Relais San Maurizio — Hotel in Santo Stefano Belbo

Our concierge at the Mandarin Oriental in Lake Como recommended this resort to us as a way for us to spend an extra 2 days that we had no set plans for before we headed to Milan, and since it was also during the area's white truffle festival, we decided it sounded great --plus since we love Italian wine, so we loved the thought of being in the area's famous wine region to also wine taste.||The grounds are beautiful and the photos and website did not seem to disappoint, however however, sadly, the service and food were absolutely abysmal. The staff seemed totally uninterested and totally unhelpful. At check-in we were greeted by the desk person who made the comment at check in that, "Oh, I see you booked our smallest room," which I found very rude and with no offer to upgrade us. (We used Amex Platinum card.) He seemed extremely distracted by other guests milling about and when we inquired about dinner, he muttered that their "Michelin rated" restaurant was booked and we may have to find someplace else to eat. (Later, after being told they could accommodate an 8 p.m. reservation we saw there was over half the tables empty in the restaurant!) Upon check-in he told us to wait in the garden with their welcome drink-- an incredibly overly sweet Moscato-- which was so sweet we could not drink it, and that he would come back and give us a property tour. (It would have been so nice to have been offered a choice of red OR white given we are smack in the middle of the wine country.) Over an HOUR later, we were still sitting there. I was getting very annoyed. Finally we got his quick, seemingly rushed tour and then went to our room. The room was underwhelming with an ugly blocked roof view, and the shower pan did not drain well, and the bed was very firm. Whatever! We were dead set to have a good time. The clerk had called to say he found us a 8 p.m. reservation at their in-house "Michelin" rated restaurant. Wow, was that ever a total disappointment. The pasta was in no way homemade, and the menu was extremely odd and not good at all. Later the bartender in the bar made a rude remark when I tried to order a Barbera, chastising me that why would I want that heavy of a red to start with? He then mentioned the wines in his home country (Argentina) were better than Italy! Ok.... we are literally in Italy's wine country and to hear this was so odd. Another super off-putting comment by the first check-in clerk happened the next day when we came back to the property after having explored the town of Alba, and when we mentioned we had seen some amazing and beautiful churches earlier in the day, he responded by saying, and I quote, "Oh, I am not a church-type person." Wow. Ok. You are literally working in a beautiful old restored monastery that housed monks living under religious vows, and this is your response to your guests? STRANGE! ||This property claims to be a 5-star resort but truly it is barely a 3-star. The management needs to send ALL their staff back to training. Just having come from the Mandarin Oriental Lake Como, it was such a shock to us the sheer lack of attention to detail, the clear disinterest to make their guests feel welcome, no special service, nothing extra done to feel appreciated and special. It has so much potential with the amazing location, but they wholly missed the mark. For this place to call themselves a 5-Star resort is unfathomable...

We adored Relais San Maurizio. The location is beautiful, surrounded by the glorious vineyards, close to Asti and the famous winemakers of the region. The hotel is in a former Cistercian monastery and is a magical place where there is a feeling of harmony and happiness. The gardens are a most enjoyable place to walk and explore, to see the beautiful old trees and visit the monks' herb garden and meditation place. We really enjoyed the peacefulness. The rooms are lovely and light, and characterful. The two restaurants, the Guido Michelin starred restaurant and the bistro, were both excellent and you could enjoy the magnificent view of the Swiss mountain Monte Rosa in the distance from the restaurant terrace. The breakfast is fantastic and is served in the garden with the buffet in the old chapel, a beautiful building where there is the added interest of the contemporary wall art by artist David Tremlett - it look absolutely splendid. We had a very enjoyable and informative wine tasting in the bar with the somelière which we really enjoyed. All the staff in the restaurants and the bar were fabulous, as were all the staff at the reception and the pools/wellness centre and throughout the hotel. The gym is very usable and has good equipment, and it is housed in a pleasant space with lovely view. The hotel's wellness centre is quite special - we loved the salt cave with various salt baths and temperature contrast bath, and we made the most of this by using these wonderful facilities every day of our stay. The reception staff were very helpful, made some excellent recommendations and made sure we had everything we needed. The hotel is superbly run and everyone is efficient, friendly and quite charming. We couldn't fault anything. At San Maurizio everything comes together in a most magical and serene atmosphere. What a wonderful holiday! I would love to visit again, maybe next time with more of my family, and I wholeheartedly...

We adored Relais San Maurizio. The location is beautiful, surrounded by the glorious vineyards, close to Asti and the famous winemakers of the region. The hotel is in a former Cistercian monastery and is a magical place where there is a feeling of harmony and happiness. The gardens are a most enjoyable place to walk and explore, to see the beautiful old trees and visit the monks' herb garden and meditation place. We really enjoyed the peacefulness. The rooms are lovely and light, and characterful. The two restaurants, the Guido Michelin starred restaurant and the bistro, were both excellent and you could enjoy the magnificent view of the Swiss mountain Monte Rosa in the distance from the restaurant terrace. The breakfast is fantastic and is served in the garden with the buffet in the old chapel, a beautiful building where there is the added interest of the contemporary wall art by artist David Tremlett - it look absolutely splendid. We had a very enjoyable and informative wine tasting in the bar with the somelière which we really enjoyed. All the staff in the restaurants and the bar were fabulous, as were all the staff at the reception and the pools/wellness centre and throughout the hotel. The gym is very usable and has good equipment, and it is housed in a pleasant space with lovely view. The hotel's wellness centre is quite special - we loved the salt cave with various salt baths and temperature contrast bath, and we made the most of this by using these wonderful facilities every day of our stay. The reception staff were very helpful, made some excellent recommendations and made sure we had everything we needed. The hotel is superbly run and everyone is efficient, friendly and quite charming. We couldn't fault anything. At San Maurizio everything comes together in a most magical and serene atmosphere. What a wonderful holiday! I would love to visit again, maybe next time with more of my family, and I wholeheartedly...