I chose Locanda Martelleti by Trip Advisor reviews. After a horrendous drive from Chianti, found myself in Asti using my GPS to find out just where this hotel was. It was about 25 minutes and on the top of a hill up narrow roads but, wow, it was well worth it. The husband and wife who own and run this hotel and restaurant, originally from Pisa, were a wonderful, professional team. She ran the hotel and service operations impecciably and he was the best chef I had come across in all of Italy. The hotel was spotless, charming and their cute, friendly dog welcomed you every time you came in, quietly and well mannered. Cocconato was a charming medieval town proud of their history and the view from all points and especially my room was breathtaking. My particular room was spacious and great for the cheap price I got it for, although I did have to do some lenghtly stair climbing. I would recommend this as a romantic getaway to the guys who really want to impress but stay on a budget. The food of the hotel was of the highest scale in taste and presentation and wines of Piedmont; a perfect match. I can't say this enough as I had been previously disappointed plenty of times in the 3 weeks I had already spent in Italy. I was treated to a medieval festival the night I arrived which happily carried on throughout some evening showers.The villagers were very friendly and enjoyed my second day chilling out with them in the local establishments before heading to Verona after 2 nights.

Very clean hotel, very professional hosts who make you feel welcome. Special commendation for the fly screens in the windows which keep the mosquitos out (fly screens in the doors would be a nice addition, btw). The town of Cocconato is quaint and picturesque, you certainly know you have arrived in Italy. The hotel itself has the charme of an old fortress, sometimes even feels like a bit of a labyrinth, making it interesting and an experience in itself. Breakfast, too, is of a good standard (minus the very drab coffee).

But there are also problems. A certain sloppiness when it comes to details in the equipment of the rooms. Would it be too much to install a screen around the bathtub/shower so that the bathroom floor does not get flooded during every use? A vent in the bathroom would also be appreciated. Some of the door handles are hard to use for delicate ladies - need to be oiled or whatever.

And then there is the noise. The downside of staying in a quaint medieval ambiente is that sound carries really well up the narrow streets. You will hear the cars and bikes only too well. Between 7am and 11pm the clock tower of the church that is situated right next to the hotel is in operation - you will hardly overhear it. I believe this latter feature of the place should actually be mentioned by the owners on their website to warn off clients who enjoy a sleep-in or at least give them the opportunity to ask for a less exposed room (I assume they exist) before booking.

Overall it is still good, I would give it 3.5 stars if that was possible, but I am not sure I would want o stay there for more than a few days, and I also have a problem with the value-for-money issue. As nice and charming the hotel is, it is overpriced by some 20-30% based on the published prices. So my advice would be to try bargaining the price down, or look for another place. There seem to be a lot of alternatives in the area.

What a charming place Martelletti is. Owners Luigi and Marta couldn't have been more welcoming, and our stay was a wonderful beginning to a fantastic holiday. Housed in what was originally a castle, every nook holds interest from the cozy entry to the long ancient stone hallway where the imagination wanders. Our room was phenomenal, a mixture of romantic and modern--a perfect place to nestle up after sightseeing and a good meal. The restaurant was phenomenal, offering Tuscan-inspired dishes and a fantastic sampling of Italian wines. Marta's food and wine recommendations were spot on, and Luigi's pistachio ice cream has become the new gold standard against which all others will likely lose. Marta, Luigi and the staff could not have been nicer and were more than happy to offer recommendations to various points of interest (with ample advice). For those interested in bypassing the typical tourist fare and getting a first taste of Italian life, Martelletti is highly recommended!

Whenever I travel I always dreamily look at the #1 hotel in an area, despite knowing it will be out of our budget. Needing a place to stay in Asti, I read all the reviews of Martelletti, looked at their website to tease myself further and was very excited to find their special offers make it an incredibly good value place to stay.

So off my fiancé and I went to Martelletti for 4 nights during our driving holiday, and were not disappointed. All of the staff, and Barrichello their beautiful Boxer, are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Our room was lovely - beautiful view over all the rooftops to the beyond - although the mattress and pillows weren't to our liking. The hotel is stunning, amazing hallways and a beautiful room in the middle that would be the coolest place to have a wedding; very nice sitting rooms off the dining room for post-dinner relaxing.

Breakfast is a very nice spread; different meats/cheese every day. Say yes when they offer you scrambled eggs, they're divine. The dinner is fantastic; we ate there twice during our stay and both agree it was the best food we had during our whole trip to Italy.

The hotel arranged for us to go to the local vineyard, Dezzani, where we had a tour of the entire plant, learned all about the wines; then had the best wine tasting you could ask for with Cecilia, the owner.

Cocconato is a lovely little town - perfectly located for getting around Piedmonte. The pizzeria and cantina del ponte both do very nice food. We weren't bored at all with the town, and could have happily wandered about it for a few more days.

The downsides: breakfast finishes early - 930 - so you don't get to have a lie-in. If you are at Martelletti though, you will already be awake...its right next to the church and the bells start tolling twice on the hour every hour at 7am and don't stop until 11pm. The hallway our room was in was very echo-y so we were woken up a few times by other residents closing their doors; and as with all old plumbing, it sometimes goes bump in the night. If you take earplugs though, there will be no downsides whatsoever to this place! Actually, even with these “downsides” we still thought it was the perfect place to stay.

I have been recommending Martelletti to anyone who will listen since we got back, and am already planning our next trip over.