Sleeping in Orvieto
All of the recommended hotels are in the old town except Hotel Picchio, which is in a more modern neighborhood near the station.
$$$ Hotel Duomo, centrally located, is modern, with splashy art and 17 sleek rooms named after artists who worked on the Duomo (Sb-€80, Db-€110, Db suite-€130, Tb-€140, 5 percent cash discount with this book in 2007, includes buffet breakfast, air-con, elevator, Internet in lobby, sunny terrace out front; garage €10; church bells ring every quarter-hour through the night, a block from Duomo behind gelateria at Via di Maurizio 7; tel. 0763-341-887, fax 0763-394-973, www.orvietohotelduomo.com, hotelduomo@tiscalinet.it, Massaccesi family).
$$ Hotel Valentino offers 19 nice, quiet, rooms in a modern hotel 200 yards off Corso Cavour (Db-€87, price promised with this book in 2007, includes breakfast, air-con, elevator, Via Angelo da Orvieto 30/32, tel. & fax 0763-342-464, hotelvalentino@libero.it).
$$ Hotel Corso is friendly, with 18 comfy, modern rooms--some with balconies and views. Everyone can enjoy their sunlit little terrace (Sb-€62, Db-€85, 10 percent discount with this book in 2007, buffet breakfast-€6.50, air-con, elevator, garage or free parking nearby, on main street up from funicular toward Duomo at Via Cavour 339, tel. & fax 0763-342-020, www.hotelcorso.net, info@hotelcorso.net, Carla).
$ Hotel Posta is a five-minute walk from the cathedral into the medieval core. It’s a big, old, formerly elegant but well-cared-for-in-its-decline palazzo with a breezy garden, an elevator, and a grand old lobby. Twenty spacious, clean, and quirky rooms hold vintage rickety furniture and good mattresses (S-€31, Sb-€37, D-€44, Db-€56, breakfast-€6, cash only, Via Luca Signorelli 18, tel. & fax 0763-341-909, hotelposta@orvietohotels.it, no English spoken).
$ The sometimes-surly sisters of the Istituto S.S. Domenicane rent 15 spotless twin rooms in their convent with a peaceful terrace (Db-€55, cash only, elevator, parking, just off Piazza del Popolo at Via del Popolo 1, tel. & fax 0763-342-910, institutosansalvatore@tiscalinet.it, no English spoken).
$ Hotel Picchio, with 27 newly remodeled rooms, is a wood-and-marble place, more comfortable but with less character than others in the area. It’s in the lower, plainer part of town, 300 yards from the train station (Sb-€37, Db-€53, Tb-€63, ask for the 5 percent discount with this book in 2007, rooms with air-con extra, Via G. Salvatori 17, tel. & fax 0763-301-144, hotelpicchio@tin.it, family-run by Alessandra and Picchio). A trail leads from here up to the old town.
$ Valentina rents six clean, airy, well-appointed rooms and two apartments, all with big beds and antique furniture. Her place is located in the heart of Orvieto, behind the grand staircase near Piazza del Popolo (Db-€50-57, Tb-€71, studio with kitchen-€80, apartment for up to 5 people-€150, special cash-only prices in 2007 with this book, includes breakfast on request, discount for longer stays, air-con, Via Vivaria 7, tel. 0763-341-607, mobile 335-654-9081, valentina.z@tiscalinet.it). She also rents three rooms across the square that share a kitchen (Db-€50, no air con).
$ La Magnolia, an Italian B&B, has lots of fancy terra-cotta tiles, frescoed ceilings, terraces, and other welcoming touches. Its seven rooms, some like mini-apartments with kitchens, are tranquillo despite being on the town’s main drag (Sb-€30–35, Db-€65, Db apartment–€70, extra person-€20, includes breakfast, cash only, no elevator, use of washing machine-€3, Via Duomo 29, tel. 0763-342-808, www.bblamagnolia.it, info@bblamagnolia.it, Serena).
Near Orvieto
$$$ Agriturismo Fattoria di Vibio produces olive oil and honey, sells organic products, and offers courses and spa services. In August, its 14 rooms rent at peak prices, and you’re required to stay a week, arriving and departing on a Saturday (Db-€80-105, includes breakfast and dinner; Db-€595-735 for weekly rental in Aug, otherwise €455-665; located 20 miles northeast of Orvieto, tel. 075-874-9607, fax 075-878-0014, www.fattoriadivibio.com, info@fattoriadivibio.com).
$$ Agriturismo La Rocca Orvieto, run by Emiliano and Sabrin, is a fancy, spa-type place, located a 15-minute drive north of Orvieto. They produce their own olive oil and wine and have 10 double rooms and nine apartments--all with air conditioning (Db-€90-120, half-board-€140–170, pool, “wellness center” with Jacuzzi and steam room, gym, mountain bikes, hiking paths, tel. 0763-344-210, mobile 348-640-0845, fax 0763-395-155, www.laroccaorvieto.com, info@laroccaorvieto.com).
$ Agriturismo Pomonte Umbria, seven miles east of Orvieto, offers home-cooked meals, lovely vistas, and seven comfortable rooms in a recently built guest house (Db-€56, includes breakfast, €88-half-pension, €108-full pension, Loc. Canino di Orvieto 1, Corbara, tel. 076-330-4041, fax 076-330-4080, www.pomonte.it, info@pomonte.it).