Hotel Castello di Vigoleno

I did go with a six year old, and she was totally amazed.

This might be a great place for events but it is not well-suited for individual lodging. After booking the reservation, I did not get a lick of information on the stay (it was not easy to find the front office upon arrival). I emailed in advance asking for a dinner reservation and never heard back. It was a big mistake not to cancel at this point. Turns out the restaurant was not open at all during the week but they did not let us know. The proprietor said perhaps we would find other food offerings on the property grounds which was ridiculous and disingenuous. There weren't enough guests to warrant an open restaurant -- the castle felt deserted. We had to drive all of the way into Salsomaggiore to find food. LOL that I told my husband to pack a sport coat to dine here. To boot, one cannot reasonably carry the suitcase to the room, at least if you are staying in the turret on the far end and traveling with a larger bag (we were traveling for two weeks). There are five or so flights of brick stairs between the office and the room so it's a haul. And then finally, while the room itself is quiet and nicely decorated, the bed must be original to the castle. That mattress is as hard at the stone that the castle is made of. This had a few bright moments but if I were to do this area again, would definitely skip it. "I stayed in a castle" is not worth it. If you choose to do it, pack provisions. The in-room literature is spot-on when it states "this is not a hotel .... it's a historical house used as accommodations." Those accommodations are not particularly user friendly.