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At Piemonte's Villa Tiboldi, A Home Away From Home

Hotels | Italy | By Butterfield & Robinson

Villa TiboldiIt is a rare treat to feel so at home while on the road, but we’ve grown quite accustomed to the comforts of Villa Tiboldi, a stylish and exclusive retreat tucked away in Piemonte. Owned and lovingly run by Patrizia Damonte and her husband Roberto, B&R has been fortunate over the years to develop a wonderful bond with this generous couple (and is the only active travel company to stay here).

As B&R trip planner, Marya Dumont points out, “We love staying here because it’s like being invited to a friend’s villa amid the vineyards. The rooms are beautiful, full of character and of personal little touches that go beyond hotel design and share something of Patrizia’s taste. It’s on an intimate scale and is incredibly relaxing.”

[quote] The rooms are beautiful, full of character and personal little touches that go beyond hotel design[/quote]

This is the land from where the Slow Food movement first established its roots, and the Damontes have embraced its ideals in cultivating that spirit of agriturismo hospitality. Appropriate, given the agricultural roots of the region, but more so because Roberto and his brother Massimo run the Malvirà winery, an enterprise that not only produces some of the top wines in the Roero region, but also served as inspiration to eventually open the Villa Tiboldi to guests.

Villa TiboldiSays Roberto, “It all began with the vineyards.” Specifically, the winery had steadily bought up the land on two sides of the Villa Tiboldi, and when the Trinità vineyards came up for sale, they promptly snapped it up. Robert recounts, “These vineyards happened to have a beautiful building atop them in a lovely, sunny spot, the Villa Tiboldi, built in the 1750s and abandoned for the past 40 years.”

With painstaking detail, the Damontes decided to restore the building rather than build from the ground up—a four-year labour of love since the villa never had running water, electricity or working toilets. Today, though, the Villa is imbued with a warmth and style that reflects the hospitality of its owners. Says Patrizia, “We are always meeting fantastic people, guests who over time become friends. Having a hotel is like opening a window to the world. The world comes to find you, and each brings something of their experience, of their family. They all come with the desire to enjoy themselves, to relax, to laugh, to get to know new people, and to talk. Everyone comes with a happy mindset.”

It’s that sort of passion, commitment and personable treatment that has drawn us to Villa Tiboldi, and that continually encourages B&R to find and connect with those people and places that make a world of difference.