In the know
- Our favourite rooms
- Palazzo delle Logge overlooks the village square and the Medici gate. For views out to the Apennines from the lounge and balcony, pick Casa sulle Botteghe. All the dimly lit and atmospheric rooms are minimalist and mediaeval, with working fireplaces, stone walls and wooden doors. The beds are high enough to fit a chamber pot beneath (there are real flushing toilets in each bedroom now) and have hand-stuffed woollen mattresses.
- Packing tips
- Dante and Petrarch verses to recite when the mediaeval mood takes over; mountain-friendly shoes and layers.
- Also
- Stake out the library: a place of wooden beams and painted ceilings, where you can browse the odd ancient tome over afternoon tea.
Current offers
- Smith card offer
- Wine tasting on arrival, a tour of the village and free mountain bike and snow racket hire. Members staying three nights or more will also receive a complimentary dinner for two
- Current special offer
More photos
Sextantio Albergo Diffuso
Abruzzo, Italy[view map]
- Style
- Fortress conversion
- Setting
- Scattered around Santo Stefano
Sextantio Albergo Diffuso is a brand new boutique concept: bits of the hotel are spread around a micro-village in the Italian Apennines. It’s a throw-back to the Middle Ages, with craftwork made by villagers, restoration-revived traditions and rustic simplicity maintaining the hilly hamlet’s mediaeval charm, but with modern luxury seamlessly incorporated.
Need to know
- Rooms
- 27, including seven suites.
- Rates
- €220–€450, including Continental breakfast and tax.
- Check-out
- 11am, but flexible if there’s availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
- Facilities
- Library and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: minibar and artisan bath products.
- Also
- Pets are allowed at no extra cost.
Food & drink
- Hotel restaurant
- Locanda Sotto gli Archi serves Abruzzese cuisine in a rustic 16th-century building. Try traditional antipasti such as pork liver salami, prosciutto and the freshest ricotta. The speciality pasta of the area is also rustled up in the kitchens: strips of chitarrini are made using a guitar-shaped tool to shape the pasta sheets. A breakfast spread of home-made pastries, tarts and cakes is laid out in the bar every morning.
- Dress code
- Humble hemp and cotton to match the ancient earthen surroundings.
- Top table
- Close to the huge fireplace when the mountain temperature drops.
- Last orders
- Breakfast from 8am until 10.30am, lunch between 1pm and 3pm and dinner from 8pm until 10pm. The bar shuts at 11pm.
- Room service
- None.
- Hotel bar
- Head to La Cantinone in the cosy wine cellar for aperitifs and antipasti. If the local red doesn’t take your fancy, the digestifs will: try the bitter herb-based genziana, or the sweet cherry ratafia. There’s also the Liquorificio, where a selection of local liqueurs are offered, as well as benches with digestifs dotted around the communal areas.
Also worth knowing
- Children
- Cots and extra beds are provided free. Babysitting with a local nanny costs €15 an hour (give a day’s notice).
- Weddings
- This hotel is suitable for weddings. More…
Smith members offer
Wine tasting on arrival, a tour of the village and free mountain bike and snow racket hire. Members staying three nights or more will also receive a complimentary dinner for two
Our members get a little something extra at every hotel they book with us. Just show your Mr & Mrs Smith card at check-in to claim.
Not a member? Join now
Book online
To book this hotel please click here, or contact our travel team on 1 866 610 3867. We guarantee you'll get the best available rates, and we don't charge a booking fee.
