I took my family to the Cilento coast and stayed at the Palazzo Belmonte, a huge 18th century former hunting lodge, 100 miles south of Naples. With us came our Italian specialist - my wife's mother, a native of Genoa.

My wife spent many happy summers as a child on the beach at Sestri Levante in Liguria with her Italian cousins and now "Nonna" was going to see if this hotel would be good enough for her grandchildren. The bar was set very high.

The building is a thick-walled semi-fortress set above the sea, built for the family of the present Prince, Angelo Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte - who still lives in a private wing - and was used as a lodge where the Kings of Spain and Italy came to hunt wild boar and shoot quail on the estate.

Below to one side is the fishing village of Santa Maria di Castelabbate: to the other, five acres of gardens - secluded, peaceful and full of ancient firs, lemon groves and agapanthus.

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There is a large pool and through a door are steps down to a sandy private beach. On the other side of the gardens is the terrace belvedere restaurant with lovely views over the sea and coastline.

We stayed in neighbouring rooms in the newish villa apartments in the grounds: my wife and I with our two young boys in twin rooms and the grandparents next door.

We quickly established a routine of buffet breakfast on the terrace by the pool, the morning by the pool/on the beach, a light lunch, siesta, pool/beach. The day ended with drinks by the pool and then an evening meal, either at the belvedere or in the village.

Having the grandparents along, the first time we had done this, was a big success. We shared the child-minding duties and for Carolina and I, those extra 30 minutes of adult-only calm once or twice a day made a big difference. At the same time Carolina's parents made a point of doing their own thing - going off to Paestum for instance - so that we did not crowd each other.

The palazzo has been a hotel for more than 20 years and the Prince has been formulating grand plans to stretch the hotel into a five star rating.

Many of the rooms, which previously had been equipped with small kitchens for self-catering, have been completely updated in cool, clean lines with particular attention paid to the bathrooms.

There are also big plans to put a cafe, restaurant and library in a disused wing which would bring the magnificent courtyard to life and provide an additional focus for the hotel guests away from the pool area which, if it is school holidays, can get pretty busy with children.

The Prince is also keen to develop the nature reserve of Punta Licosa. This unspoilt peninsula is a short drive down the coast from the Palazzo. Guests can go to walk among the Aleppo pines, picnic and swim in almost guaranteed solitude. The Prince has recently taken back into his possession the Licosa castle and its lands which include a private island and lighthouse with the aim of upmarket villa rentals.

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