Piedmont, Italy

La Villa Hotel

Price per night from$233.48

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR216.67), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Country-chic palazzo

Setting

Monferrato vineyards

Set amid rolling hills this boutique hotel in Piedmont is surrounded by spectacular scenery and some of the finest restaurants in Italy. La Villa Hotel is the ideal country hideaway; each room in the 17th-century building has been decorated with impeccable taste blending historic features with the modern essentials.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

Free breakfast, a bottle of prosecco and a box of amaretti biscuits

Facilities

Photos La Villa Hotel facilities

Need to know

Rooms

15: five suites, seven doubles.

Check–Out

11am; if guests want to stay by the pool, changing facilities are available. Check-in, 3pm–6pm. If arriving later, contact the hotel to let them know. Staff can help late arrivals until 10pm; after this time, they'll leave your keys on the reception desk.

Prices

Double rooms from £221.92 (€260), including tax at 20 per cent.

More details

Rates include breakfast.

Also

You could perfect your pasta-making skills with chef-led cookery classes; you’ll learn how to get your fusilli pasta springy and your farfalloni bow ties trim, followed by sublime sauce pairings. Of course, one cannot live on pasta alone, so charcuterie and pizza-making lessons will bulk up your gourmet repertoire. Wine-tasting and wine-appreciation classes are held in the cellar, which holds more than 200 vintages, and if you want to have a go at snaffling gastronomy's most-prized ingredient, take part in a truffle hunt in the local woods.

At the hotel

Spa, library, rental bikes and tennis racquets. In rooms: free WiFi, a minibar, tea- and coffee-making kit, locally sourced bath products, and air-conditioning.

Our favourite rooms

The Granary Junior Suite is vast, with original terracotta floors, arched ceilings, a four poster bed and a bath overlooking the vineyards. If you’re a sucker for a vista, the Terrace Suite and the peaceful Moroccan room share a fabulous private patio. The view from the claw-footed bath in the Romeo and Juliet room is also lovely.

Poolside

Outdoor pool (no diving: adults' feet can always touch the bottom).

Spa

Stress has no place here; the hotel's small spa offers an array of treatments, and has a hydromassage pool, sauna, and yoga room. There's even indoor and outdoor relaxation rooms.

Packing tips

It’s not what you take, rather the space you should leave in your luggage to cart some of the wines, cheeses, truffles, mushrooms, amaretti and other delicacies awaiting you in this the region. No need to take a hairdryer either as they provide them.

Pet‐friendly

Small, well-behaved dogs are allowed, one at a time, for €30 per stay; check availability when booking. See more pet-friendly hotels in Piedmont.

Children

Over-12s welcome. Two of the suites sport large sofa beds, suitable for families of up to four; there’s a charge of €20 a night for additional guests.

Food and Drink

Photos La Villa Hotel food and drink

Dress Code

Completamente casuale; unless you’re off to a Michelin-starred eatery, when you might want to plump for Prada.

Hotel restaurant

La Vie serves local produce and great Piemontese wines. Local chef Matteo Rossi has crafted an elegant and imaginative menu, which includes peperoni ripieni with Roccaverano cheese, sage-infused agnolotti, Piemontese beef slow-cooked in a Barolo sauce, and patate al forno. Make your dish extra decadent with white-truffle shavings – sourced in the woods nearby – and save room for the restaurant's signature tiramisu.

Hotel bar

This little enclave is the hub of the hotel. In winter, they light a wood fire; in summer, it opens onto the courtyard. Guests can drink as late as they like on an honesty-bar basis.

Room service

Light snacks for late-arriving guests, but otherwise no room service.

Location

Photos La Villa Hotel location
Address
La Villa Hotel
7 Via Torino
Casalotto
14046
Italy

Planes

The closest airport is Genoa, just an hour away. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies in from other destinations in Italy and London Stansted. The airports in Turin and Milan are other options within ninety minutes of the hotel.

Trains

The nearest train station is Nizza Monferrato, roughly a 10-minutes drive from the hotel; for train times see Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.com), or ask at the hotel - they can help with times and connections.

Automobiles

Alessandria Sud, Asti and Acqui Terme are within a half hour car journey from the hotel. Turin and Genoa are less than 90 minutes away. Nearby motorways are the A21 (Torino to Piacenza) and the A26 (Genova to Gravellona). Parking is provided.

Worth getting out of bed for

You can giddily whizz down vine-strewn hills on a bike (reception have loaners you can borrow), or make things a little easier with an e-bike (from the hotel's local supplier). Sedately trot through the glorious Piedmontese countryside on horseback. If you don't want to roam far from the hotel, tennis courts and a golf course can be found nearby. 

Local restaurants

The hotel is proud of the fact that it has the largest concentration of gourmet chefs in Italy within a 30km radius. If you want a formal Piedmont experience, Bardon del Belbo in San Marzano Oliveto (+39 0141 831340) will regale you with a set menu, and let you choose from their dazzling wine list. In summer, earmark a table on the terrace; closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. Family-run San Marco in Canelli (+39 0141 823544) is elegant but friendly; closed Tuesday evenings and Wednesdays. Michelin-star I Caffi in historic Acqui Terme, where bespoke tasting menus (think floral-roasted lamb and duck ragù) are paired with local wines from the restaurant's cellar. 

Reviews

Photos La Villa Hotel reviews
Juliet Kinsman

Anonymous review

By Juliet Kinsman, On-the-go editor

All our concentration was required not miss the turning to La Villa Hotel, off a winding country lane in the heart of Piedmont. One impressive right-angled swerve into the foliage-framed driveway and there it was: a handsome butter-coloured boutique hotel with sage-green shutters came into view. We’d barely made a crunch on the gravel when one half of the English couple behind this converted palazzo spotted us across the garden and cheerily indicated that a glass of prosecco awaited us inside. What, no queuing at reception? No bellboy to tip? This is what we call arriving.

The hotel – originally 17th-century – has undergone some impressive anti-ageing procedures. You can’t tell it is such an oldie, and I intend this as a salute to its English owners, who have given the three-storey building a fantastic new lease of life as a country hideaway. That said, it is far from bereft of classic charm: the vaulted ceilings have been preserved, the flooring is original, and the render is perfectly sympathetic, but neutral colours and unfussy, comfortable furnishings give it a modern-day freshness. We’d missed out on doing the serious Mr & Mrs Smith thing, since the two honeymoon-worthy suites were booked, but our ground-floor boudoir was charming, with its soothing simplicity, handful of antiques and slick travertine wet room.

As I was sniffing the White Company bathroom products, I was alerted to the fact that sunset was upon us by Mr Smith wielding his camera. His manly non-verbal communication skills lured me away from the handmade olive-oil soap and out onto the terrace, to make the most of this gorgeous dusky time of day. A tip for the vain: don’t turn down a snapshot at twilight. Forget Vaseline on the lens, or having to fool around in Photoshop when you get home – this flattering half-light is like cracking open a tin of insto-airbrush, so there’s no better hour to agree to pose for some holiday snaps.

As darkness fell outside, we picked up our welcome drinks from the bar in the living-room area, and wandered up to the pool. Our feet dipped in the water, a chilled glass of the local fizz in our hands, we savoured every second. It’s moments like these you yearn for again – anything for just a quick trip in a Tardis – when you’re back in front of your computer at work. ‘I’ve always been a fan of wine with holes in it,’ remarks Mr Smith, swirling his aperitif like the cat that got the cream. I was too busy snaffling another crumbly amaretto biscuit to dignify his quip with a smile.

The pool is of the intimate kind, rather than some monumental infinity affair. Having the spot all to ourselves, looking out across that countryside, was heavenly. And it wasn’t simply a case of the bubbles in the local fizz enhancing our view of undulating hills and terracotta-roofed farmhouses. As we headed back to the house for supper, we were already looking forward to soaking up the Piedmont tableau in the morning sun.

The following morning, the bright Italian sunshine roused us wonderfully early – we had big plans for the day and were grateful for the wake-up call. The husband and wife who run La Villa Hotel were on hand at breakfast on the terrace to offer suggestions of where to go sightseeing, where they could book us a table for supper, and to give us a hand with directions. After greedily sampling enough conserves, cheeses and cold meats to rival a tasting tour of Borough Market, washed down with impeccable cappuccino, we set off for a fix of culture and consumerism.

If typing in ‘Asti’ into your brain’s Google brings up images of hen-night shenanigans, then it’s time to update your mental search engine. As well as being the producer of the famous spumante, it’s a charming town, and refreshingly untouristy. We strolled its cobbled streets through the bustling food market, our grazing broken up by a whirl around some pretty churches. Duly impressed by the craftsmanship of Italian designers of centuries past, we were also quite keen to check out some more contemporary creations at the Serravalle Designer Outlet, an hour’s drive back in the direction of Milan. With Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace up to 70 per cent cheaper than in the shops, by the time we were ready for our dinner, this Mrs Smith was struggling under the weight of enough bags to rival even the most dedicated WAG.

From one indulgence to another: our next pilgrimage was in honour of the grape. La Gallina restaurant in the stylish Monterotondo di Gavi resort made a rewarding destination. The cossetting cluster of L’Ostelliere hotel, its eatery and Villa Sparina farm were created by the original champion of this vintage, so we resigned ourselves to the duty of having to sample as many variations of the fine white wine as possible. Mr Smith pointed out that our first glugs out in the open-air bar, overlooking endless vines, amid a fragrant herb garden, must have represented one of the finest tipple/terrain combos going.

Out on the terrace of La Gallina, a parade of culinary treats occupied the rest of our evening, along with a little eavesdropping – irresistible among such interesting-looking glamorous guests. But it was hard to make use of our ears when our mouths were getting so much attention – we ate mouthwatering salads, risotto, lamb cutlets and fresh fruit. Piedmont is a destination to please refined sensualists, with its epicurean delights, shopping fit for a footballer’s wife, sightseeing to sate the keenest amateur art historian... We experienced more in one day, by exploring in each direction from La Villa Hotel, than some holidaymakers do in a fortnight. So much so that we were quite prepared to spend the next day – and, quite possibly, the one after that – snoozing by the pool.

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Price per night from $233.48