Dolce Villa
By Paul E. Kandarian
South Beach, Florida is pretty far from Providence, Rhode
Island. But the unmistakable white-on-white style of the former is being felt in
the latter at Dolce Villa, a relatively new boutique hotel on Providence’s
historic Federal Hill.
 Located
on the Hill’s pedestrian-friendly DePasquale Plaza with its al fresco dining and
giant fountain, Dolce Villa opened to rave reviews two years ago for good
reason. The little piece of Italy in the Italian section of the city is
gloriously Mediterranean in its stylish look, from the lemon-yellow stucco
exterior walls to the ship’s-hull balcony railings on suites facing the plaza to
the small, very European looking hotel lobby.
Inside the three-story, 16,000-square-foot hotel are 14
magnificently appointed one- and two-bedroom suites, and this is where the crisp
South Beach styling comes into play. The rooms are brilliant white to the point
your eyes almost hurt walking into them, with white marble floors, white walls,
and white leather memory-foam pull-out sofas and chairs. All furniture for each
room has been custom made, said hotel owner, Gianfranco Marrocco, co-owner of
nearby successful Hill restaurants, Meditarraneo, Caffe Dolce Vita and
Geppetto’s, adding that when he opened the hotel, he wanted to offer “luxurious
accommodations not found anywhere else in the city.”
He has definitely succeeded. The suites here boast fully
equipped kitchens, complete with gleaming stainless steel refrigerators, ovens
and dishwashers and snow-white cabinets stocked with anything you need for a
short- or long-term stay. Two-bedroom suites feature gas fireplaces.
The bedrooms are well appointed, right down to the soft
slippers and plush robes, and whirlpool tubs, flat-screen televisions and
memory-foam beds that adapt to the contours of sleeping guests. Every
ultra-modern accoutrement has been thought, right down to stainless steel
martini glasses.
Each suite also comes with DVD, VCR and CD players, free
high-speed Internet service and complimentary popcorn, hot chocolate, biscotti,
and Baci chocolates.
 The
hotel is in a building that once housed a jewelry business, Marrocco said. He
spent about $2 million refurbishing it over a four-year period, leading to the
grand opening in 2005. In its most immediate incarnation, it had been an
apartment building on two floors; Marrocco added a third.
As beautiful as the hotel itself is, many consider the
facility’s crown jewel to be Villa Toscana at the rear of the
 hotel,
a stand-alone refurbished carriage house as private as private can be with
ivy-covered exterior walls, two courtyards (both ideal locations for parties,
one with a coy pond, the other with a gently flowing fountain), one gorgeous
bedroom (next to the memory-foam bed is a two-person Jacuzzi), two phenomenal
mosaic-tiled bathrooms, a gigantic commercial kitchen (with 10-burner Vulcan gas
stove), a huge living room with working fireplace and all the Italian ambience
you could possibly find outside of Italy itself.
 The
3,500-square-foot, two-story brick structure was once a stable, then an
auto-repair garage, then rehabbed into a private home by an attorney. It is now
Marrocco’s pride and joy, he says, and it shows.
 The
rich dark interior woodwork against ancient, well-kept brick in the spacious and
wonderfully romantic structure is perfect for private parties of up to 400
people.
For those who love to cook, you couldn’t find a better spot
than this.
 Nestled
in the bosom of Federal Hill, the villa is a very short walk to the gastronomic
wonderland that is the Italian heart of Providence from the delightfully
decadent desserts at Scialo’s Bakery to the fresh-made sausage and pasta at
Venda Ravioli to a wide range of sweet chianti at Gasbarro’s Wine and Liquors.
Stock up and then fire up the massive Vulcan stove and cook for your friends as
they unwind with a glass of vino on the patio.
Providence has been a changed-for-the-better city over the
past 20 years, a destination location known nationwide for its culinary
delights, architectural magnificence and rich history. And there is no better
place in which to stay to enjoy it all than Dolce Villa.
(For more information, visit
www.dolcevillari.com) |
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