Ask a Hotelier: Marie-Louise Sció

Situated in southern Tuscany, Porto Ercole doesn’t conform to the general perception of a celebrity hotspot: Unlike Saint-Tropez, it doesn’t have a wanna-be celebrity catwalk. But it has Il Pellicano, the legendary refuge for international jet-setters who come to escape the masses and enjoy the lovely view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Kennedy have stayed here, now it’s favored by people like Josh Hartnett and Margherita Maccapani Missoni. Marie-Louise Sciò, Creative Director and CEO of the Pellicano Hotels Group, is the tastemaker who ensures that many years after it opened, the legendary luxury hotel is still talked about, albeit very discretely: “We stand for luxury that whispers rather than shouts.”