Hotel Etico at Mount Victoria Manor

The vision for Hotel Etico emerged in Italy from the dream of a young man with Down Syndrome called Niccolò Vallese. In 2006, Niccolò started an internship at Tacabanda Ristorante - owned and operated by brothers Antonio and Egidio De Benedetto. It was the pair’s first experience dealing with a person who had an intellectual disability and they didn’t know what to expect, but it didn’t take long for them to see how Niccolò was flourishing and the remarkable potential he had as a hospitality professional. The De Benedetto brothers suddenly understood the need to remove the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from achieving their full potential. They asked Niccolò one day what he hoped for in the future and he responded;