Pressroom

BudgetTravelOnline

20 June 2006

The Astarita sisters, Rita and Annamaria, turned a rambling apartment just a block past Sorrento's cathedral into a welcoming, six-room B&B with a personal touch. "This is our family palazzo," says Rita in her smoky rumble, as she joins her guests for a communal breakfast of croissants, cheese, fresh fruit, yogurt, cakes, and homemade marmalades. Family heirlooms mingle with Ikea-esque furnishings under high archways, and the fireplace is flanked by a courtesy tray of limoncello liqueur on one side and a computer with free Internet access on the other. Three rooms (Mitica, Mediterranea, and Moderna) have little balconies that hang over Sorrento's main drag. The other three (including Romantica, with a high-backed inlaid wooden bed; and Storta, a narrow, wedge-shaped room with stairs leading to the bed) overlook the greenhouse-like roof of the popular restaurant next door (La Favorita) and cliffs that glow golden at sunset.