Santo Stefano di Sessanio
Sextantio Albergo Diffuso
Travelzoo Staff
Why We Love This Hotel
- This boutique hotel is in a medieval hilltop borgo in Abruzzo
- It was named one of Condé Nast Traveller's Gold Standard Hotels in 2014
- Set within the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, the hotel is around an hour's drive from the sea and two hours' drive from Rome
Overview
Sextantio Albergo Diffuso is a boutique hotel in the Abruzzo region, "home to some of Italy's wildest terrain: silent valleys, abandoned hill-villages and vast untamed mountain plains", says Rough Guides. The hotel occupies several historic buildings in Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a medieval hilltop borgo (village) with cobbled streets and stone buildings.
It sits within the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park -- a mountainous region that is a "haven for wildlife" (Lonely Planet) and is home to wolves, chamois and royal eagles. The hotel is an hour and 15 minutes' drive from Pescara on the coast, which offers 16 kilometres of sandy beaches, and two hours' drive from Rome.
Locanda sotto gli Archi, the hotel's restaurant, serves local dishes using native ingredients. The dining room has a rustic look, with a large stone fireplace, antique furniture and handmade crockery. Guests can also attend wine tastings at The Cantinone (wine cellar), or order herbal tea and homemade cake at Tisaneria, the hotel's tearoom. The property also has its own shop, La Bottega dell'Artigianato, where you can buy handmade local produce, such as soap and hand-woven fabrics, as well as the glassware and ceramics that are used at the hotel.
Housed in different buildings throughout the village, the bedrooms are all individual. The buildings were restored in the 1970s in collaboration with the Museum of the People of Abruzzo, and interiors mix historically accurate architecture and antique furnishings with king-size beds and up-to-the-minute fittings, such as designer bathtubs.
