Sextantio Albergo Diffuso

A medieval mountain hamlet where history and designer fittings meet to create a unique cultural experience

There's nothing quite like this albergo diffuso - meaning something like "scattered lodgings" - anywhere else in the world. Put together by a team passionate about cultural preservation, the hotel in the Gran Sasso mountains of central Italy is a collection of stone houses and suites dotted around a crumbling hilltop village. Thanks to the hotel, the village has been saved from cultural extinction, and its remit now is to pay reverance to its peasant past. This is not a typical hotel: it’s a step back in time, and like its sister project Grotte della Civita, it’s quite unique.

With your ancient iron key in hand, you enter a room that seems largely unchanged over the centuries, with stone walls and heavy wooden furniture. But don’t be fooled. Extensive studies were conducted with cultural institutions to bring the best of the past alive, and to join them with the best of today’s modern luxury; so underfloor heating, hidden electrics and swish bathrooms are there too.

We haven't visited this hotel yet, but it has had glowing reviews from everyone who has. Sit in the vaulted candlelit restaurant and eat the food that Santo Stefano's peasant farmers ate centuries ago; explore hilltop villages and castles, or walk in the majestic Gran Sasso mountains.

Highs

• An utterly unique take on a holiday in Italy - it's a cultural experience and offers far more than the average holiday
• Meticulous detail has been applied to the project, from the ornate iron keys to the traditional menus - and it shows
• The landscape is breathtaking - rocky crags, crumbling castles, wild forests and lakes
• This area is largely undiscovered by tourists so you have it all to yourself
• You'll get to really live like a local on holiday - and may well spend some time getting to know them in person too

Lows

• The obsession with historical detail does mean that rooms are sparely furnished, without comfy sofas, minibars or TVs, and with small windows and unadorned walls
• The lack of an in-room phone can be a drawback, particularly with rooms scattered across the village
• The ancient iron keys are romantic but very heavy and, according to some, tricky to use
• There are no turndowns, room service or fitness rooms - if you're looking for a full-service hotel, this isn't for you
• It's not cheap - cynics might say you are paying more for less - but when you get there you will see the time, love and infrastructure that has been invested