With hotels, I find first impressions important. Here they are excellent. The steep road outside (for we are near the top of the hill) is busy – but, then, every road in this frenetic city is busy. There is therefore a lovely contrast when – in through the attractive Liberty façade – all is quiet, calm and supremely elegant. I was met by the hotel’s Chief Experience Officer, Mr Giovanni Torre Avallone, a most charming host, clearly very proud of the gilt, marble, paintings, statues, fine fabrics and antique furniture which combine to give Parker’s its sense of stylish luxury. Also present was the Head Concierge, Marco Giuliano. As you can judge from the photograph of myself with Mr Giuliano, he is a fellow to give one an expansive welcome.

Parker’s is not a large hotel – there are just 67 bedrooms and suites – but it has an impressive sense of grand space. Much of the décor is in the French period style. This I like, and I expect former guests liked it, too. They have included Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and …Lenin. Clearly, the hotel’s appeal has always been wide.

Up on the second floor, I admired the pristine decor of the corridor. Corridors are good indicators of the quality of the rooms to which they lead. Number 206 was a Junior Suite (consult the hotel website for the rates for specific dates) and was smart: wood block floors, spotlights, curtains of black silk, a gilt chandelier and mahogany furniture. A proper hallway led into my sitting room with a round dining table and four chairs, and then sliding doors opened into my bedroom, with a supremely comfortable bed and a view from its balcony of the entire Bay of Naples. My bathroom was clad with dark grey marble and offered a huge bath, one wash basin, a walk-in shower, a loo, a bidet and plenty of Floris toiletries.