Genius Loci Country Inn

I'm writing to recommend Genius Loci Country Inn, a small hotel in Bevagna, Umbria. My wife and I stayed at there for 5 nights in August of 2008, and had a magnificent time. We’ve been dreaming of returning ever since, and I wanted to strongly recommend it to anyone planning on going to Umbria (or anywhere in the area). Below is a brief review.

Setting/Location:
Genius Loci is located in the medieval town of Bevagna, about 2 hours north of Rome, just under 2 hours south of Florence. The entrance to the Inn is a hidden dirt driveway off the main road which allows for peace from the main highway but easy access to Bevagna, Montefalco, and the other amazing Umbrian towns in the area. You definitely need a car both to get to and from Genius Loci, but also to explore the incredible Roman and medieval towns in Umbria and nearby Tuscany. There are plenty of great day trips to the area towns, and a ton of places to eat in the area. In fact, we were in Italy for nearly 3 weeks, in Rome, the Sorrentine peninsula, Florence and Logo di Como, and by far the best food we had was in this area.

Aside from the location, the best part about Genius Loci is the physical setting. The Inn sits on a hill overlooking the Umbrian valley, with Sagrantino grape vines within reach and picturesque sunsets literally every evening (there were even fireworks when we were there). You could easily spend several days just sitting by the pool and staring at the gorgeous countryside. In fact, there were a couple days we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave the side of the pool, and spent our entire day there.

Food:
Genius Loci only serves breakfast, but Michael, the proprietor, serves an amazing continental breakfast of croissants (which are phenomenal), yogurt, cheese, salami, cereals and freshly made cappuccino. We still dream of those breakfasts on the terrace looking out at the Umbrian valley. I literally cannot picture a better way to start your day.

The fact that you have to go out for lunch and dinner is actually an incredible blessing. Michael gave us recommendations, gave us directions and made us reservations every night to the most incredible restaurants we’ve ever been to. I wish I could remember the names of all the places, but there was one place in Montefalco that specialized in truffles, and it was easily one of the 5 best meals of my life.

There is also a full bar on the honor system (you simply write down what you had and then serve yourself), so you can get a drink at any time of day or night. Nothing like sipping a Campari and soda by the pool during a hot August day, just staring out at Assisi, across the valley.

Location:
Genius Loci is minutes from amazingly cool Umbrian towns (Assisi, Montefalco, Spello, Todi, Spoleto, Perugia, Foligno, Trevi) which are great places for day trips, sightseeing and dinner. If we hadn’t been so relaxed sitting by the pool, we’d probably have taken a day trip to a town each day, come back to the Inn and then take another trip out for dinner (and this is what most of the guests did). Bevagna is also quite close to some of the southern Tuscan cities (such as Pienza and especially the amazing wine-producing towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano), so Tuscany is an easy day trip as well. Michael gave us great recommendations each day, telling us which towns to go to, how to get there, and different things to check out while we were there. He was always right on, and we felt very comfortable doing pretty much whatever he suggested.

Other:
The Inn itself is run mostly by Michael and his mother and father, who are always on hand to give advice on day trips and dinner, address any concerns, or just generally chat. Michael and his mother are bilingual/bicultural, though his father speaks mostly Italian. They are invariably warm, hospitable and kind, and are always a pleasure to talk to (though they’re more than happy to let you sit by the pool in silence for an entire day if you like). This really added to the relaxed atmosphere, making it very easy to feel at home (if your home happens to be in the most beautiful part of Italy, that is).

The Inn also sells its own wine (Sagrantino, Rosso), olive oil (the best I’ve ever had, I bought 2 huge bottles to bring back) and other assorted goods (honey with truffles, olive oil spouts for bottles, etc). Definitely worth checking out, these are great souvenirs to bring back.

Overall, this is a phenomenal place to stay, and I recommend it highly. There is literally no reason to stay anywhere else in Umbria. In fact, if your trip doesn’t include plans to go to Umbria, you need to change those plans. I simply cannot wait to go back… or possibly move in.