Agriturismo Alba Del Borgo

What stays with me most is how the owners pair a resort's comforts with a down-to-earth, almost farmer-like way of doing things. Breakfast uses locally sourced ingredients, and you can spend the day hiking the hills above the Parma valley, then unwind with tea in the spa. The valley views are peaceful and magical, full of nature's colors and the gentle change of the seasons. This family-run agriturismo feels like time moves at a different pace, and it's a perfect spot for business meetings or summer schools. Definitely recommended.

The staff are ready to make your stay calm and happy, and the food is very good, with lots of locally grown ingredients. A very nice place in a beautiful hill setting.

The rooms are clean, but very minimalist. There are no bedside tables or drawers, so on our long trip we ended up putting our clothes under the bed. Each room is in a brand new block and has a small terrace, but it only has hard upright chairs. The garden is large and peaceful, yet there isn't anywhere else to sit. There's a large indoor pool and a small sauna and steam room, but those are only available after 3pm, and you have to ask the owner to use the pool. Dinner is hearty Italian food, fairly plain, with one starter, a few pasta dishes, and a couple of second courses. We booked specifically because we wanted a restaurant open every night, and were told it was available to residents. In practice, it seems to be open when it's convenient for the owner. On the morning of our last night, we were told it would be closed, and it was hard to find anywhere open nearby at such short notice. The owner said he'd try to find us a place, but the restaurants he eventually suggested were closed. When we got back at 10:30, everything was shut up and pitch dark, which was off-putting. Dinner and breakfast times have to fit around the owner, who is very busy. Breakfast is called a buffet, but the owner insists on serving it, probably to control portions. Though the place itself was nice, we felt the owner tolerated us in the middle of his busy life and expected us to fit in with him. It was expensive too, the priciest of several farm stays we had on the trip. Dinner cost well over what we'd paid elsewhere for food that wasn't as good.

Andrea and his team, especially Lorenzo and the woman from the restaurant whose name I forgot, made sure we enjoyed our stay. Andrea's parents cook all the meals, and everything is homemade, mostly using ingredients from their organic farm. The food really is awesome. We stayed two nights in a Deluxe room in the new complex, which opened in December 2019. The room was great, and we could relax on the balcony. The wellness area has a large swimming pool, Finnish and Turkish saunas, and a fitness studio. Andrea and his staff run it. We'd read the reviews about the food, and they were right. You can go trekking or walking nearby, or drive to Parma for sightseeing. If you want to relax and eat great homemade food, this is a great value stop while traveling through Italia. Thanks, Andrea and Team. We'll come back!