Relais Villa D'assio - RIETI

We were driving past and stopped for lunch in this really impressive restoration of a hamlet into a country hotel. The restaurant we ate in overlooked the pool and was cool when the outside temperature was 36 degrees, which was very welcome! Unfotunately although it was peak holiday season (August) the first four things we wanted to order were not available, even though they were shown on the menu, because the hotel was insufficiently busy. We ended up having pasta, which was perfectly ok (and very generous portions) but not very special. Pasta for 2 with fruit salad for pudding, sparkling water and 2 glasses of Prosecco was 45 Euro about as pricey as you would expect. The pool is absolutely gorgeous and can be used by visitors for 10 Euro. We would have if we had had our swimming costumes and had not been intimidated by the perfectly bronzed and bikini ed bodies already in residence!

We booked Easter Lunch here but weren 't guests of the hotel so we can only comment on the structure as a restaurant, which is named Tempe . We loved how the old hamlet had been restored and turned into a hotel complex, keeping original features but with a modern feel. The restaurant is elegantly styled. The grounds are peaceful, picturesque you can totally 'switch off ' here. The restaurant was fully booked and we were the first to arrive so we got the pick of where we wanted to sit we chose a window table with lovely views of the countryside. It was a fixed menu which the waiter briefly discussed with us again having previously spoken over the phone) to make sure there was nothing we didn 't like/couldn 't have. He also helped us chose the wine. We opted to try a very local white sorry we can 't recall the name) which wasn 't half bad....not quite up there with some we 've tried but very drinkable. The food was all amazing. The only problem was that it seemed never ending in a good way). There must have been 8 courses plus dessert coffee), although they were suitably spaced and I felt that our waiter was very attentive in this regard. The other diners seemed as amazed as us at the abundance, which made the general atmosphere in the restaurant up beat and jolly. For the price per head €40 excluding wine) there is no way we expected such amazing value for money. We do plan to come here again but if for Easter Lunch I think we might fast the day before!