boboqui

On booking.com on 11/23, the Sitea is pricing at $191 while the Golden Palace is $169

dhammer53

Holiday Inn City Center is in a good location, unlike their other property. I paid 18 euros a day to park. We drove from MXP.

The Marriott is around the corner from the original Eataly. The NYC location fits in the armpit of this location. It's gigantic and relaxed.
The Marriott and Eataly are off the beaten path. Would have been a cab or subway/tube/train ride away.

From the Holiday Inn, most things are walkable (25 minutes max to most locations. If you're from California, don't bother.
It's been rainy here. Saturday was bad, but we drove between Torino/Turin and the Alba area. Roads were wet. Streams were fast moving. We're north of Genoa. All they had on the news was the flooding roadways. No rain Sunday. rain Monday, then clearing out for the next days after that.

boboqui > come.

FYI, check this place out for dinner. il FARO - via Tagliata 12 - Rodello d'Alba. 30 euro per person. All they do is serve and serve and serve you food and wine + water and etc!! That's all-in. Check it on Tripadvisor. We were there for 4 hours and had a blast.

dh

Perche

The weather is supposed to be great next week in those areas. Rain on Monday, and cold at night. Otherwise, sunny. Its a major, well developed area of italy. I doubt the roads will be a problem.

At that price it's worth going with the Sitea.

I think OP is referring to the Holiday Inn in Langhe wine country, not Torino. This Californian has run the NYC Marathon nine times. A 25 minute walk in Torino or NYC is a piece of cake for someone who walks the hilly streets of San Francisco.

boboqui

That's where I'm staying on points. Do you have any restaurants recommendations for Turin?

Sounds great, thanks! I can't find the opening hours though, any idea if they open for lunch?

Perche

A lot, of course, depends on the budget. Del Cambio is considered the best restaurant in Torino. In fact, it's considered one of the best restaurants in Italy. It's very expensive. Going for lunch can make it more affordable. It's really for special occasions.

For locals, the place generally considered to have the best pasta dishes is Pastaficio Defilipis. Everything, down to the breadsticks, is hand made on site. It is on Via LaGrange, one of the two most important streets. It is economical. Two blocks down is Eataly, also a great place to eat. This is not the Eataly out in Linghotto. There are two in Torino. This is the smaller one, but unlike the one in Linghotto it is right downtown.

I'm only mentioning downtown restaurants. Ristorante Vintage 1997 is expensive, but only half the cost of Del Cambio, and it is still really top notch, excellent dining. A place to have a memorable, authentic, gourmet meal at a not so steep price.

One thing you can do to make the more expensive places affordable for a splurge is to mix that up by eating very well for free on some nights. In Italy when you order a drink they usually put out a snack. It can range from peanuts to potato chips. In some cities they offer a little more, like mini-sandwiches. In Torino, the birthplace of the aperitivo, you can get a full meal of decent food for the price of just having one glass of wine in a bar. It is called an Apericena.

The apericena culture is a unique aspect of Torino. Starting at around six or seven, many bars put out a huge buffet. You go in, order one glass of wine, pick up a plate, and go for it. And that's it. Some are meager and not worth it. Others, you get a darn good meal for free. The best ones are located along Via Po. Via Po connects to Piazza Vittorio Veneto. Via Po is also is near Quadrilateral Romano. In general, those are the three best areas to find a good Apricena offering at a bar. You don't even have to stand at the bar to eat. You even get a table.

Don't go into the first one you see. Walk in and out of them until you find one that looks like this: http://www.lasalumeriatorino.it

BTW, if you are staying in the Holiday Inn Express in Torino, not in Langhe, that is not a nice area at all. It's right next to the train station. Dark, rundown, seedy, compared to the beautiful downtown. I can understand it if it's free on points, but it's not a place where you're going to want to walk around outside in, or feel too great about walking back to late at night.

boboqui

Thanks for the heads up, I'll be careful.

JMN57

If you have a car and don't mind eating on the outskirts, I can recommend Sabaudia. It is next to the Palazzina Stupinigi which is a UNESCO world heritage site, home for a furniture museum and probably the fanciest hunting lodge (it's original purpose) you will ever see.

As far as the restaurant, my wife and I ate there a few weeks ago at the recommendation of a Torinese friend. It was outstanding. We split an appetizer of capesante (scallops) and also a tagiolini with white truffles to start. My wife ordered fegato thinking she was going to get liver but it was foie gras, healthy portion, done sublimely with calvados and apples. I had a Fassone steak which was incredibly tender and great tasting. We finished with two desserts (zabaglione & a bunet). Good selection of wine, we had a nice amarone. Reasonably priced wine list for this quality of meal.

Added: If one does go, Google Maps has the restaurant on the wrong side of the street (they have it on the side going away from Torino, it is on the side of Viale Torino that is going TOWARDS Torino). I updated the pin with Google so they may fix it but I don't know when that change will be made.

Perche

Like most Italian cities, Torino is not dangerous, so nothing will happen. Unless I'm getting comped, I prefer to look out the window or go downstairs and see beauty. The central historic part of Torino is stately, majestic,and beautiful. Once you go outside the main portico on Corso Vittorio Emmanuele and get near the train station, the neighborhood dives. Ordinary tenement buildings identical to a run down NYC building, except there will also be a lot of graffiti. I wouldn't say it's dangerous, it just appears rundown. If you came in at night, then in the morning walk outside and look around you would say, "This is Torino? I thought it was supposed to be a beautiful city?"

dhammer53

We didn't stay in Langhe. We stayed a block from the train station. I thought the HI was on the good side of the tracks. The other side seemed seedy. My opinion is based on seeing this through a New Yorkers eyes. Hey, if anyone can afford to stay at a fancy place, the more power to you. Fancy = nice neighborhood. I never felt in danger by the station.

We always walked from or to the hotel. We did cab it back after dinner one night since walking 2 miles (3ish km) is above my payscale.

boboqui

Ok, thanks. ^

boboqui

Looks beautiful, will check it out! ^

Ristorante Sabaudia Sas Di Pavan Silvano E C
Viale Torino, 11 - Fraz.Stupinigi - 10042 Nichelino

Perche

Try to familiarize yourself with the Tutor Autostrada.it website. It has an English version. You put in your origin and destination, it will tell you about road conditions. Won't help with small roads, but it would be indispensable today for getting around Genova say, if you were traveling from Torino to Rome. Right now for example, it shows no road conditions to report between Torino and Asti. It will be worth using this to figure out how the weather will affect your trip, if at all. http://www.autostrade.it/en/home