Borgo Pianello Holiday Homes & Winery

I took a one week holiday in Borgo Pianello in mid September 2014. I went alone and booked the Bilo Apartment which overlooked the swimming pool. The location on Borgo Pianello is deep in the hills with local towns a 10-minute drive away. The location is simply stunning and breathtaking! There is a ski resort locally and I can only imagine that the property in the winter snow. It was like going to your dream house, the owners have clearly put a lot of time, work, and money into this cluster of properties. There are lots of lovely restaurants in the area including "Trattoria picchioni" in the town of Lizzano and an amazing Pizza restaurant not for from Lizanno. The local town Fanano held a local farmer-type market in the heart of the town on Sundays where you could buy local fruit/veg, cheeses, meats etc. the local shops, cafes and bakeries were very friendly.

Borgo is very much a place where you switch off, relax, and watch the world go by, no need to rush around. The cookery course was a must. The hosts/owners at Borgo are Stefania and Marco who are lovely. Stefania is chef and takes the cookery course. On the course we learnt how to make two types of Italian soups, stuffed zucchini and tomatoes, pesto, aubergines with mozzarella, pizzas, garlic focaccia bread, cantuccini, tiramisu, several types of sauces to go with pasta. Stefania's partner, Marco, is a wine expert and you can buy local and Borgo wines at the house along with prosecco, limoncello, others Italian alcohol along with local olive oil and balsamic vinegar, he also chooses the wines to have with the food you've cooked and gives a little history with which drinks go with different foods. Both, Stefania and Marco, are very friendly and knowledgeable and are on hand if anything is required at the accommodation. There was also a warm welcome and Marco gave each apartment a free bottle of wine on arrival which was a lovely touch. I thoroughly enjoyed this holiday and I would definitely recommend to anyone and is well worth the money.

Comfortable, beautiful place.

We visited the cooking class and were here for a week with a group of 19 persons. As leader of this group and having seen all kinds of places, I can strongly recommend this one. We enjoy the fantastic scenery, the warm Italian hospitality and the great food and wines. Its so nice to be away from the busy life and relax at this beautiful place with nice people.

We stayed at the Borgo in August with our daughter and friends with their children. We loved it. The Borgo has been restored in 2006 and turned into 7 nice modern apartments. All have a nice bathroom and a smaller or larger fully equipped kitchen and some apartments have a dishwasher too. It's located on a slope. At the back there is an unheated swimming pool, which is nice when it's 30+ degrees, overlooking the valley.The Borgo has wines from their own and other wineries, jams, liquers, etc. and you can get nice espresso, cappuccino or Italian aperitif. It's close to several villages where you can get your groceries or find restaurants, pizzerias and trattorias. It lies between Bologna, where you can go to by train for EUR 10 return ticket from Porretta Terme, and Florence. There are excellent opportunities for hiking in the area and the nights are truly quiet.The Borgo has many places outside to sit and barbecue. You can even do your laundry. The owner, Marco, is very helpful. This is a perfect place for a nature loving people.

Borgo Pianello is one of our favorites in all of Italy! Its beautifully maintained. It has updated baths, great wine and beautiful views of the surrounding area. Lizzano and Fanano are close by and talk about your small town charm! Put it this way, of all the places we visited, this area was our favorite and Borgo Pianello open this up to us. The hosts were great and for that we thank you!! If we were able to purchase a place anywhere in Italy, it would be in one of those two towns. Again, we like small towns!If you're a city person, look where this place is located, you won't like it. If you're after small town charm, a scone and a coffee street side, lovely little downtown shopping, gorgeous la chiesa (church) and a quiet and relaxing time, this is the area!

The location was easy to find, thanks to our GPS. It was easier since it was not totally dark by the time we arrived. The area is magnificent, surrounded by mountains, hills etc. The apartments were nicely decorated and converted. We stayed in apartment number 4, facing the parking area. All area is quiet. Since the weather temperature by night was still low, we had the facility to warm up the apartment by using wood burning fireplace. Unfortunately we weren't lucky enough to use the pool located in this unique area, but we were able to spend some time by the pool.Location: the apartment is cut-off from the main town and, therefore, to go to the nearest COOP supermarket meant to drive some 8 kilometers in narrow roads and hills and another 5 kilometers in more decent faster roads. The only drawback is that in these roads it meant an approximately 30-minute drive. Wi-Fi and TV: Wi-Fi was bit problematic to connect with at times and slow. TV only had a couple of Italian stations. When it gets pitch black there's nothing much that one can really do in the area. The option is to spend evenings in cities. Verdict: Recommended.