Relais Ducale - Gubbio, Italy     

We stayed at the Ducale for 6 nights in July, having booked directly with the hotel. We requested a junior suite with a terrace, and got a beautiful room (the Duke di Montefeltro suite I think) at the top of the hotel. The room was excellent, but it's crowning glory was the terrace, boasting stupendous views across Gubbio and the entire valley that lies before the town. Nothing short of breathtaking and definitely worth the (not inconsiderable) price. Room 402! As noted, the room was excellent, fully equipped, with good air con, excellent bathroom, large and comfortable bed and nothing whatsoever to complain about. The service in the hotel was nothing short of outstanding in all respects. From our delightful welcome - we were even introduced to the dog - to the friendly and accommodating service at the bar and breakfast, the staff were faultless. Incidentally, don't even try to drive up to the hotel, there's no point: just get to the Piazza Martiri in the centre of Gubbio and phone the Ducale and they will come and get you, guiding you - at some speed! - to an underground car park 5-10 minutes walk from the hotel (10 Euros a day roughly) and then shuttling you and your luggage to the hotel. Just drop them a mail in advance and they will give you all the details. Breakfast was excellent, with the added bonus of being able to use the hotel's small bar area in the main piazza out front. For some bizarre reason that escapes me utterly, most people seemed to prefer to sit inside to eat, which often left us to breakfast in regal solitude outdoors, surrounded by the simply magnificent palazzo's that line 3 sides of the piazza. Again, almost worth the price of admission alone. The piazza does get used for all kinds of things, so on some morning's you will find the local commune busily building anything from stages to grandstands, but that just adds to the charm. It's certainly not a dead space: during our stay the piazza hosted a three night volleyball tournament and a free gig by a venerable Italian rock band, i Nomadi. You can also lunch at the hotel, again sitting outside in the piazza, and the standard of food was outstanding. Especially the ice cream ... As for Gubbio: gorgeous, and the same goes for Umbria in general. The town is very quiet, and astonishingly un-touristy, with no real "cafe life" centre as you might find in similar Tuscan towns. You very much feel like you are in unspoilt Italy. But be prepared for hills: flat it ain't. There are plenty of decent restaurants, including the hotel's sister eateries, the Bosone and Lupo. Both are excellent. If you go to the Bosone, be prepared for the irrepressible Mario to force feed you Tiramisu whether you like it or not! Fortunately, it happens to be about the best Tiramisu you will ever eat. We also visited Urbino (lovely) and Assisi. We were expecting the latter to be a hell of tourists, worshippers and idolatrous tat, but in fact we found it remarkably quiet and surprisingly unspoilt. The chapels were pleasingly uncrowded and once we made it up into the town we found it a delightful place to be. Overall, we found Umbria to be prettier than Tuscany, but much, much quieter - there isn't a huge amount to do, so it's great for a rest. The Ducale: great. I'd stay there again tomorrow.

The Relais Ducale was a former palazzo of the Duke of Monefeltro:in part we stayed here because of our fasination with the Duke,his portraits painted by Piero della Francesca,and his celebrated commitment to the arts. This hotel is wonderful and an authentic piece of history,which the hotel owners have been careful to preserve. The rooms are tastefully furnished with antiques and the rooms' ceilings of exposed timbers are probably the original.Interestingly enough,in spite of its age,the hotel is one of the few in Italy(that we stayed in) which provides internet service.The breakfast here was lovely and the views from the terrace amazing. The staff was so polite and genuinely courteous in a very traditional way.Everything was and is as one would imagine the hilltowns would be.We were last in Gubbio over twenty years ago and it and the hotel did not disappoint. The two restaurants we ate at( Taverna del Lupo and Bosone Garden,both owned by the family which owns the hotel) were the finest restaurants we ate at on our month long trip this summer. Ask Mario at the Bosone Garden to design his special menu for you.It was unbelievable. Gubbio is still extremely affordable by Americans unlike most of the big cities and will be a wonderful experience!