Sextantio le Grotte Della Civita

Fantastic in every way. Matera is a magical place and this hotel captures it all. Quick pros and cons- Pros; 5 star luxury accommodations and service. Staff were friendly, responsive and thorough. Comfortable, well appointed for being a cave. Cons; floor was a bit slippery when wet. We can’t say enough about this amazing place. I would be skeptical reading this review if I didn’t write it, it’s that good. The workmanship that went into creating the rooms is stunning. Th level of service is exceptional and the hospitality of breakfast and aperitifs is fabulous.

Staying at the Sextantio in Matera will definitely forever remain in our memories. I’m not sure where to start as everything was just quite perfect. Let me start with the fact that my husband and I both work in the hotel industry. He is a Chef and has been working in 5-star luxury properties all his life, around the world. I’m the admin side, so I get to write the reviews 😁 – we’re both very detailed (and demanding) people. Our latest challenge together has been to rebuild a roofless farm-house and turn it into a small guest house, which we now run. This took us three years and gave us a very good insight of how hard getting all the details right can be. When you work with old stone walls, if you forget the tube for the wire for a light in the right spot, then that angle will stay dark – unless you want to break everything again... At Sextantio, the level of detail is just incredible. The rooms are jaw dropping, there is not a single thing that you look at and say – oh, they could have done this better! From the heated floors which were then reconstructed as they were before, to the perfect amount of lighting, down to the antique brass key to the room. Then there is the service. Impeccable, precise, helpful, from my first request of information, until we left. Breakfast was amazing. We usually tend to avoid buffets which don’t always provide very good quality food, but at Sextantio, they use the best produce, and offer a very wide selection, freshly baked items every morning. My only recommendation would be not to go before 8am, as it opens at 7:30, but there is more choice at 8:30. And then candle-lit dinner by the fireplace… It’s private, so it comes at a certain price, but we had something to celebrate, and it was definitely worth every cent (love has no price!). The atmosphere was amazing, the food was very tasty and well prepared. The Chef was a lovely lady from Matera who told us a little about her family’s history. It was very interesting, we’re very thankful. To put things in a nutshell, we’re telling all our friends to go there, we can’t wait to go back, and we’ve actually already booked our next stay! We’d like to thank all the staff for their hard work to make this all come together so perfectly, and the owner, Daniele Kihlgreen, for having such vision and giving guests the chance to experience a stay in such an Amazing place. Grazie Nathalie & Igor

Wow - what a gorgeous experience. The cave hotel is nothing one experiences usually for a couple of nights stay in anywhere. We stayed in an authentic Matera cave, with all our facilities in the cave. Huge shout out the whole staff, especially Francesca, who was extremely helpful, patient, socialble and accommodating. This place is a once in a lifetime type experience - highly recommended if you want an authentic Matera experience.

This is a unique experience - the first time I’ve ever been told “let me show you to your cave” The hotel has done a fabulous job in keeping the original features of the cave. It is hard to see but that’s where the candles come in - I would totally recommend this hotel but I would caution anyone with asthma to consider how they will manage inside the cave - but this is nothing to do with the hotel - it is just the nature of sleeping in a cave!

What an amazing place! Matera is a wonderful city and area to visit and this hotel just makes it even more special. The staff are very welcoming and friendly and were very tolerant of my faltering attempts at Italian! We were given a decent map of the city on arrival and our host highlighted some 'must visit' sights & decent restaurants! Top tip though - it's a good idea to book your restaurant in advance as the good ones can get busy (reception can help with this if needs be). The rooms are all unique, simply furnished but comfortable. The ambient lighting (supplemented by romantic candlelight) is more than sufficient but still makes for a relaxing environment and if you need things a little brighter then the hotel will happily supply extra lamps. You may wish to leave a candle burning in the loo overnight though just to be on the safe side! Plenty of hot water for the roomy shower and hand basin (we didn't try out the bath but it was also a decent size). The room was very clean and kept that way by regular housekeeping visits - they even popped in during the evening to close our shutter whilst we dined out! Breakfast in the former 'rock church' was fantastic - lovely fresh fruits, local breads and cheeses, bruschetta type dishes and way too many tasty cakes to be good for me! The coffee was excellent of course. Matera itself is just amazing - do try to get across the 'Tibetan bridge' to the Park on the opposite side of the ravine to get a panoramic view of the city but make sure you've got fairly decent footwear on and allow a couple of hours to enjoy it properly. The city is not large and can easily be explored over a couple of days. Give yourself longer if you can though and learn something of it's history - there are several good 'cave house' museums (and numerous churches!) - Museo Laboratorio della Civilta Contadina was a favourite for us. All in all, one of the best holidays we've ever had and this hotel provides a unique and wonderful base from which to venture forth - enjoy!