Borgo Della Marmotta

Facilities: Guests enjoy the hotel's beautiful gardens and pool area, which offer relaxation in a picturesque setting. The public rooms are comfortable and inviting, and amenities such as a ping-pong table and honesty bar add to the leisure experience.

I am surprised to see so many mediocre reviews for this charming property. My friend and I visited in April, outside of the busy season, and had a great experience. We booked a 2 bedroom suite that had two large bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a spacious living room and was excellent value. The hotel’s restaurant was very busy, despite being off season. The food was great and most people were locals. Breakfast was also very good. The grounds and public rooms were charming, with many places to relax. Cannot comment on the pool as it was not open yet. This is not a fancy five star place but very authentic and typically Italian. We loved it.

We booked 4 nights at the end of a 10 days in Umbria. The other two places where we stayed were excellent and we hoped the Borgo would also be a good choice. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. Despite the emphasis on it being a "home from home", the owners - who were only in evidence our first day - didn't seem to be "hands on" and their staff [with the exception of the ladies at breakfast] appeared to have little interest in looking after guests. This may have been because it was the end of a busy summer but we left feeling distinctly underwhelmed. In addition: 1. Our "superior" room [7-6] which bore no resemblance to any of the website photographs/descriptions. It was small and so dark that we had to turn the lights on in the middle of the day. The double bed was two singles pushed together, there was nowhere to sit and the bathroom needed a complete re-vamp. As the room is close to a busy lane, there was a lot of traffic noise and we could also hear the guests next door and below us. Small touches like providing bottles of water and umbrellas would have been nice and the absence of mosquito netting on the window was surprising. 2. The restaurant. We had dinner on our first and last evenings. On the second occasion, three of the main courses on the a la carte menu were unavailable so the choice was very limited. Service lacked attention to detail - this included being shown to a table for two with only one chair and left to find another one ourselves! We had much better food and service eating out in Spoleto and Montefalco. 3. Outside "events" and how these impact guests. On the Sunday there was a large lunch in the garden close to the swimming pool. Guests were given no warning of this and it was only apparent from the preparations which began during breakfast and continued all morning. Once the party started, the noise and numerous small children coming to play round the pool made it impossible for guests to use the area. When we mentioned this to reception, the response was that they hadn't expected so many people! However, as one of the staff said there are often "events" at weekends, the Borgo needs to think about how these affect guests - particularly as it claims to offer a peaceful and relaxing environment. Based on our recent experience, we are unlikely to stay there again.