Anantara Presents La Dolce Riviera in Rome, Nice, and Amalfi

Okay, picture this: three gorgeous terraces, three stunning coastlines, and one shared obsession with living our best life — all popping off at the exact same moment across three different countries. That's the whole vibe behind La Dolce Riviera, Anantara Hotels & Resorts' dreamy summer program that links Rome, Nice, and Amalfi into one sun-soaked story, and honestly, I'm already obsessed.

This whole initiative is basically a love letter to everything the Riviera has always promised us — those impossibly long lazy lunches, even longer magical evenings, and that electric chemistry that happens when Italian passion meets French sophistication. Food, music, art, and wellness are the golden threads weaving through three completely different properties, each speaking its own gorgeous dialect of Mediterranean chill.

Here's where it gets really good: the centerpiece is a synchronized signature event happening simultaneously across all three hotels, powered by a dreamy partnership with Judith Leiber Couture, who's debuting their brand-new "La Dolce Vita" collection just for the occasion. And you guys — it's the perfect match. Leiber's crystal minaudières have spent sixty years turning pure craftsmanship into straight-up theater, and there's honestly no stage more fitting than a Riviera evening for that kind of sparkle. This collab weaves fashion and savoir-faire right into the Dolce Riviera narrative, adding a whole extra layer of glamour that I didn't even know I needed.

What comes next is each destination doing its own thing: totally distinct vibes, but one shared mood that ties everything together beautifully.

Nice | Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel

Over on the French Riviera, Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel totally plays both sides — blending Italian warmth with that effortlessly chic French Riviera polish I can't get enough of. The signature cocktail sets the whole mood: a Limoncello Spritz built on bright, zingy citrus and prosecco, with a French Riviera twist that hits perfectly on a warm afternoon.

At the Anantara Spa, the Côte d'Azur's art of living becomes a full-on sensory experience — citrus-infused massages and revitalizing facials that feel less like treatments and more like pure restoration. It's exactly in line with the Mediterranean philosophy that wellness and pleasure were always meant to go hand in hand, and honestly, I couldn't agree more.

The kitchen tells the same beautiful cross-cultural story. The weekly lunch menu weaves French Riviera flavors through Italian inspiration: sea bass fillet alla puttanesca, sea bream carpaccio brightened with the freshest citrus, and zucchini flower fritters that literally taste like the region's sun-baked hillsides in one bite. Food, wellness, lifestyle — at Plaza Nice, La Dolce Riviera is a full-on feast for every single sense.

Rome | Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome Hotel

In Rome, the celebration keeps rolling. Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome Hotel's rooftop terrace and pool — perched high above Piazza della Repubblica — transform into this magical urban hideaway as the city below softens into that golden evening light. Live acoustic music fills the air, Italian swing tangled with international influences, carrying you from sunset straight into the night. I could've stayed up there forever.

Art totally has a seat at the table too: a live illustrator works the crowd, capturing the evening through hand-illustrated fans — such a poetic spin on a timeless Italian summer tradition that I genuinely got emotional about. A vintage Vespa anchors the night's signature photo moment, because nothing says Italian style quite like that iconic silhouette. Naturally, I took way too many photos.

The menu matches the mood perfectly. Mini supplì give way to Tarte Tropézienne and a clean, refreshing finish of lemon sorbet — Italian and French influences trading places course by course in the most delicious way. The night's signature pour, Azzurro, does the same thing in liquid form: gin, Mediterranean botanicals, Vesuvio bitter, Italicus, dry vermouth, a whisper of seawater, and Amalfi lemon zest. You guys, it literally tastes like the coastline itself. I'm not even exaggerating.

Amalfi | Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel

Along the Amalfi Coast, history basically steals the show. Set inside a 13th-century monastery turned hotel, La Dolce Riviera unfolds at Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel with the region's heritage literally built into the walls — you can feel it everywhere. Guests arrive to a lemon-forward welcome (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, don't worry!) that immediately announces: this is the Amalfi lifestyle, and you're going to love it.

Curated food stations showcase local excellence: regional cheeses, cured meats, and bite-sized specialties that are absolutely made for grazing — my kind of dining. Two dishes do the cross-destination concept proud: a carbonara-style pasta frittatina that's a little nod to Rome, and a classic Niçoise salad paying tribute to Nice. The signature cocktail, a Limoncello Spritz made with the hotel's own artisanal limoncello, beautifully closes the loop.

The setting does half the work: the evening unfolds along the Monk's Walk where live music and local artists give the night this cultural texture that feels like a charming town festival that just happens to have the most extraordinary catering you've ever tasted.

A Contemporary Mediterranean Story

Taken together, La Dolce Riviera reads like three chapters of the same beautiful book. Rome brings the cinematic rooftop energy, Nice serves up the seafront polish, Amalfi delivers the cliffside history, and Anantara weaves them all into one gorgeous narrative about what European summer living still means in 2026: unhurried, deeply sensory, and unmistakably elegant. I'm already planning my return trip.

Photos courtesy of Anantara Hotels