This guest house is not only gorgeous (it has been featured in Architectural Digest and Karen Brown's Romantic Inns for good reason), but very comfortable and peaceful. The website pictures are very accurate. The bathroom was very modern and came equipped with a fluffy bathrobe-a touch I always appreciate.

The hostess Dawne is very welcoming and is a terrific cook as well. We thouroughly enjoyed aour wonderful dinner with her. She has lived a most fascinating life in both the UK and Italy and we loved hearing about it over dinner. She was also most helpful in providing maps and directions for taking the most scenic route to our next destination.

This is the perfect spot to relax and get over jet lag on arrival from Rome, or to take in the peaceful and lush setting before heading home. Located an easy 90 minutes from FCO, it is easy to find and a good location from which to explore the southern towns of Umbria and parts of Lazio. Especially Cita di Bagnoregio which is about a 15 minute drive.

I will always think about staying here on my way from or to Rome if I have travel plans in the area. Highly recommended both for the lovely house and setting and for the very friendly and accomadating hostess.

My wife and I along with my brother and sister-in-law made a brief stop at L'Ombricolo on our intense two-week whirlwind Italy tour. We were in this part of the country primarily to visit the dying city, Civita di Bagnoregio, which was a sublime experience for all of us. We arrived a little late on the first night, but our hostess Dawne had a magnificent meal ready for us. If you leave her table wanting for anything, it is truly your own fault.

While we all enjoyed the food and wines immensely, we found our hostess to be more than a little stodgy and quite rude at times because we were apparently not as sophisticated or cultured as she. She rolled her eyes at our various cultural blunders and corrected our Italian mispronunciations like a second-grade grammar teacher. I also think she was dismissive of us because we were much younger than she or her "average" guest. No matter though because we managed to spend relatively little time with her except for her rather annoying little habit of taking her own dinner right along with us on both evenings we were there. If we would have known that, we would have undoubtedly arranged for dinner out on the second night. It was also quite strange to see how she treated her man-servant, Oleg, who we found to be very pleasant however eccentric he may seem.

Overall, the house itself is wonderfully restored and we enjoyed our rooms with their comfortable beds and quaint furnishings. The sitting rooms were very plush with live fires in the grand fireplace on both nights and more than enough food and drink to satisfy everybody. Breakfasts were equally enormous with a bounty of fresh fruits/yogurt/croissants/etc. Do try the persimmons...you'll thank me later. Just keep your interactions with Dawne to a minimum and you'll have a great time. Trust me.

Having discovered L'Ombricolo and hostess Dawne Alstrom Vioti (ex pat Brit) in 1997, a friend and I have returned almost every year. The atmosphere is comfortable yet elegant as guests gather by the fire following a day of exploration. Those who choose the optional evening dinner are participants in a true Italian evening beginning with antipasti and bubbly, a prelude to multiple courses of pasta, carne, insalata, formaggio e insalata, finite con dolce e limoncello.
Proprietor, Dawne Alstrom, is extremely knowledgeable about everything in the region because she has been there for almost 40 years. Those interested in restoring old properties will be fascinated by her photos of the transformation of her property. This transformation was designed and orchestrated by her.
On a side note, dog lovers will be especially happy when they are greeted by Luna and Belinida. However, cat lovers will find numerous felines outside.
Well enough for now. I am open to individual inquiries.

My wife and I stayed at L'Ombricolo in the first week of July 2005 and had a superb time. It is located in a quiet region about 90min drive from Rome, and about 40min drive from Orvieto. All the facilities are superb, great swimming pool, the rooms are big and well furnished with big ensuite bathrooms, as well as a big communal loungeroom filled with guidebooks for the area. The breakfast is excellent, continental, with homemade jams. The strength of L'Ombricolo is your hostess Dawne - who built the place to what it is today, and is also well-known by all in the surrounding villages. Recommended is as many dinners in-house as you can muster (extra € but well worth it) - cooked by Dawne from local or home seasonal produce - and absolutely sumptuous. If not, Dawne is happy to recommend fine local restaurants that will welcome you as a local and feed you like a king.
Strengths: welcoming atmosphere, B&B facilities, fine food & drink, the pool, and friendly trip advice.
Keep in Mind: L'Ombricolo is fairly isolated and you will need a car.
We spent ages looking for a place to stay in or around the Umbria region and staying here we could visit all the places we wanted to go (highlights Spoleto, Civita di Bagnoreggio, Orvieto). Highly recommended.