Review of Relais Villa Matilde, by James Wallman

This luxury hotel, a refurbished abbey, dates back to 1750s. Relais Villa Matilde feels like staying in an old family friend's rather well-appointed country home - not least when you stroll through the grounds, swim in the pool, or relax in front of the fire, gilded mirrors, 19th-century paintings, and hunting trophies of the Royal Salon with a cup of coffee or glass of Passito di Caluso wine, produced in the local vineyards.

In the centre of the picturesque, if workaday village of Romano Canavese, 35km from Turin in the Piedmontese countryside, not far from where the Olivetti technology company was founded and was headquartered, it is a retreat for Italians, Swiss and French families and couples; and for the Bush family: George Bush's wife and daughter stayed here when attending the winter Olympics in 2006.

The facilities

Within Villa Relais Matilde's own grounds, rich with plantains and chestnut trees, the feeling of retreat and calm is enhanced by the views of the mountains in the Valle d'Aosta, and the nearby churches of the village, lit in an orange hue at night. The outbuildings of the patrician villa of Relais Villa Matilde have been converted into luxury hotel hotel amenities. The old walled-in orchard is now an outdoor swimming pool. The limonaia, where baskets of lemons were once stored, now houses a sauna, steam room, and treatment rooms with technologically impressive facilities such as hydromassage and Tecnogym fitness equipment.

The stables have been refurbished into a first class restaurant, also popular with well-to-do locals. With more than a passing reference to Piedmontese's reputation for gastronomy, the produce is local and exceptional. Typical dishes include beefburger served blue with poached quail's eggs, black truffles and smoked salt; home-made taglioni with black truffle butter and pistachio cream; and, for dessert, chocolate and cardamon hot pudding with pear purée. Breakfast is laid out in the intimate, vaulted Light Blue Room, with white wallpaper and hand painted with Delft blue paint.

Activities outside the Relais Villa Matilde, aside from visiting Turin and Ivrea, are of the relaxed country type: walking in the hills, or visiting nearby castles, especially the hill-top castle of Masino.

The rooms

Each of the 43 rooms and suites at this luxury hotel is spacious; and feature wooden floors, antique armoires and desks. Bathrooms also retain an old style layout and charm (that reminded this writer of London's The Ritz). Both feature significant, and welcome, nods to 21st-century creature comfort: wi-fi, whirlpool baths and iPod docking stations.