B&B Casale Poggio dei Pini

This is an absoloutely charming bed and breakfast in rural Umbria, 1.5 km from a small village and about 20km from Perugia. We stayed there for 5 nights. The home is a renovated 100+ year old farmhouse, with fruit trees and an olive grove. The rooms are simply furnished and the en-suite bathrooms are quite small, but all very clean and comfortable. We stayed upstairs and were the only guests, so we had the kitchen to ourselves. What makes it 5-star is the hostess, Nadia, who is a bundle of energy and very keen to practice her English. She will do just about anything to make your stay perfect, including making reservations at the 'restaurant' in a village 3km away.... actually tables set up in the chef's yard, where you are served a sumptuous Umbrian meal (no menu, you get whatever he is making), loads of food and wine, for 20 Euros. Breakfasts are simple but plentiful, with home-made cakes and home-grown fruit. We hiked the surrounding hills, sat in the sun in the garden looking down over a gorgeous valley view, and visited Assisi and Perugia. I would recommend this B&B as a place to go to relax completely after a hectic tour of the Italian cities! And I paid $40 per night