Housing cast and crew in Naples for several weeks

A shoot that runs three, four or six weeks needs something different from its accommodation. After the first week, a kitchen, a washing machine and some personal space matter more than the hotel’s star rating. In Chiaia, at Vico Santa Maria a Cappella Vecchia 8b, five apartments on one floor sleep up to 20, with a gym, a steam room and a garage in the same building.

What changes when a shoot lasts several weeks?

Once a shoot runs past a week, kitchens, laundry and personal space start to matter more than being close to set.

A hotel room is fine for three nights. By day fifteen it is somewhere to sleep and nothing more, and the cast starts asking where to wash clothes and how to eat something that is not catering. Each request is small, and every one of them lands on the production coordinator.

Hotel or apartments for a long shoot?

Apartments work better than a hotel for a multi-week shoot, because they give each department a kitchen, a washing machine and a door of its own.

A hotel has two real advantages, the front desk and breakfast. For a week that can be enough. For a month, being able to cook, having a living room to run lines in and not sharing a corridor with strangers is worth more.

How do you split cast and crew across the apartments?

Assign the apartments by role: principal cast in the single units, departments in the larger ones.

• Apartment 2, 60 sq m, bedroom with ensuite and bathtub, for a lead actor or the director
• Apartment 5, 45 sq m, studio, for someone who wants full independence
• Apartments 3 and 4, 70 and 60 sq m, bedroom plus sofa bed, for pairs from the same department
• Apartment 1, 90 sq m, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, for a department or as the production office

Twenty is the capacity with shared rooms and sofa beds. If everyone needs a private bedroom the number drops, so work it out from the names list before you confirm.

Who handles cleaning and linen?

The production package includes daily cleaning inside every apartment for the whole shoot.

Each unit also has its own washing machine. Someone who wraps late does not have to wait on an outside laundry service to have clean clothes the next morning.

How does the cast recover after long days on set?

The wellness floor in the same building has a fully equipped gym open 24 hours and a steam room with chromotherapy showers.

Personal training can be booked on request. For an actor who has to hold a certain physique through the shoot, a gym a few metres from the bedroom removes one journey a day.

What is around for everyday life?

Chiaia is a residential neighbourhood that works well for a stay of weeks: Piazza dei Martiri is 70 metres away, with supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants all on foot.

The Chiaia stop on Metro Line 6 is 5 minutes away and the Chiaia funicular up to Vomero is 10. Molo Beverello, for Capri or Ischia on a day off, is about 10 minutes by taxi.

How do you book a multi-week stay for a production?

You book directly with the owner, who handles the apartments, garage and covered space through one contact.

The quote starts from dates, headcount and the number of bedrooms needed, and it changes with the length of stay. For shoots longer than a month there is a mid-term option from 1 to 18 months. Send the brief through the Production Base page or to Gian Piero Santopaolo on +39 331 322 5577.