Authentic country retreat with stunning views in Piedmont wine region
La Villa / Mombaruzzo / Piedmont / Italy
Piedmont in northwest Italy is a region of rolling hills, cute ancient villages and great food and wine (the Slow Food movement was actually born here). But interestingly enough this is an area many times overlooked by visitors coming to Italy on account of crowd pleaser Tuscany, a region that draws in the crowds by the millions. It is a shame in one way but really great in another since this still means that there are parts of Piedmont where you actually find yourself to be the only non-Italian in a crowd.
In this beautiful area great hotels are actually fairly hard to find but there is at least one that is well worth staying at. It is called La Villa and is an old castle (dating back to the 16th century) sitting high up on a hill looking out at the surroundings with its rolling hills covered with vineyards.
When owners Nicola and Chris stumbled upon this place and bought it back in 2003 it was in desperate need of some (no, a lot of) love and affection. They poured their souls into it and in 2005 they opened this amazing, authentic hotel. I must say that they did an excellent job with preserving the soul and heritage of the old castle, which they have honored rather than erase.
There are 15 rooms at La Villa and they are all totally different. Ours was designed with somewhat discreet colors, vintage furniture and original floor tiles. They describe their style as country chic and it totally makes sense.
When Nicola and Chris built the hotel their ambition was to create the kind of place they would want to stay at themselves. Good to see we have the same kind of taste because this is totally up my alley.
Welcome to La Villa Hotel, waiting for you in the middle of a vineyard.
The tree-lined road leading up to the hotel.
I mean, just look at this view that greets you when you have parked your car. I can almost smell the flowers when looking at this photo. I hope you can too.
The main building. Our room was on the first floor, the one with the balcony.
Vintage furniture, vintage floor tiles and vintage lamps feel totally right in this kind of place. And since the owners are British, of course there is a kettle so you can make yourself a cup of tea.
Me heading for the pool. Or was it to have a glass of wine in the afternoon sun. It was probably both.
The hotel is sitting on a hill with amazing views of the surroundings.
There are so many hidden areas at the hotel where you can retreat with a book and something to drink. Or just to enjoy the views from.
The pool, surrounded by greenery. I loved to be able to smell the lavender flowers when enjoying my morning dip in the cool water.
The view from our room of the garden. The British really do love their gardens and they sure know how to take care of them.
Piedmont in the Autumn. We managed to come here during harvest season when nature is showing its most impressive colors.
Sunset over the rolling hills of Piedmont.
The food at the hotel is super! This desert blew my mind. It is a deconstructed tiramisù. I wish I could marry it. It was that good!
Me during an excursion to a nearby village, waiting for my friends to finish their wine shopping so we could return to the hotel.
RG inside info
This place is perfect if you…
…are looking for a place off the beaten track. The kind of place where you’ll find all the things us foreigners are looking for when staying at a rural hotel in Italy. It is interesting how many of these kind of hotels are actually run by non-Italians. Maybe it is easier to bring an Italian dream to life if you weren’t brought up in it.
My favorite thing about this place…
…is the (cheesiness alert!) the love you feel that has gone into creating this place. This is not your run of the mill Italian country retreat. This is a labour of love by Nicola and Chris (who sadly passed away in 2018) and you feel it when you stay here. It is great to feel this welcomed!
What not to miss when staying here is…
…to talk wine with Nicola. There isn’t much she doesn’t know about the local wines. If you want to go somewhere to taste and buy wine, she can direct you to the right place. Or if you just want to have some really good red wine with your dinner, Nicola is your woman. I still dream of some of the local Barolo’s we drank when staying here.
If you like this hotel you might also like…
La Bandita Country House, Pienza, Tuscany, Italy
Chateau de Raay, Baarlo, Netherlands
Wanås Castle, Knisslinge, Sweden
