mapiola

Charming places to stay in Italy, Spain, France and beyond

I’m Valeria, and this is where I gather small hotels, farm stays, hostels and country houses with character. For each one I tell you where it is, what it’s like, what guests keep mentioning and who it suits, so you can book knowing where you’re going.

526 places to stay in 118 regions

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Valeria Romano

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Each dot is a place with its own article.

Four of the places rated highest by the people who have already stayed there.

Where to stay in Italy

265 places to stay

Farm stays among vineyards and olive groves, B&Bs in old town centres, holiday flats near the sea and small family-run hotels. Italy is where Mapiola has the most places, listed region by region, from the one with the most to the one with the fewest.

Where to stay in Spain

84 places to stay

Camino de Santiago hostels, stone-built country houses, village guesthouses and small hotels in historic towns, listed region by region so you can see at a glance what is near where you are heading.

Where to stay in France

73 places to stay

Chambres d’hôtes in village houses, gîtes in the countryside, small family-run hotels and a few mountain addresses, listed region by region.

Further afield

A handful of places outside Italy, Spain and France, listed country by country.

Latest articles

How I choose the places

I look for small places, nearly always run by their owners, where you can tell who is behind them: a farm stay that presses its own olive oil, a B&B in a family house in an old town centre, a village guesthouse that has passed from one generation to the next. Before writing about one, I read carefully what guests have said, check exactly where it is and look at what is nearby that makes the trip worthwhile.

I don’t give my own scores or make rankings. I’d rather tell you what each place is like and let you decide, with the Google rating and the number of reviews always in plain sight.

What each article tells you

Every article follows the same order, so you can compare places without getting lost:

  • Where it is and how to get there, with or without a car.
  • What the rooms are like and which facilities it really has.
  • What guests mention most, the good points and the downsides too.
  • Who it suits and who it doesn’t.
  • What to see nearby and when it’s best to go.

If you want to know where the information comes from and how I put each article together, I explain it in how I write Mapiola’s articles.

Tips for booking a small place to stay

A chain hotel and a farm stay don’t work the same way. These are the things worth checking before you pay:

  • Your arrival time. Many B&Bs, farm stays and hostels don’t have a reception desk staffed all day. Tell them when you’ll arrive and ask for a phone number in case you’re late.
  • The last stretch of road. The quietest places are often outside the village, sometimes down an unpaved track. Ask about access and parking.
  • Cancellation. The cheapest rates are often non-refundable. If your dates might change, it’s worth paying a little more.
  • Breakfast and dinner. In the countryside there may be nowhere open to eat nearby. Check what is included and whether they serve dinner.
  • Tourist tax. Many towns charge one per person per night, usually paid at the property: the imposta di soggiorno in Italy, the taxe de séjour in France, and in Spain the regional taxes of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.

How Mapiola is funded

Mapiola is an independent blog: it isn’t the official website of any place to stay, and none of them pays to be included. When a booking button is an affiliate link and you book through it, the blog earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. I explain it in detail in how the affiliate links work.