This dispatch is part of From the Window Seat, a series of immersive, long-form personal trip reflections, in-depth destination pieces, and sharp hospitality evaluations grounded in firsthand reporting and personal experience.
Ed. Note: This trip was hosted by the property. As always, I only share experiences that I genuinely love, and all opinions and recommendations are entirely my own.
Six months ago, my marriage ended. Before that, passport stamps were always collected in pairs, and destinations visited were joint decisions. Traveling internationally alone was a novel idea.
And somehow, the first time I did it just a couple of weeks ago, I ended up in Sorrento, Italy. Which is, by any measure, one of the most romantic places on earth. I sat with that irony for about five minutes. But then I arrived at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria. And arrival at a place like that feels grand, indeed.