Stayed here one night only with husband and grown-up children. It took us ages to find Casale Doria Pamphilj. It is about 25 km (at a guess) from Rome and is a converted grain barn. The self-contained apartment we stayed in could sleep six – two on the sofa-bed in the sitting room, two in a double and two in a twin room. It had two shower rooms and a mini kitchen – something like the cupboard kitchens you get in city centre apartments. You can easily do light meals there but couldn’t cook a full dinner which means that if you were to stay there any length of time you would have to drive quite a bit to eat out. There is nothing in walking distance.

The day we stayed staff had almost no English. This wasn’t a problem except that there is NO sign off the main road pointing to the agrotourismo so we did spend a long time driving past it. Phoning them was no use – even when we called from a crossroad about 3 km away and read out the signs! Strangely, even the nearby agrotourism (which must have been in competition with it) didn’t know it and nor did the two other locals we asked. In retrospect, I think it must be known by some other name locally.

The rooms were spacious and beds comfortable. The space was light and airy with the old beams of the barn turned into a feature. The “main” bedroom was on the gallery overlooking the living space so although quite charming (with lovely cupboards and chest of drawers) it might be a problem re privacy if you need to have another couple sleep in the living space. Also, if you went with small children you would be a long way away from them at night. I don’t know if all the apartments are like this or not.

There was no air-con but there were fans. In the winter there is heating. The massively thick walls kept out the noise of other guests who were (unknown to us) partying outside into the early hours.

So why do I not score this more highly? Well, although the bedding, towels (NOT waffle type) etc were clean, floors seem to have been mopped, bathroom fixtures were reasonable and there were toiletries provided, the kitchen surface was chipped and stained, the windows were grubby and had a scattering of dust and dead insects at the bottom (at floor level) and the stairs to the main bedroom looked like they hadn’t been swept for a while.

Given that this IS a converted barn and that we arrived during a windy period I was prepared to accept a little dust here and there but really it just felt a bit neglected as though no-one cared. The buildings themselves are really lovely, and I understand there is quite a history to the place but I’d like someone to take it in hand.

In the public areas there was a lovely spot with a large old bookshelf (near the lift) where you could, if you wished, sit and read some of the books provided. There were some very interesting books there, beautiful books on art in particular but they were covered in dust too. I suppose the owners have an interest in art as they are related to the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome.

So would I go back? Yes I would. I wouldn’t want to stay more than four or five days because of the restaurant situation and I would check the room on arrival and point out any dead flies etc so they could come and clean it! I would have loved to have travelled the15km to see Lake Bracciano, and visited the Etruscan excavations at Cerveteri which are apparently only 10 km away. The immediate surroundings are beautiful and countryside quite stunning.