A hotel inspired by the sea

At the foot of the hills that slope down towards the Gulf of Squillace on the Ionian side of the Calabrian Serre mountain chain lies a short and gentle stretch of coastline between Montepaone Lido and Soverato, where the town of Montauro overlooks the sea. This stretch of almost flat coast (Montauro itself with its rugged terrain is a little higher up, halfway up Mount Paladino) is home to Hotel Club Cala Longa. The recently constructed resort consists of three main buildings integrated into the surrounding landscape in full compliance with the environmental constraints. It has the overall shape of an amphitheatre with volumes that rise to a maximum of two floors above ground, reminiscent of the sinuous ebb and flow of waves. The building standing on the left of the road to Costaraba which divides the complex in two extends around the pool, its single above-ground floor hosting the cafeteria and air-conditioned restaurant. The basement is used for ancillary services and equipment rooms. The other two buildings across the road contain 122 rooms of various types which offer all the usual facilities of a 4-star hotel, differing only in the fact that the first-floor rooms have a balcony and the ground-floor rooms have a patio facing onto the interior garden. The entrance hall with reception desk and related services is located in front of the two buildings while the common areas are suitably distributed. Just 300 metres away is a well-equipped sand and pebble private beach which can be reached on foot via the road that runs between the two buildings of the complex and a municipal underpass. The hotel’s dominant light blue colour coordinates and contrasts with white and onyx, reminiscent of sunlit lands. In the rooms and all common areas the furniture and curtains exhibit an alternation of the same colours. The prevalent motif is that of the wave, which appears everywhere in different forms: in the partitions between the balconies, on the stairs where the painted wrought iron railings even succeed in simulating spray, in the lowered central section of the ceiling in the restaurant and at the intersection of the exterior walls housing the air-conditioning ducts, along the length of the reception desk, on the sofas in the entrance hall, and on the walls and counter in the cafeteria. Much attention has been given to the choice of coverings on some portions of the external facades and flooring of the common spaces, where the client and the designer wanted to highlight the unique colours of this land and sea. Spectacular effects have been achieved by installing a selection of ceramic tiles from Antiche Fornaci D’Agostino with especially bright and robust glazes, in particular the Emozioni collection with Smeraldo and Onice colours and the Riflessi di Cava collection with Blu mare and Nuvola.