5 Best Hotels in Alba, Piedmont and the Valle d'Aosta

It would be hard to imagine a more commanding position for these simply but tastefully decorated accommodations and the Michelin-starred restaurant above Alba. Ten minutes outside town, the inn sits on the top of a langa (one of the hills that form the Langhe region) surrounded by vineyards. Old prints, wooden furniture, and country-style patterned fabrics enliven the rooms, but the place to unwind is the upstairs lounge, with panoramic windows and a fireplace.

The first luxury hotel in Piedmont, opened in 2002 inside a 17th-century monastery, is still one of the most extravagant places to stay in the region, with a 10,764-square-foot spa, an outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, and a Michelin-star restaurant. Guest rooms feature vaulted ceilings, and some boast fireplaces and terraces. The fabulous spa includes salt pools, a salt cave, and a hammam, plus there’s a heated outdoor pool and a gym in a separate building. They also offer wine therapy, with a bath and sauna inside repurposed Barolo wine barrels. The Michelin-starred restaurant Guido da Costigliole occupies the former cellars in the basement, while the more casual Origini Bistrot offers dishes with ingredients grown in their own gardens.

This art-filled boutique hotel (one of the two sister-owners is a photographer) surrounded by vineyards exudes a sense of casual luxury and a modern design aesthetic, from the sitting room with an open fireplace to the lively outdoor pool with retro snack bar. Guest rooms in soothing colors include vintage furnishings, high-end fabrics, and mod brightly tiled bathrooms (all with showers). Enjoy well-prepared seasonal dishes for lunch or dinner in the arch-ceilinged restaurant, or nibbles outside by the pool in the summer season. The large yoga studio (an instructor is available with advance booking) affords wonderful views, and you can borrow bikes for free to explore the surrounding hillsides.

This lovely manor house is on a hill overlooking the historic center, surrounded by dolcetto and nebbiolo vines. Beautifully decorated, reasonably priced rooms and suites are in the main house and an adjacent farmhouse, and some have kitchens.

This carefully restored 19th-century town house has charm and character that set it apart from the other, more business-oriented hotels in Alba. The rooms are decorated individually in a contemporary style, and the location—on a quiet backstreet steps from the city center—can't be beat. A fine buffet breakfast is served in the vaulted basement.