Altarocca Wine Resort is a fantastic retreat for those who want to get away from it all, but also who want to visit the nearby town of Orvieto during their stay. We stayed here for 2 nights in the middle of our Honeymoon, on our way to a longer stay in Tuscany and on the Italian Riviera.
We actually added this hotel and stop to our itinerary after, while I was planning our stay, I noticed that a friend of mine from the UK had just stayed here and had posted some photos on Facebook of his stay. I had to find out where this place was. Luckily, my friend answered my frantic FB chats almost immediately and gave me some info and his full recommendation.
Full disclosure: I formerly worked for a company in Argentina that has built and now operates a wine resort and spa in Mendoza, and I really wanted to see Altarocca Wine Resort especially due to my love of wine and curiosity!
We arrived just before dusk, which was unfortunate because the views from the resort are simply amazing.
One of the views from Altarocca Wine Resort
You really feel like you are in the middle of a serene scene out of a movie. We did manage to get a few beautiful sunset shots, though:
The rolling hills of Umbria make for some scintillating scenery.
Little rocky mountain-top
Sofia, the lovely bilingual manager at the front desk was fantastic; she was so helpful in helping us make reservations for wine tastings (although they didn’t work out because everywhere was full for the day, she recommended some great places in Orvieto at which we could taste the wines of the region and get something to eat), called us taxis whenever we were leaving to go into town, and she adjusted our thermostat in the room while we were out one day since we complained there was no air conditioning – it was blasting heat overnight and we were roasting!
Panorama shot from up near the upper apartments on property.
That was the only downside of our stay; apparently, the thermostat needs to be switched over from summer mode to winter mode in the room and with the changes in temperature, we didn’t know this before going to sleep on a relatively warmer night..and woke up at 3am, sweaty and uncomfortable and suffered until the morning when we discovered that this was the issue! (American digital thermostats generally go from hot to cold without needing professional intervention.)
The bathroom in the room was fantastic and the shower was phenomenal. My husband and I both commented about how great it was after each of our showers – so that’s how good it was.
Our room was on the smaller side compared to the other rooms we stayed in during our trip but it was brand new and well appointed, with tiled floors, a large bathroom and a comfortable bed. It was in the main building on the (European) first floor – it was the Melograno (pomegranate) room.
The property is littered with fruit trees, vineyards, olive groves and more.
All of the rooms (in the main building at least) are named after flowers or fruits – i.e. Girasole (sunflower), etc.. The veranda was perfect for enjoying a glass of wine or coffee while overlooking the rolling hills of vineyards and olive trees below.
The view from our veranda. Not bad, eh?
We probably could have (SHOULD have) stayed one extra day in order to take advantage of the spa services, but I can personally attest to the fact that the wine from the winery here was excellent (with beautiful package design) and we enjoyed a few bottles during our stay. We even made a few friends in the common areas of the hotel – drinking wine and sharing stories sitting on the comfortable sofas and plush armchairs.
Part of the on-site wine shop in the main building.
The value for the money was unbeatable. We had found a seasonal promotion on the hotel’s official website, and it included breakfast as well as a discounted rate. Stay on weekdays to save even more money.
It’s a shame that it was a little too cold to go swimming while we were here, because there are two pools on-site to enjoy. The upper pool has a bar and grill as well.
A real, working property, there are even some farm dogs roaming around. This particular little girl was super friendly and loved a belly rub.
Finally, the on-site restaurant was fantastic. We actually ate there both nights during our stay, as we were so impressed with our first meal there. It was a great feature when we wanted to just relax and stay in after a long day of sightseeing. More on the restaurant in a bit!
How to get to Altarocca Wine Resort:
Okay, so here’s the tricky part. The resort is up a very windy, narrow road about 10-15 minutes’ drive from the train station at Orvieto. The road signs are very visible and it’s very well sign-posted. However, the road is basically a switchback going up a steep hill and there are sometimes pedestrians walking up or down the road completely randomly. In short, I would have felt really uncomfortable driving it myself. It’s do-able, but a little too anxiety-inducing for my tastes.
We took a taxi to and from the hotel and city center and it was about 20 euros each way. Not cheap, but considering we really only came and went once a day, it was not bad. There were taxis waiting at the train station to be hailed, and they called us a taxi at the resort whenever we needed one, but give yourself about a 10 minute lead before you want to leave in order to arrange for a taxi.
Altarocca Wine Resort
Loc. Rocca Ripesena, 62 – 05010 Orvieto
Phone: +39 0763 344210 / 393437
We would definitely stay here at the Altarocca Wine Resort again next time we find ourselves in Umbria. What about you?
