Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte: Viareggio Hotel Review

If you’ve been searching for information on the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte and found yourself wondering whether it belongs in Tuscany or Piedmont, you’re not alone. This historic Viareggio hotel carries a name that sparks confusion—and that’s exactly what this guide addresses. Drawing from the official property site, the MICHELIN Guide, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor, this article unpacks the hotel’s dual identity, maps out its amenities, and delivers actionable booking insights for travelers weighing a stay on the Tuscan Riviera.

Last checked: 2026-05-24

Location: Viareggio, Tuscany, Italy · Star Rating: 5-star · Restaurant: Il Piccolo (2 Michelin stars) · Collection: Leading Hotels of the World

Where is the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte?

The Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte stands on Piazza Giacomo Puccini 1, directly on Viareggio’s seafront promenade in Tuscany, Italy. The property faces the Ligurian Sea, placing guests steps away from the city’s famous sandy beach. According to KAYAK, the hotel sits roughly 0.7 km from Viareggio city center—a short walk that places the property within easy reach of the town’s restaurants, shops, and the celebrated Viareggio Carnival exhibition halls.

How Far Is the Hotel from Viareggio City Center?

Travel Weekly notes that the hotel is “about five minutes from Viareggio town center,” underlining the walkable location. KAYAK’s Italian listing places the distance at approximately 0.7 km, while Booking.com gives a similar figure of roughly 1.3 km in a straight line. The hotel occupies a prime position where the beachfront promenade meets the town’s historic core, making car-free exploration practical for most visitors. Like the Corpo Santo Lisbon Historical Hotel, which also occupies a prime historic waterfront position, this property benefits from being within walking distance of key local attractions.

What Is the Nearest Airport to the Hotel?

The nearest major airport is Pisa International Airport (PSA), located about 25 km north of Viareggio. KAYAK estimates a drive time of approximately 30 minutes from the airport to the hotel. Florence Peretola Airport lies further inland, roughly 100 km away, making Pisa the practical choice for most international travelers flying into Tuscany.

What Amenities Does the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte Offer?

The hotel presents itself as a “famously luxury hotel in Tuscany” just a few steps from the golden sands, according to its official site. Beyond the beachfront positioning, the amenity portfolio spans dining, wellness, and leisure activities designed to anchor guests on-property. Similar luxury beachfront properties like the Marvie Hotel & Health also emphasize spa and wellness amenities as key differentiators.

Is There a Pool at the Hotel?

Yes. The rooftop terrace holds a swimming pool with hydromassage, offering panoramic views of the sea and the Apuan Alps behind the coast. The MICHELIN Guide highlights this feature as a key selling point, with guests on Booking.com confirming the rooftop pool’s presence. The pool is part of a broader wellness area that includes a Finnish sauna and Turkish bath, described by the MICHELIN Guide as a “serious, elaborate spa offering.” KAYAK’s hotel profile adds that the spa offers massages alongside the sauna and Turkish bath.

Restaurants at the Hotel and Nearby

The flagship dining venue is Il Piccolo Principe, a 2 Michelin-star restaurant that the hotel markets as “the only two Michelin star restaurant on the Tuscan coast.” The official site confirms this claim. MICHELIN’s Italian description notes that the restaurant is central to the property’s gastronomic offering. According to Booking.com, the hotel also operates La Terrazza Bistrot and La Terrazza Rooftop Bar, giving guests three on-site dining venues.

The hotel further promotes its breakfast as “the acclaimed ‘Best Breakfast in Italy,'” with chef Giuseppe Mancini reportedly appearing in the dining room as a papier-mâché Carnival character during the morning service. The Florentine, in a 2024 feature, describes this as a “world-class breakfast” that guests consistently rate highly. Booking.com’s aggregated scores support this: the hotel carries an overall rating of 9.3/10, with the breakfast category rated a perfect 10.0.

Beyond the hotel’s walls, Viareggio’s seafront promenade hosts numerous restaurants serving fresh seafood, regional pasta dishes, and Versilia-style preparations. The town’s dining scene reflects its status as a well-established Italian beach resort with deep culinary roots.

What Makes the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte a Luxury Stay?

The hotel’s luxury positioning rests on three pillars: its membership in Leading Hotels of the World, its historic pedigree as a 1920s Art Nouveau landmark, and the recent renovation that has refreshed its interiors.

Guest Reviews and Ratings

Booking.com guests rate the property 9.3 out of 10 overall—a score that places it among the higher-rated luxury properties on the platform in this coastal corridor. One TripAdvisor reviewer compared the hotel favorably to The Ritz in other cities, stating that the staff, food, location, and cleanliness “cannot be beat” and that the hotel was “well beyond” The Ritz in that guest’s experience.

TripAdvisor beach-related reviews highlight details such as plush slippers, high-quality bathroom products, balconies overlooking the promenade and beach, and complimentary hotel bikes. These touches point to a property that invests in guest comfort beyond the expected luxury baseline.

Awards and Recognition

The hotel belongs to The Leading Hotels of the World, an association of independent luxury hotels that requires properties to meet strict quality and service standards. The MICHELIN Guide describes the hotel’s Liberty-style façade as the property’s “first and magnificent calling card,” signaling architectural distinction.

The hotel’s most recent renovation was completed in 2022, according to Travel Weekly’s industry data. The Florentine reports that Florence-based design firm S+S Studio handled the restyling, while fashion designer Stefano Ricci oversaw the Presidential Suite decor. MICHELIN characterizes the result as “sumptuous,” noting that the interiors are “classic but never unpredictable” and personalized down to the smallest detail. The hotel itself promotes its bedrooms as showcasing “fresh sustainable design with Florentine artisanship, contemporary accents and ‘Riviera sunlight.'”

What Does Piemonte Mean and Why Is It in the Hotel Name?

This is where traveler confusion tends to surface. The name “Principe di Piemonte” translates to “Prince of Piedmont,” referencing the historical title of the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Sardinia—the region now known as Piedmont in northwest Italy. The hotel’s name honors this title, not the region’s geography.

What Does Piemonte Mean in Italian?

In Italian, Piemonte (spelled with one “m”) means “foot of the mountain,” derived from the Latin pedemontium, describing the region’s position at the foot of the Alps. Piedmont is one of Italy’s 20 regions, known internationally for its wine (Barolo, Barbaresco), cuisine (truffles, chocolate), and cities including Turin.

The Naming History

The hotel opened in 1922 under the name Select Palace Hotel, commissioned by Florentine aristocrat Giuseppe De Micheli. According to The Florentine’s 2024 feature, the hotel adopted the name Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte in 1938, when the owners Italianized the name ahead of a royal visit and amid Fascist-era pressure against non-Italian names. The first two floors of the original building were designed by architect Goffredo Fantini, extended two years later by architect Ugo Giovannozzi.

While the name references the historical Prince of Piedmont title, the hotel has always been located in Viareggio on the Tuscan coast—a distinction worth noting for travelers who might associate “Piedmont” with northern Italy.