After good wine tasting in Alto Adige and super food in Bologna we ended up in the Piedmont region in Vecchio Podere Santa Cristiana estate, and this most certainly met our expectations for a relaxing and lazy stay. Though apparently its very well suited for city trips to Turin, Genoa and for hiking. Yet the best thing to do is to enjoy the surroundings and soak up the wine which surrounds this beautiful estate.

Phil and Ingrid, the owners, are very friendly, hospitable and welcoming..(but don't trust the dogs!! ha ha). If they invite you to a wine tasting evening with a few snacks, don't prepare dinner as you can count on a veritable feast (Ingrid - what's your Pesto recipe??!).

To top it all off you can chill out around the pool, swim without getting red eyes from chlorine (cause its salt based) and help yourself to a nice, cold beer from the pool bar!!

Views of the rolling Piedmont countryside are good but can be fantastic on very clear days when the Alps are visible on the horizon...its quite a picture!

A lush place to stay and worthwhile checking it out!
Hein and Anne

We had a wonderful stay here. Our host, Ingrid and Phil, were warm, welcoming people. They answered all our questions, provided maps to help us get around and made us reservations at a couple of excellent restaurants. We couldnt have asked for better. We had a great informative visit to a local winery that Phil and Ingrid arranged for us and Phil gave us a great tour of their vineyard. Our breakfasts were fresh and tasty. I highly recommend this B&B -so much so that we would like to go back with our children and stay in their 2 bedroom aparment.

We stayed only three nights at Vecchio Podere Santa Cristiana but felt as if we'd been away for a long holiday. We were made to feel so welcome by Phil and Ingrid, our hosts.
For starters, the views were stupendous, it was fantastic to be surrounded by rows and rows of vines, yet we weren't far from anywhere that we wanted to visit. Our room was perfect and there was also a huge sitting room just for guests. They had obviously put a great deal of thought into every detail. For example, breakfast included local rice flakes, local honey, home made jams from their fruit, local eggs and ham and Piemontese coffee. Phil and Ingrid were a mine of information on the area, how the wine is harvested, where to eat (and like true Piemontesi, they know their stuff where food and wine is concerned) etc. We even got a tour of their vineyard and a great wine tasting evening. I know this review sounds horribly "gushy" but we both can't fault the experience and look forward to returning soon for some more R and R and perhaps we'll have time for a dip in the pool too.

We really can't say enough about this place after our 2 day stay there at the end of June/early July. Phil and Ingrid welcomed us into their home and truly provided a wonderful experience. Whether you're looking for a relaxing break to the busy days of sightseeing or for a great home base to explore the "real" Italian atmosphere of the Piedmont region, Vecchio Podere Santa Christiana is the perfect getaway.

My wife and I actually decided to make the trip using public transportation since we knew we didn't have time to fully explore the region. Phil was gracious enough to pick us up and drop us off at the town's train station. Phil and Ingrid were great at providing us with recommendations on how to handle being limited by not having a car, pointing us in the right direction for great walks through vineyards and to local towns such as Nizza Monferrato and Castelnuovo Belbo.

We felt like we were in great hands the whole time there, from arriving to a wine tasting with the other couples staying there to coming back after our long walk in Nizza to Phil holding up two glasses of the wonderful Moscato. Their wines were great...loved both the Moscato and their Barberas. The room was very spacious and comfortable, the breakfast spread was wonderful (consisting of all locally grown products), and the view from the pool and vineyards was fantastic. If you're looking for a great place to stay and explore the Piedmont region, my wife and I highly recommend staying at Vecchio Podere Santa Cristiana.