Antico Casale Urbani

Antico Casale Urbani is in a quiet spot outside Scheggino, Umbria, with good walking trials to nearby villages. We enjoyed our four-night stay last week, and the hotel colleagues were very kind and accommodating.

We fell for the venue when we first saw it. The grounds are stunning, the atmosphere relaxed but special, and there are plenty of layout options. The food at the tasting was incredible, which made us confident about booking the three-day wedding package. We were organising from the UK, while my husband’s family was in Italy. The rooms were lovely during our three-night stay, but the venue didn’t feel set up for a wedding over several days. There was nowhere to buy food or drinks unless everything had been prepaid. Bars were often shut with no staff around, including the night after the pool party and the wedding morning, when guests couldn’t buy water or coffee. The venue is quite DIY: they provide the food and space, while you’re expected to hire an outside planner to handle timing and structure. That could work, but communication and organisation from the venue were poor. We had to keep chasing invoices to find out what we owed, fix pricing errors and ask them to remove charges that shouldn’t have been included. Just days before the wedding, they said we owed more despite emails confirming the agreed price. It caused stress we didn’t need right before the big day. There were also times when it seemed costs mattered more than care. The owner suggested booking another party into our third wedding day so we could “share” the space and their band. We paid for a lifeguard for the pool party, but the person was also working the bar. The pool party itself was disorganised. Towels were still wrapped in plastic, the agreed floats weren’t there, and the pool cleaning machine was in the water while guests were swimming. Small things, but they add up when you’re hosting a crowd. Wedding day food was a letdown after the tasting. We’d asked for softer pasta and risotto to suit our preferences, but it came out quite hard and wasn’t changed. We were told pizzas for our party would be cooked in the open fire oven; instead they just arrived on plates. And for the evening “unlimited bar,” one overwhelmed staff member was making cocktails for around 60 guests, so waits were long all night. It’s a shame, because the place is beautiful and has so much potential. We didn’t feel supported or looked after. Too often, the experience felt understaffed and disorganised, with too much focus on cutting costs instead of delivering what we’d agreed. If you book it, expect to be very hands-on. Check everything in writing and be ready to manage a lot of the logistics yourself.

We enjoyed the location and the food, and the staff were really kind and helpful. Thanks for having us!

Roberta. The only one.