We just came back from Norcia. Beautiful town calming but exciting at the same time. I would love to go back to enjoy mountains fresh air, Tartuffe and all..... I would definitely will stay at Palazzo Seneca, I loved almost everything about the place , Beatiful blend of old and new in such a harmonious way...I also liked the type of guests that the place attracts.... staff was extremely courteous and helpful in everything. We ate at Vespasia restaurant which was good not excellent,
But very promising as a gourmet restaurant. However We have found the restaurant too quite ( which is bizarre because I personally hate and complain about noise in most restraurants) but this one is intimidatingly quite...although the tables are perfectly set in distance from one another, you still can not have a conversation because you are worried about breaking the silence!!!!!
I also found large lighting fixtures overly dominating otherwise very Beatiful simple room...The young woman who served us was extremely competent, confident and pleasant...she Infact served all other guest may be 15 all together, with same attention to detail and pleasant manner and speed...I was surprise to see her again at our breakfast early in the morning with sunrise like smile on her face and same confident serving skills..by the way breakfast was excellent quality and variety .. I did not use the spa but when I asked about fitness room I was advised and gently transferred to another near by recreation centre with Olympic swimming pool, all fitness facilities, And driven back when I was done..I would definitely go back to this hotel...

We had a good quality (if small) room at the stair-end of the second floor, with a decent bed (although poor pillows) and good shower. V small but nice balcony, which didn't have a view but was a nice place to have a quick drink. Seemed like good sound-proofing between our room and the next, but you do get noise coming from the corridor (like so many hotels, it seems to me these days). There are also several nice rooms on the ground floor in which you can sit and read.

Helpful staff, great breakfast and good location right in the middle of Norcia - seconds away from Plazza San Benedetto.

(If the weather is good then do drive up to Castelluccio, which is a stunning route through the mountains and into a huge plain which I've never seen the like of in central Europe before. And have a coffee at the top!)

We would like to thank again the friendly staff for making our stay very relaxing in our tour through North Italy. Rooms were comfortable, and at our arrival we were shown different roomtypes in case we wanted to change or upgrade. The palace itself makes you really feel home and the restaurant serves traditional local food with a twist. A beautiful place in a fantastic scenery...we will be back.

I find it difficult to write an unbiased account of Palazzo Seneca, simply because our stay in Norcia was near-perfect.
Palazzo Seneca is a beautiful building, carefully restored. It is the staff that keeps it alive. Even though it is a Relais & Chateaux ownership, it does not suffer from the sterile-grandeur that I have experienced in other R & C establishments. The main reason for this difference is the Bianconi family management, their staff, and their relationship to Palazzo Seneca.
Apart from being one of the very few completely walled Italian towns (still intact), Norcia has two major attributes;
It has a fantastic local cuisine, and its inhabitants show a friendly humility in relationship to tourists.
Both of these points are reflected at the Palazzo S. The breakfast at the P.S. is, alone, well worth staying for. All local produce and supplied with information.
We choose Norcia as a base for walking in the mountains (typical Norwegian pastime!). Umbria has fantastic scenery, and the ground is “kind” to your feet. I can highly recommend the area around & above Castelluccio. October turned out to the right choice, we were lucky. The nighttime had a temperature of around + 8 rose to + 27°C in the afternoon, even at 1900 meters. Out all day, returning to the town to enjoy its gastronomic delights in the evening. Late spring was also recommended to us, due to the flowering on the plains.
Do keep an eye open for watching the sheepdogs at work.
There are numerous restaurants in Norcia, we tried a selection (all varied but no disappointments).
If in need of a “easy” lunch – I can recommend buying a couple of slices of pizza from the small shop on the side of the square, accompanied a bottle of beer, then just sit on a bench and watch the local life!
Other than the time of year, try to evade going to Norcia in the week-ends. Norcia is practically invaded every Friday by Italians whom arrive to purchase the black truffels, Norcina, and lots of other delights. They usually leave on Sunday, late-afternoon. Start your stay on Sunday or Monday, to find the serenity of Norcia.
Finally, whether you have any religious believes or not, try to (respectfully!) be allowed to listen to the Gregorian Chant in the evening at the Church St. Benedetto.