Fodor's Expert Review Caro Hotel

A triumph of design, opened in 2012, this elegant modern hotel is seamlessly wedded to an important historical property: a 14th-century Gothic palace, built on the 12th-century Arabic wall and over the Roman Circus, fragments of which are on show. The marble staircase and coffered wood ceilings are original; the rooms and furnishings, deck-style terraces on the first and second floors, and the lounge-library are all cutting-edge contemporary, as are the splash pool and sundeck. Big, round bathtubs on platforms in the bedrooms may not be to everyone's taste, but they do lend a romantic touch. Sucede, the hotel's well-regarded, innovative restaurant, serves up creative riffs on Mediterranean standards at surprisingly affordable prices.