chelsea2

Has anyone ever stayed at the Relais San Maurizio in Santo Stefano Belbo in the Langhe Valley of Piedmonte. We are staying there next week and I have not been able to find any user reviews anywhere. It is a Relais and Chateux property and looked pretty nice on the web site. I would appreciate any thoughts anyone might have on the property! Thanks

chelsea2

For anyone planning a trip to the Piedmont wine country (Langhe Valley - Barolo, Barbaresco, Docetto etc..) this place is fabulous. It was a former monastery overlooking vine covered hillsides just a short drive away from many top class wine producers. The rooms are lovely and restaurant and spa are great. We could have spent days on end looking at the view. The best part is this part of Italy has not yet been overrun by the hordes of tourists that our find in Tuscany. If you have the opportunity this is definitely worth a stay. I think is was far superior to the Locanda Amorosa in Tuscany, which I also liked very much.

LoriS

Thanks chelsea2. Just booked here for truffle season! We also stayed at Locanda Amorosa so that was also a great reference. Thanks for posting your review.

bellacqui

THe San Maurizio is in the part of Piemonte which rides the border between the Monferrato and the Langhe regions. It is one of the prettiest areas of Piemonte for that reason. It is certainly one of the nicer properties in the area, and is well known here.

I especially appreciate your comments, Chelsea, concerning the fact that the area is not overrun by tourists... it is far easier to take in the natural beauty and genteel nature of this areathan in the highly toured areas of Tuscany.

It is simply impossible not to be in awe of the natural beauty--which occurs without the annoyance of hundreds of tour busses.

Anyway, so glad you enjoyed the trip and remember to come back to Piemonte to explore some more!!

Diana

Sampaguita

I know the Relais San Maurizio although I haven't stayed there,its in an old converted monastery overlooking Santo Stephano and with stunning views of the the Belbo valley and Langhe hills. The Hotel is quite luxurious and expensive by local standards, and they offer "Vinotherapy" spa treatments, ie they bath you in wine and use wine packs instead of mudpacks, some guests of ours attending a wedding went there as part of the bride's pre-nuptials and said they were very pampered. There is also a branch of the famous Da Guido restaurant at the Relais, with Lidia (the original mama cook) running the kitchen but sorry to say we were disapointed by the quality and the high price (maybe we had a bad night). However in the nearby towns there are many great restaurants (try the Stazione in Santo Stephano, or the Castello di Mango, or if you really are adventurous as the road is windy, the original I Caffi in Caffi in the Monferrato Alto hills on the other side of the Belbo is wonderful).

bellacqui

I Caffi (I agree with Sampi, one of the best in the area) is officially in Cassinasco, which one can find in the quadrant of countryside between Loazzolo and Cannelli.

There is now a second I Caffi here in Acqui Terme which emulates the first in terms of its high quality.

The other which is in that area that I rave about is Il Bardon, which is one of the absolutely best restaurants I have visited for rustic, mouthwatering Piedmont cuisine. It is frequented by all of the old wine families of the Nizza Monferrato area. It is between Calamandrana and St. Stefano Belbo.

Sampaguita

DD, lucky you to have eaten at Bardon, I won't tell you how many times we tried to get in on our first year here, but they were eithet booked or closed and it wasn't even fieria yet. Have you tried the Violetta going between Calamandrana and San Marzano? Its also very very good.