We stayed at the Ducale for 6 nights in July, having booked directly with the hotel. We requested a junior suite with a terrace, and got a beautiful room (the Duke di Montefeltro suite I think) at the top of the hotel. The room was excellent, but it's crowning glory was the terrace, boasting stupendous views across Gubbio and the entire valley that lies before the town. Nothing short of breathtaking and definitely worth the (not inconsiderable) price. Room 402! As noted, the room was excellent, fully equipped, with good air con, excellent bathroom, large and comfortable bed and nothing whatsoever to complain about. The service in the hotel was nothing short of outstanding in all respects. From our delightful welcome - we were even introduced to the dog - to the friendly and accommodating service at the bar and breakfast, the staff were faultless. Incidentally, don't even try to drive up to the hotel, there's no point: just get to the Piazza Martiri in the centre of Gubbio and phone the Ducale and they will come and get you, guiding you - at some speed! - to an underground car park 5-10 minutes walk from the hotel (10 Euros a day roughly) and then shuttling you and your luggage to the hotel. Just drop them a mail in advance and they will give you all the details. Breakfast was excellent, with the added bonus of being able to use the hotel's small bar area in the main piazza out front. For some bizarre reason that escapes me utterly, most people seemed to prefer to sit inside to eat, which often left us to breakfast in regal solitude outdoors, surrounded by the simply magnificent palazzo's that line 3 sides of the piazza. Again, almost worth the price of admission alone. The piazza does get used for all kinds of things, so on some morning's you will find the local commune busily building anything from stages to grandstands, but that just adds to the charm. It's certainly not a dead space: during our stay the piazza hosted a three night volleyball tournament and a free gig by a venerable Italian rock band, i Nomadi. You can also lunch at the hotel, again sitting outside in the piazza, and the standard of food was outstanding. Especially the ice cream ... As for Gubbio: gorgeous, and the same goes for Umbria in general. The town is very quiet, and astonishingly un-touristy, with no real "cafe life" centre as you might find in similar Tuscan towns. You very much feel like you are in unspoilt Italy. But be prepared for hills: flat it ain't. There are plenty of decent restaurants, including the hotel's sister eateries, the Bosone and Lupo. Both are excellent. If you go to the Bosone, be prepared for the irrepressible Mario to force feed you Tiramisu whether you like it or not! Fortunately, it happens to be about the best Tiramisu you will ever eat. We also visited Urbino (lovely) and Assisi. We were expecting the latter to be a hell of tourists, worshippers and idolatrous tat, but in fact we found it remarkably quiet and surprisingly unspoilt. The chapels were pleasingly uncrowded and once we made it up into the town we found it a delightful place to be. Overall, we found Umbria to be prettier than Tuscany, but much, much quieter - there isn't a huge amount to do, so it's great for a rest. The Ducale: great. I'd stay there again tomorrow.

The Relais Ducale was a former palazzo of the Duke of Monefeltro:in part we stayed here because of our fasination with the Duke,his portraits painted by Piero della Francesca,and his celebrated commitment to the arts. This hotel is wonderful and an authentic piece of history,which the hotel owners have been careful to preserve. The rooms are tastefully furnished with antiques and the rooms' ceilings of exposed timbers are probably the original.Interestingly enough,in spite of its age,the hotel is one of the few in Italy(that we stayed in) which provides internet service.The breakfast here was lovely and the views from the terrace amazing. The staff was so polite and genuinely courteous in a very traditional way.Everything was and is as one would imagine the hilltowns would be.We were last in Gubbio over twenty years ago and it and the hotel did not disappoint. The two restaurants we ate at( Taverna del Lupo and Bosone Garden,both owned by the family which owns the hotel) were the finest restaurants we ate at on our month long trip this summer. Ask Mario at the Bosone Garden to design his special menu for you.It was unbelievable. Gubbio is still extremely affordable by Americans unlike most of the big cities and will be a wonderful experience!

We stayed here for two nights. The service was incredible, the room huge by Italian standards. My husband and I are huge Don Matteo fans. We were pleasantly surprised to learn from Sean that "Lino" always requests the room we were in when the crew is in town to film the show. How cool is that? We would stay here again.

My husband and I spent five very pleasant nights in late September at Relais Ducale. Our 3rd floor room was a bit tired,but large and comfortable with great views over the roof tops, town and valley beyond on one side and the lovely rooftop garden on the other. The staff was wonderful!!! They were professional, friendly and always helpful. All fluent in English they went out of their way to answer questions, give directions and fulfill special requests. The breakfast was the typical European buffet of meats, cheese, and breads - the best breaksfast we had on our entire trip. The gardens were lovely. It was neat to sit on in the roof top garden one evening and watch the parasailers fly over the Piazza Grande and then land at the Roman Theater. We took the cooking class at their restuarant Taverna Del Lupo - it was not the "hands on" experience we were looking for, but we enjoyed it and have come home with some good recipes to try. Also, we had two excellent meals at the restaurant. There are many steps to climb - both inside the hotel and in Gubbio, so bring your walking shoes. If you are driving into town follow the signs to the hotel (located on the Piazza Grande) and plan on leaving your car at the door of the hotel bar and the staff will park it for you. This was our third trip to Italy and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience in Gubbio at Relais Ducale. It is a great location for side trips to Urbino and Assisi.

Der Service, alle Mitarbeiter waren sehr freundlich und entgegenkommend. Der Umstand, das Auto im unteren Teil zu parken, bedeutet keine großen Komplikationen. Einziges Manko, dass zu erwähnen wäre, ist dass das Bad, bzw. die Dusche ein wenig restaurationsbedürftig wäre. Ansonsten war das Zimmer, der Service, die Lage, der Preis und Gubbio selber super.