside the house. No source, though, publishes a figure: the minimum age from which you are admitted is not declared, and for this reason the entry gives neither eighteen years nor any other number. The property does not appear to have an official website of its own, so the source of these figures is the portal, and that is where the photo gallery comes from too. Anyone travelling with an older teenager should ask for written confirmation before booking. Pets are not allowed. The declared licence number is 008029-LT-0198 and the national identification code is IT008029C2VJIJB2MA.

It suits anyone who wants two or three nights in a stone village of the val Nervia with the tub and the sauna available without having to book a slot, anyone using Dolceacqua as a base for the Ligurian hinterland and for the Côte d'Azur, and anyone who appreciates crossing paths with no one. It suits less anyone arriving with heavy luggage, because in the alleys you climb on foot and the car stays in the car parks along the river, and anyone looking for service, breakfast and shared spaces: there is none of that here, you rent a house.