Locanda del Pilone

What a lovely gem Locanda Del Pilone is with its one star Michelin restaurant. 😊👏 Situated a few kilometers outside of the town Alba, we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon relaxing at the pool to then be served in the Michelin star restaurant at the Locanda. From our arrival to our departure the quality of the service we received was excellent! Thank you 😊 The Locanda sits in a beautiful location on a hill overlooking the majestic vineyard scenery. The room we had was very nice; large, clean beautifully decorated very quiet and comfortable. The property is very clean inside and the gardens are very well kept too. We will certainly be back. Thank you for making our stay really lovely.

I hesitated for a long time before posting this review, as I generally dislike leaving negative feedback. The hotel is beautifully located—almost like a fairytale. The classic rooms are lovely, and the pool area is great. Unfortunately, we had a distressing experience during our stay. One evening after dinner, we walked out through the gate for a short stroll with our dog. About 50 meters from the hotel, our dog was attacked by a large off-leash dog. The owner was present but unable to control his animal. When I picked up our dog to protect her, the attacking dog turned on me. We managed to get back to the hotel, shaken but safe. As a result, we had to visit a vet twice while in Italy to have our dog treated, and my dress was torn to shreds. Despite the incident happening so close to the hotel, and staff immediately acknowledging that the other dog was known to be aggressive, we received no assistance—no help finding a vet, no follow-up, nothing. Over the past four weeks, I’ve repeatedly tried to identify the dog’s owner through the hotel, but the hotel owner has been unhelpful and even rude in his email responses. It’s truly a shame, because this is such a beautiful place. But our experience was deeply disappointing, and the lack of care and responsibility from the hotel left a lasting negative impression.

Very nice. Great kitchen and staff. Clearly star level. Prices are reasonable. Wine recommendation was one of the lowest priced wine and a very good wine. We skipped a few courses as we were already very full and did not have to pay the skipped courses. Super fair. Highly recommended. Great find!

We stayed here for 4 nights, the location is beautiful but it lacked atmosphere. No background music, ambiance, rigid pool rules, staff not so proactive. The pool was covered with insects.. Diner in the Michelin star wasnt what I expected. Food was disappointing. The sommelier serves wines without discussing price preferences. So we ended up with a considerate bill and payed more than 450 euro's for two bottles of wine. Which could have been fine if we choose the wines ourselves. When I told the sommelier that I wld have appreciated it if he had discussed this before serving and had given us different priceranges/options he went quite aggressive in his arguments. Telling me in a very arrogant manner that most visitors don't want to know prices beforehand and that he sold bottles for much more than the ones we got. In other words don't complain. Later on he apologised to my husband for his temper instead of coming to me. I personnaly don't think it is normal to serve a bottle of 350 euro's without informing your guests, especially when there is a large assortiment of wines in different ranges. I will definitely not visit this place again, which is caused mainly by the attitude of their sommelier.

We ware in tasting course while all the menu was compounded by the chef and we were very disappointed! First to mall, we were 18 people sitting on three tables - and there was only one waiter for all. Second, - we were sitting in front of the kitchen door, and all the time other waiters were run between the tables to the next rooms! And the most unsatisfactory was the menu itself. the pita's were burnt and hard like cracker, the fish was missed taste etc. and gnocchi was not edible at all. Not sure how they got to the Michelin, but it was very far from expected.

“Locanda del Pilone” is every bit a gem in Alba, and their Michelin-starred gastronomic showstopper was delightfully paired with an almost “illegal” (region-wise) Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo Brunello 2001. It was such a treat that we can’t wait to plan our next culinary escape right back there.

We had lunch there and with the white truffle menu. The food was delicious. amazing. Chef was super nice. The environment is cozy and comfortable. The egg dish was so good. It’s the best egg I have ever had It’s the highlight of our trip. Sunset was beautiful.

We had a nice stay during a hot spell in June! As other reviews state: we LOVED the setting and VIEWS! It was QUIET and PEACEFUL and a short drive to downtown Alba. We enjoyed the food and wine very much and appreciated the CONVENIENCE of eating well on the premises. But be advised that this establishment is older and lacking insulation and cooling. We booked a standard room for the 2 of us which would have been fine if the Air Conditioning was working. It seemed to be running- but not cooling the room. Sleeping was difficult. I've truly never been so hot. The thermostat on the clock read 35 degrees celsuis at 7am and I believe it because it had been 40 degrees celsius when 1st woke up at 5am and we decided to open the small window without a breeze. Our second day I heard someone else complaining about the AC also. PRO TIP: Book the family suite that says it sleeps 5. It is worth a little more money. We were upgraded and it was much cooler and much more spacious. If I were to return when the weather is milder I would stay in the family suite again. The told me when I was there that its best to BOOK DIRECTLY WITH THEM BY E-MAIL. They have had problems with booking companies... Staff was friendly and helpful. However, rules are a little rigid. When we arrived after a 5 hour drive I asked if we could eat our lunch on the patio and was advised it would be better for us to go to our room and they would deliver wine if needed. It was disappointing. Also, I booked the bistro as I wanted to dine outside at the tables featured on the website. They told me they only serve lunch there. The bistro is located out front, under a covered porch which is not so impressive, but it turned out to have beautiful views of the sunset. The bistro food was delicious and surpassed out expectations! If you book dinner in the dining room then you are eating at the Michelin rated restaurant. They will do a custom wine pairing (the sommelier was thoughtful and passionate about the wine) and the server was very nice and was more flexible with the menu than I expected.

We did not stay at the hotel but we had an amazing meal at their restaurant. We came for lunch and had the 5-course tasting menu. From the ambiance, to the food, and the service, everything was terrific. They had unique dishes that were surprisingly great such as the veal tartare. And they went out of their way, moving furniture outside to offer coffee and desserts in the patio for us, what a treat!