Italy Holiday Advice, Please?

[SoftSocksPlease]

Hello! We are looking to plan a 10-day to 2-week holiday in mid to late June and are thinking Italy, as DH and I have never been and have always wanted to go.

We definitely want to leave the hotel or resort to explore and properly experience Italy's sights and food. However, I have fibromyalgia and ME, so I know I will need proper rest days as well. So, ideally we would alternate: one day out sightseeing, one day by the pool taking it easy, and repeat.

On the quieter days I would rather not have to leave the resort to eat, so somewhere with easy access to good food, drinks, and snacks on site would be ideal. I know AI is not that common in Italy, but are there resort-style hotels where you can comfortably spend the whole day there if needed, even if it is not technically all-inclusive? Any particular areas that would suit this sort of pace?

Any recommendations or advice very gratefully received. Thank you 😊

My thoughts immediately leapt to the Italian Riviera (Ventimiglia- La Spezia), because it's so easy to get around on the railway that runs along the coast, beaches are often a very short walk from the station etc.

I don't know so much about purpose built resort hotels in Italy, but there are plenty of apartments with a pool and a view, and many of them must be convenient for restaurants, pizzerias, supermarkets etc.

You could get pizza delivered, or send DH out for food?

I’d recommend the Solara hotel, on the outskirts of Sorrento . There’s a complimentary shuttle bus which operates hourly to and from Sorrento, about 3km away. It’s set on a hillside, fantastic sea views across to Ischia.
Family run, very friendly, good food ( full or half board ) lovely pool and gardens. Plus the biggest hotel room balconies ever ! Pretty sure we booked through TUI.
My DH has mobility issues and the hotel staff couldn’t have been more helpful.
We enjoyed excursions to Positano and Amalfi, Pompeii and Capri trips also available, but also spent several days relaxing by the pool.

Italy is not big on AI - resorts that I I know off such as Club Med in Sicily or Magic Life Calabria have everything on site but aren't walking distance to anything. We had a lovely week at Magic Life in the adults only part last year and the food was wonderful, but you need a car or to book excursions if you want to see anything. Lots of activities organised on site if you fancy yoga or a quiz.

Places we have stayed with pools that are walking distance to beach, boats, shops and restaurants but also do lunch :
Hotel La Palma - Stresa, Lake Maggiore
Cala di Falco - Sardinia (the company has other hotels but this one is 5 mins walking distance to town) We did excursions from there to Corsica and the Maddalena islands
Residence Oliveto - Ceriale
Hotel Vis a Vis - Sestri Levante
(last 2 are on Italian riviera as mentioned by pp - and it is easy to get up and down the coast by train)
Ischia is lovely - lots of spa hotels - so you might benefit from thermal waters. Last time we went we stayed at Ischia Blu resort - which has a tiny pool but is right on the sea with a bathing platform. They do s/c apartments/studios but with full housekeeping. Breakfast is available and lunch now too i think. Ischia Porto is a 5 min walk with lots of places to eat, and we got Pizza delivered one night.
I think there are a few big resort type hotels on Lake Garda but haven't stayed in any of them.

Union Lido (near Venice) is a huge site with bars and restaurants but also has a hotel / apartments alongside the mobile home part. You can get the bus and boat to Venice or Lido di Jesolo.

The Lakes around Garda might suit you. You can travel all over on the criss crossing boats. Choose a hotel with a pool and sunbeds in a town like Riva del Garda or Sirmione and Peschiera (where there's a train station) for relaxation. All the major towns on the Lakes have plenty of food options. Easy to see nice places around like Verona.

Yes there are, we stayed in a hotel in Sicily that we had booked on a b&b basis but others had half board or ai. Not huge , Italian hotels usually aren’t, too long ago to recommend, I can’t remember enough actual details but I know we ate in the hotel a couple of times, also there was a cafe/restaurant/bakery right next door and a shop across the road giving options if not wanting to go far (all closer than getting across many hotel complexes). Agrigento Sicily