We are thinking of visiting Le Marche at the end of a trip to Croatia this summer -- the postings suggest that taking the boat across to Ancona is easy. We are having some difficulty finding hotel recommendations for Le Marche, however, as most guidebooks seem to give the area little coverage. We are most interested in staying in a nice charming hotel in the northern part of the region (within day trip of Urbino), but might like to split our time between two hotels and venture south if there is a nice place there too. We would so appreciate specific hotel recommendations (B&B ideas welcome too) -- we would like to stay in the nicest accommodation possible, so "high-end" places would be great to know about. Thanks in advance for any help!

The converted Abbey on top of Monte Conero might fit your needs. I believe it has appeared on another thread here and you can certainly find it online. I will keep an eye on this thread and if you still have difficulties will pull out my file on the area once I am back at my "real" desk-we were just in the Marche last month and had a wonderful time.

I assume that I was the poster noted above. I have stayed at the Monte Conero Hotel twice. It is on top of the promentory, is well run and has a good kitchen. Since Umbria is becoming Tuscanized, Le Marche is more and more alluring. The town of Sirolo at the base of the promentory is very engaging and about halfway between Sirolo and Ancona is the "town" of Portonovo, a parking lot with a few beachy ristoranti that support the seemingly thousands of weekend beach seekers. (The hotel has a website.)

Thank you both for your thoughts. One other question for you -- have either of you stayed in charming hotels or B&Bs that you would recommend that are inland rather than at the coast? We are going to be in Le Marche in August and given that we are not beach people ourselves, thought it might be wise to stay inland while others enjoy the coast....

Suggest your try Agritourismo websites for inland inns with charm...lots to choose from in the Marche. While in the Monte Conero area (and it is not on the coast, BTW, but inland about 5-8 miles) check out the following places to eat in Sirolo, which is on the coast: Sara's for simple seafood and Rocco's for more elegant fare but both superb. You must reserve in advance.Have a wonderful time!!!

I might suggest visiting the town of Macerata, about an hour and a half south of Urbino. It is a charming hill town about half an hour inland, easily reachable by train. It's especially nice during August due to the opera season. Macerata has the 2nd largest outdoor opera house outside of Verona, called the Sferisterio, and every year it gains a good deal of visitors as a result. The best hotel in town is Hotel Claudiani, but it might cost you a bit since it's opera season. Another hotel that's nice is the Hotel Lauri. Check out this site for more details on accomodation, the opera season, and Macerata in general: http://www.maceratagallery.it/ .

Consider also heading further south to Ascoli Piceno. My experience with Le Marche is the further south you get, the more interesting the landscape is. The hill towns from Macerata down to Ascoli are delightful.