06. July 2013

As my mother would have said "pride goes before a fall" but anyway.....

..... I'm still going to copy here some extracts from a tripadvisor review written by some recent guests.

My wife and I are professionals in our late 30s from the Northeast US. We visited Italy for a family reunion in Tuscany in late May. With four extra days to ourselves, we wanted to find a location where we could do vigorous day hikes and relax in the evenings. Some research on the internet led us to Sibillini National Park, and we found La Mela Rosa on TripAdvisor. It worked out better than we could have hoped. The positive reviews below are accurate: Pauline and Rob are wonderful hosts, the setting is beautiful, breakfasts were tasty. Let me add a few details that you might find useful.

Location: LMR is about 2 miles from Amandola, perched in a rolling valley. The roads through the valley are dirt, so a SUV is helpful. It's a lovely area for walks. The vistas are nothing but idyllic farms and small mountaintop towns.

Rooms: We thought the rooms struck a just-right balance between contemporary and traditional. Not cluttered. Very clean, well appointed, not-quite luxury. Hand-made soaps in the large bathroom. Comfortable firm mattress. No TV or WiFi.* Just what we wanted. At their prices, the value is amazing.

Surrounding area: There is absolutely no ugly development. From what we saw, this part of Le Marche is entirely old small towns and small farms. There are dozens of tiny hilltop towns, each with cobblestone streets, a few shops, one or two restaurants, and views of the sea, hills, and mountains. My wife and I agree it was the most beautiful "man-made" (cultivated and inhabited) landscape we've ever seen.

Restaurants: Each of our dinners in Le Marche was unique and enjoyable, but the most memorable was at an agriturismo called "La Conca" near Smerillo. Pauline called ahead in the morning. The only customers, we were served a creative, tasty, home-made, home-grown meal with home-made wine on a small organic farm overlooking snow-capped mountains with the sun setting.

Rob and Pauline: My wife and I are not "bed and breakfast people." In fact, we generally find B&Bs too cutesy. We go on vacation to spend time with one another, not with B&B proprietors. But in this situation, the B&B is what made the trip a success. The experience would not have been the same without Pauline giving recommendations, making arrangements, and drawing maps. Moreover, Rob and Pauline are lovely people with rich experiences, and we enjoyed sharing stories and learning about Le Marche over tea in the late afternoons.

Le Marche and Sibillini National Park are either unknown or undesirable to most tourists. I cannot understand why. We saw no other Americans and only a handful of Germans and Brits in 4 days. The only other guests at the LRM were Italians (getting away from Tuscany!). I hate to let a secret out, but the Marche felt a lot more like "real Italy" than Montepulciano, where we encountered tour buses and irritable English-speaking waiters. If you like a slower pace of life, hiking, and beautiful scenery, I don't think you will be disappointed by a stay at La Mela Rosa.