La Villa Hotel

Sometimes the simplest names conceal the most impressive hotels. Amid the vineyard-covered hills of Piedmont is a 16th-century palazzo, once a winery, now a family-owned luxury boutique hotel, operating under the extremely understated name that is La Villa. And if the concept — a country-house hotel in a region well known for extraordinary food and wine — is simple enough to grasp, it would be difficult to reproduce the care with which La Villa’s proprietors have crafted the experience, from the meticulous restoration of the historical elements to the thoughtfully collected antique furniture and the judiciously chosen modern interventions.

It remains as intimate as ever, with a mere 15 rooms and suites, each one of them a unique blend of original architecture and an eclectic array of furnishings and objects. Even the lone single room offers plenty of comfort, and it’s in the suites that La Villa’s considerable decorative diversity is on display. And while this is no resort, the house’s old cellars are now home to a beautiful little spa, and La Villa’s restaurant, La Vie, serves exquisite Piedmontese cuisine in a dining room that opens onto a courtyard with a view, alongside wine tastings and classes in Italian cooking.