La Locanda di Alia Green Vacations - Authentic Italy - Culinary Luminaries - For Wine Lovers

Character: Simple but clean rooms in a country motel with a 5-star gourmet restaurant. Advantages: Perfect stopping-off point between the Amalfi Coast and Sicily; chance to experience truly off-the-beaten-track Italy. Location: In Castrovillari, just a few minutes from the A1 Autostrada. This is exactly halfway between Naples and Messina, which is a drive that can be done in a day, but it's a very long and grueling day indeed. Much better to break it up with dinner and a good night's sleep here! If you are truly interested in authentic Italy, be sure to ask Pinuccio about Castrovillari, Morano Calabro, Altomonte and the fascinating Albanian villages of the vicinity. All are delightful old towns with many a wonderful monument and nary a foreign tourist in sight. Click here for a map. What an astounding find this is! Despite its location in Calabria, far from the usual destinations of most travelers, its superb restaurant, universally considered one of Italy's finest, has earned it a place in every serious food guide. We first ate there in the early '80s, just when Italy's slow food movement was being born (perhaps when it was still in gestation!). Even then, the culinary feats being performed in this hinterland kitchen were drawing aficionados from as far away as haughty Milan. Over the next 20 years, chef Gaetano Alia has never stopped to look back, and his meals have continued to be a shining example of how you can combine sophistication, ingenuity and tradition and consistently produce results that leave the diners in a state of grace. His brother Pinuccio, who contributes heavily to the restaurant's gastronomic creativity, also manages the charming little inn that grew up next door so that all those pilgrims would have a place to crash in the throes of their ecstasy. If you are considering driving from the Amalfi Coast down to Sicily, or if you are among the sophisticated few who plan to explore Calabria itself, do not miss the opportunity to count yourself as one of the initiated!

Public Transportation: You must have a car to stay here. Getting here any other way would simply not make sense.         Rooms: 14, including singles, doubles, triples and suites. For families with one child, there are double rooms that also have a foyer with a single bed in it. All the rooms are on the ground floor, arranged in a horseshoe around the lovely garden, with a private patio or garden space, and a private en suite bathroom with stall shower, massage shower, or tub. The suites have a sitting room and separate bedroom. All the units have a desk, chairs or a chaise lounge, lots of windows and many original paintings on the walls.         Features: Air conditioning, heating, satellite TV, direct-dial telephone, mini-bar. Bathrooms have hair dryers.         Facilities: Breakfast room; restaurant; wireless Internet access in public areas; free parking. As guests of the hotel, you do not need to make reservations for dinner.

The restaurant is closed on Sundays. Click here to see a sample menu. Although it is officially ranked as the #2 restaurant in all of southern Italy, prices at La Locanda hover around an extremely reasonable 50 Euro/person for an appetizer, first course, main course, cheese course and dessert.

Please note that you need a car to stay here.

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