Locanda al Castello Wellness Resort

The hotel is charming and the service was attentive, but a few areas could use refurbishment. Its peaceful perch above Cividale del Friuli has panoramic views over vineyards and countryside, and the spacious terrace is a lovely place to relax with a glass of local wine. There’s a spa, sauna and indoor pool for unwinding after visiting nearby UNESCO-protected sites such as the Tempietto Longobardo. A good choice if you want both quiet time and cultural outings.

We booked the “hotel with spa” and were very disappointed to find that using the pool and sauna cost an extra 30 euro per person. That wasn't made clear in the hotel description, or I would have chosen somewhere else. The rooms were furnished in an old-fashioned way, too. There was a wedding right opposite our room that night, and after we couldn't get reassurance that it would be quiet in the small hours, we left. We book a hotel to sleep. If I want to join a party, I'll choose to do that myself.

The location, staff and breakfast were good, but several things left us really disappointed. The bathroom in our room felt like 2 star quality, far below a 4 star standard. There wasn't even a toilet paper holder, and the shower had an old curtain. Only one terrace was available. The second one, with a jacuzzi, was closed because of Covid, but this wasn't mentioned online. With a wedding taking over the main terrace, we had only a few tables by the castle, with no view like the photos promised. We couldn't book dinner at a table with a nice terrace view either. They could at least have opened the second terrace for hotel guests in that situation, since we expected to have it when we booked. The website does say spa and wellness aren't included, but as a heads-up, it costs 29€/per person for one afternoon to use 2 saunas, 1 swimming pool and 2 jaccuzi's. One more small disappointment: I mentioned on the booking form that we were celebrating our anniversary and asked for a little note for my partner. They confirmed, but there was nothing on the table when we arrived, which felt a bit special and left me disappointed.

We went to Locanda al Castello last Sunday for the first time, and I think it'll be the last. The pasta was horribly undercooked. The rest of the food was okay.