Relais Fontevivo

If you are looking for a traditional hotel experience this is not it, but you will love it. Created from what was once a monastery, this place has great architecture , a meditative vibe and a fantastic restaurant. This would be a great place for a retreat.

The hotel building is really different and unique (in a good way). The stuff was very welcoming and helpful. The room was a good size and match the theme of the whole place. Breakfast was a little poor. only the basics. From a place like this we would have expect to make a little effort to do some more. Parking is free. Behind the hotel.

The shower had a water heater behind the door but no one told us that we should wait for it to be full so after 2 min of shower the water went cold. And it was a little difficult to find the hotel when we arrived at night because there was not enough signage. There is a restaurant there (a good one) and most of the signs were of the restaurant.

The accommodations were simple, yet very comfortable, as one would expect in a renovated monastery. The bathrooms were modern & everything was very clean. The restaurant, Monaci12, was spectacular - we ate there twice. The staff was very welcoming, helpful & a lovely experience all around.

It is a little hard to find once you arrive at the small center of Fontevivo. So, enter the restaurant in your GPS vs. Relais Fontevivo. Drive there in daylight because it is located in a rural area once you exit the highway. These are not negatives, just a suggestion. Location was 20min drive to anything you’d like to see/do in Parma - both city & outskirts.

Rooms are new and clean, bathroom with shower is new. Great breakfast with choice of sweet and savory (eggs, ham, prosciutto crudo and cheeses). Great selection of cakes and cookies. Wifi was weak and unstable.

They did not replanish with eggs, ham and fresh bread which is not fair if you arrive late. The prosciutto was somehow dry maybe left over of cold cuts

I so wanted to love this place…the photos were promising. I knew the rooms would be simple and that was fine with me.But this was different. First off…it was hard to find the place. I had to ask a local how to even find the place…There is no sign that I saw.. …parking right on the street was great.Checking in, the reception was tepid. It would have been nice to have a little welcome and enthusiasm…but…OK…I went up to the room and it was fine. The Wifi was not the best, but the room was ok.I walked down to the restaurant/ deli down the street and had something to eat…dinner at the hotel seemed too complicated at that point. I had a good nights sleep …however…at 8 am jackhammering began on the floor above. I was awake, but still,it was a hotel…I hoped it would end…and it did for awhile until construction began in the room next door…Was it too much to ask for some quiet until check out? I found myself brushing my teeth with someone hammering on the other side of the mirror. I was sure the mirror would shatter. I looked out of the door and there was a construction crew in the room next door. The foreman kept asking was I leaving? When are you going to leave, ??? I tied to call reception…NO ANSWER! 8 am, no one there, 9 am, no one there…I went down to reception…door closed. The only people around were in the dining room. A very nice man there helped me. I had planned to do an hours worth of work but there was no way in that room with the banging and drilling, so he found me a place to set up the computer. I appreciated it.I don’t understand why the person at reception put me in that room. I was sent an apology email acting as though it was a surprise to them! It was a whole crew…not a last minute thing. They could have put me anywhere else but I think they were barely paying attention and/or they didn’t care. Either way…though the place has so much potential, customer service was non existent...don't be fooled by the nice photos.

see above. wifi also shaky.

The food here was incredible! We were amazed by both dinner and breakfast, and the service was great too. We couldn’t enjoy the surroundings much because it was raining but it was cool to stay at a monastery!

History & convenient location

Rooms were small but clean & comfortable.

Though small ,the room was well thought out, well planned, lighting good, bed comfortable, very clean. Hot radiator which was needed in January.This was, however, a different room from the one we had booked. The building itself was definitely very special, unusual and historically intriguing

This was the first day of opening after the Christmas break AND IT SHOWED! We parked in the road outside, couldn't see any sign of hotel parking as I never saw hotel name anywhere either, apart from beautifully lit signs to the restaurant which turned out to be entrance to hotel. I had discovered just before we left France for this overnight stop that the restaurant didn't open until a week later. I would not have booked had I known before booking. To cut a long story short, the room offered to us at first was too difficult for our dog( steep open tread staircase)Our 2nd offer, where we stayed was fine BUT radiator in the lovely large bathroom didn't work so was too cold for me. Breakfast OK, not that good, no kettle in room to make hot drink and we discovered onsite parking ourselves. after returning from a longish excursion to find somewhere to eat.

The place is lovely. The bed in a single room was comfortable, the shower was spacious. There is a parking available for guests, along with tea and tea making facilities. It was warm inside the room with munis temperature outside on 30 December. There is a restaurant inside the hotel.

Unique place

Everything was good. Just that the restaurant was closed when we were there and there isn’t much in the village out of season.

Very atmospheric ex monastery. Excellent value and good breakfast. Restaurant closed but we have eaten there before and it is very good. We went to Fontenellato with it’s fantastic castle and eat well there.

Nice suggestive building, large room comfortable large bed, large car park. Very friendly staff.

The air conditioning system is a bit dated, very noisy.

Amazing property. Building restored in the spirit of the old monastery, with beautiful wooden furniture, love for detail and excellent comfort. Surprising collection of accordeons made into a "museum".

The air condition mas very noisy.

Historic former monastery converted into charming inn with a fabulous restaurant. One of the best meals we had in Italy. Monk cells turned into comfortable rooms with all modern amenities, including AC. Many have en-suite bathroom. Perfect one night stop when driving north to south.

This is such a unique stay in a Monastery which is only 15 minutes driving to Parma. It’s very well maintained and has its own private parking. The room is spacious and very calm. The hotel is charming

It would be great to add a small fridge in the room and to indicate to the customer on which day the restaurant is closed

The hotel is in a beautiful, historic abbey. The on site restaurant is excellent with great service, and delicious food which looked and tasted amazing! The staff are friendly and helpful.

Nice experience for one night in an old monastery. Enough parking space.

There is not much around but we knew and prepared for it.

Very good hotel. Room was clean and suff was very nice and kind.

A better directions how to reach the hotel, where is hotel parking - in general more guidance outside the hotel.

Location was amazing, so peaceful. Room was lovely, attached restaurant was delicious. Also found a great pizzeria a 5 min walk away from the property. Staff were all nice, and also accommodating.

Our room needed a bit of maintenance. There was no door on the shower, the radiator wouldn’t turn off and on our second morning there was no hot water to shower. Despite that it was a nice stay though!

Gréat location close to motorway. Fantastic restaurant

Room was a little basic but reflected price