I was going to stay at CASINA REINE but they will be closed in December. <BR>Has anyone stayed in other good hotel in Alba? <BR>Thanks, <BR>Eduardo

Where is Alba?

Have you heard about the Le Langhe region in the Piemonte? What about the Barbera or Dolcetto d'Alba wines? <BR> <BR>Eduardo, I don't believe you have to make reservations. Every hotel that'll be open should be quite empty. <BR> <BR>Anyway, you may try to contact the 4-star hotel "I Castelli" (looks rather weird, though), which should be open. Doubles are listed at Lit 180,000, Suites at 230,000 and suites at 243,000. Give a look at <BR>http://www.hotel-icastelli.com/index.htm <BR> <BR>Once you're interested in wines, maybe it would be worth to give a look at these 2 sites (if you haven't yet): <BR>http://langhe.com/default.htm <BR>http://www.langhe.monferrato.roero.it/ <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Alba's in the Piedmont area of Italy. Eduardo, you might consider looking at Asti which has more hotels and is not too far from Alba.

Dear Paulo, <BR> <BR>Many thanks for your comments. <BR>I checked the Hotel I castelli but I did not found it very typical. The Hotel looks like more a business Hotel, but in any case I will check Le Langhe region as Alba, althought is the Barolo area, I could onlyy visit but not stay there. <BR>Do you have any other suggestions for Le Langhe area ? <BR>Many thanks, <BR> <BR>Eduardo

Dear Kam, <BR> <BR>Thanks for your suggestion ! <BR>Have you been in Asti ? <BR>What would you recomend to do and where to saty in Asti ? <BR> <BR>Many thanks, <BR> <BR>Eduardo

Eduardo, as you already know, I never spent a night in all of Piedmont. As it looks, very few Fodorites spent a night in the Le Langhe area. Considering the time of year you're travelling, unless you get a firm indication of a nice hotel, my opinion is that you shouldn't worry and play it by ear. Just drive to the area without any hotel reservations. Sure, most probably half of the hotels will be closed but there still will be plenty of them open and each of these for sure won't be booked out. You're therefore not taking any risks at all and you'll have the opportunity to eventually find a "jewell" that you wouldn't otherwise. Grab this opportunity ... leave some "holes" in your plan to be taken care of at the spur of the moment. <BR> <BR>I agree with your observations on the I Castelli (that's why I referred to it as looking "weird"). But this could work as an insurance (you know it's open) in case (1 chance out of 100) you aren't able to find anything fitting your taste. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>