It’s not easy to be critical of a place that is welcoming and friendly. It has a quite traditional dining room - in fact I had asked to sit outdoors but they said it was closed because of rain that never arrived the entire evening I was there. (By contrast I once was at a restaurant who, also expecting rain, sat us outside until the rain arrived). A pity because a reason to choose this place is the great view out from Monforte. I chose the fixed menu because it included a few appetisers but this was a mistake as they were quite unimaginative. The main courses were cooked with skill but again nothing memorable and whilst I usually keep a meticulous record of what dishes I’ve eaten, not this night.

I want to be kinder, and it was busy so many might disagree with me, but this wasn’t for me.

We booked one night stay and one dinner for 2 adults and one 7 years old at Felicin. It was a perfect stop on our tour through Italy. After a long and hot trip in the car, we enjoyed the spacious cool of our room in their lower situated villa, complete with spectacular views from the large terrace. We then walked through the village and further up the hill to their 3rd lodging facility, which has a cutting-edge luxury infinity pool that provides an even more stunning view over vineyards and fruit orchards for seemingly hundreds of kilometers. In the evening we had very enjoyable meal in their restaurant, guided by the head chef who showed us their wine cellar and fed us his favorite treats from the chefs menu. Everyone was very friendly, great value for money. Also we enjoyed the keen eye for design details the family has, from the interior and furnishings to the silverware and selection of art and photography books throughout the property.

We stayed 4 nights in the albergo, having been unable to find space in better rated hotels. It is in a good location near the square in Monforte and has a lovely Langhe view from the window. That’s where the advantages end.

The room was furnished with dark, uncoordinated decor. The bathroom smelt badly of drains. We were given only hand towels so we had to use the bathrobes to dry ourselves. The reception was not staffed most of the time. We were just given a key to the door and told to lock it after ourselves. We were given no information on the area - only told their restaurant was closed for two days. Actually we had not planned to eat there anyway because it was too expensive. Our first breakfast was served in a corner of the dark restaurant, which was laid for dinner. The choice of food was poor. Subsequently the breakfast buffet was set up in the garden, which was much nicer.

We had the use of the swimming pool at Palazzo Boehri but this was 15 minutes walk up a very steep road and had only 6 uncomfortable, plastic loungers for the guests of two hotels. Good job the hotels were scarcely occupied.

The TV in the room had only two Italian games show channels and the Wi-fi for the hotel did not work. The waitress showed us how to use the restaurant wifi but it was underpowered.

There was little soundproofing between rooms. There was a dog nearby which barked at night. After the restaurant service, staff gathered on the terrace right under our bedroom window, chatting and laughing. Nice for them but stopped us getting to sleep, even with the windows closed.

Really this is a restaurant with very overpriced, self-service rooms (we paid £138 per night - should have been half that much).