Ascesi Resort

Ascesi Resort is in via Ospedale delle Pareti, in the locality of Valecchie in the municipality of Assisi, on the green plain that separates the medieval town from Santa Maria degli Angeli. The position is its main argument: from the terraces and the glass walls you look at the outline of Assisi resting on the flank of Monte Subasio, with the Basilica of San Francesco closing the scene, while the Porziuncola stays a few minutes away on the other side. The property comes from the restoration of a sixteenth century villa and keeps an old core with a layered history: the room where breakfast is served was a church, then a refuge for crusaders returning from the Holy Land, then a hospital for travellers, and today it shows vaults in stone and brick. The Umbria international airport is a few kilometres away. The identification code published is IT054001A101034949.

How it is made

The resort declares five stars and starts with nine rooms, with a plan to expand to nineteen units. All the units are suites for two people, with a king size bed and a view of the town. The Junior Suites measure 45 square metres and play on wood, brick and pink Assisi stone. The Suites reach 60 square metres, with an open space living area, a large glass wall and a long balcony that seems suspended in mid air, and a double wardrobe wall that separates the sleeping area. The Superior Suites, also 60 square metres, add an intimate corner with a whirlpool tub in the room. All the suites have a tea corner, a coffee station, a refrigerated wine store and a minibar. Breakfast is à la carte, prepared by the in-house pastry chef, and is served in the historic room with the stone vaults; the property also has a restaurant, the Seven, a wine club and spaces for private events.

The wellness area and the pools, described for what they are

Here the wellness is not a shared centre, and that is the difference that counts: it is inside the rooms. Every suite has its own sauna and a multifunction shower in the bathroom; the Suites and the Superior Suites add the Turkish bath, and the Superior also the whirlpool tub in the room. There is therefore no shared spa with water circuits, and no swimming pool is declared, neither indoor nor outdoor. There is, on the other hand, a gym, and it is worth describing because it is unusual: it is a pavilion in the garden, bioclimatic, with slim profiles and full height glass walls, flooring that blends into the lawn and cardio equipment and a weights area laid out so as to keep the outline of Assisi always in view. Around it are a garden, olive trees and lavender, terraces and an outdoor fireplace.

The access rules

The official website is clear on the principle and silent on the numbers: it writes that Ascesi is reserved for adults and open to small pets, but publishes no minimum age in figures. The booking portal classes the property among those for adults only and writes in so many words that children are not allowed, again without giving a threshold. The two sources agree on the ban and neither declares an age: anyone travelling with a young person under eighteen, and in particular with a sixteen or seventeen year old, should ask for written confirmation before booking, because the rule is not published in any numerical form. The restriction concerns the whole property, and consequently also the wellness fittings, which are in the rooms. Small pets are allowed.

Who it suits

It suits anyone who wants to wake up looking at Assisi through a glass wall and to have their own sauna in the bathroom, sharing it with nobody, and anyone looking for a house of a few rooms rather than a large hotel. It suits anyone arriving by air, given how close the Umbrian airport is. It suits less anyone looking for a swimming pool, because there is none, and anyone expecting a real spa with water and steam circuits and treatment cabins: here the wellness is private, inside the suite, and anyone who does not book the right category finds only the sauna and the multifunction shower. It also suits less anyone who wants to sleep inside the old centre, because the resort is on the plain and Assisi is reached by car.