If you ever visit Umbria, the green heart of Italy, please do yourself a favor and don’t stay in an ordinary hotel. Stay in a local farmhouse or better yet, stay in a castle. First of all, castles are usually situated in great locations with fantastic views. Second, they are much more intimate. And last but not the least, you don’t get to wake up as a king or a princess every day, right? If you do, please drop me a line and tell me your secret 😉 Castello di Giomici (Giomici castle in English) is a pet friendly retreat that offers perfect getaway from everyday hustle and bustle in the green oasis of Umbria.

Location

Giomici castle is located 30 km from Perugia, on top of a hill, overlooking the enchanting Chiascio Valley. You can easily reach the property with GPS – once you reach the small paved road leading up the hill you can follow the signs, everything is well marked. The closest large supermarket Conad (with awesome Italian products, open even on Sundays) is located 20 km away, which can come very handy if you want to buy some groceries and have a romantic picnic in the castle.

The castle

Castello di Giomici was built in the eleventh century and it has managed to preserve its’ medieval spirit despite the contemporary renovation. All the facilities are meticulously decorated – from the reception and dining room, to the halls where you can relax, cook your own tea or even play hand football. There is enough parking space for everyone, free of charge. Free wi-fi is also provided and the signal was good.

The rooms

Giomici castle has 9 rooms, all equipped in rustic style, offering everything you need. I especially loved the details such as the lamps on the wall and the bathroom equipment. The rooms are not large but still big enough to sleep comfortably. If you need more space you can always go to the lobby which is some kind of common area with a big table, kitchen and fire place. Oh, and the view from our room (number 4) was a killer as well, especially in the morning with all that haze raising above the Umbrian valley. Yep, everything was just wow.

Dining

Continental breakfast is served in a cellar, and it includes bread, fresh croissants, honey and marmalade, fruits, yogurts and cereals, together with coffee or tea. If that’s not enough for you, you can always order a hot breakfast for surcharge. I am not sure about dinners (from what I read online Giomici castle also arranges theme events, such as medieval dinners and weddings), but I believe that needs to be arranged upfront. The owner gave us contacts from a couple of restaurants nearby, but we chose to have our own picnic in that fabulous dining room. We were lucky that the other guests didn’t have the same idea, so we had the whole place to ourselves 😉

Anda’s rate: 9,5 from 10

Bottom line: Castello di Giomici is a very nice alternative to farmhouses (or agriturismo, as they call it in Italy). If you are looking for a place to stay in Umbria from where you can explore Assisi, Orvieto, Terni or Spoleto, but don’t want to be crowded with other tourists, Giomici castle could be the place for you. With very reasonable prices the “royal” feeling has never been closer. If you don’t have your Booking.com account yet, you can get 15€ off by booking Castello di Giomici (or any other hotel/room) through this link. You are welcome 😉 And you can find more photos from Umbria in my Facebook album.