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Winter sports aside, this diverse and sophisticated region offers plenty to see and do
Hotels
Turin
Both the historic center and the Lingotto convention/trade fair area are the most accommodation-rich parts of town, mostly upscale lodgings in the latter and rooms in all price ranges in the former.
For 19th-century-flavored luxe and a slightly more hoity-toity vibe, you can’t do better than the 114-room Grand Hotel Sitea (Via Carlo Alberto 35; 39-011/51-70-171; www.thi.it/english/hotel/sitea); it’s centrally located and convenient to most everything, and offers one of Turin’s top Piedmontese restaurants, to boot.
Excellent, central mid-range options with character include the 30-room Hotel Napoleon (Via XX Settembre 5; 39-011/561-3223; www.thi.it/english/hotel/sitea), its red-toned interior awash in memorabilia from the era when the eponymous short Frenchman lorded over this burg, and the Hotel Liberty (Via Pietro Micca 15; 39-011/562-8801; www.hotelliberty-torino.it), its public areas and 34 rooms cutely dolled up in Art Nouveau style.
We’d say the best rock-bottom budget lodging deal in town is the Ostello Torino (Via Alby 1; 39-011/660-2939; www.ostellionline.com), a three-story Novecento mansion in a leafy neighborhood off the tourist track but an easy stroll from downtown. The digs here are simple but spotless, both dorm-style quarters and bathroom-equipped private rooms.
Wine Country
A dreamy top-of-the-line option is the Relais San Maurizio (San Maurizio 39; 39-0141/841-900; www.relaissanmaurizio.it), with 31 uniquely adorned rooms in a former 17th-century monastery atop a hill surrounded by Moscato vineyards just outside the town of Santo Stefano Belbo, not far from Canelli; there’s a gourmet restaurant, and the spa here includes a rackful of wine-based treatments.
A more moderately priced but just as charming option is a bit further south, near Barolo; Casa Pavesi (Via IV Novembre 4; 39-0173/231-149; www.hotelcasapavesi.it), a dozen-room jewel in the picture-postcard castle village of Grinzane Cavour, is, as the Italians say, molto carino (way cute).
Need something a bit easier on the wallet? You can in fact score comfortable budget digs for less than $100, as well, such as Asti’s clean, homey Hotel Genova (Corso Alessandria 28; 39-0141/594-228), with 13 rooms, a little restaurant, and a brick-vaulted basement wine bistro. At the edge of the historic core of Alba, the area’s other main city, the similar-caliber Leon D’Oro (Piazza Marconi 2; 39-0173/441-901), has both a cafeteria and fine restaurant attached.
Also give serious thought to the more than 600 rural "agritourism" B&B’s", charging mostly $50 to $100 (including breakfast); our regional favorites include Villa Brichetto (Via Case Sparse 20; 39-0141/557-215), outside Asti, where a fetching spread comes complete with horses and hillside pool, and Grinzane Cavour’s more townhouse-style Locanda del Conte (Via IV Novembre 21; 39-0173/231-909; www.cantinadelconte.it).
