Because I am new to driving in Europe, and am not a confident driver anyplace, I scheduled this trip so that we would not have to drive much more than 2 hours from destination to destination. So, en route from Larino in Molise to our departure point at FCO, I needed an overnight stop, which turned out to be a 2-night stop, outside CASTROCIELO, a hill town just off the autostrada A1. ( I remembered that, in his better days, Mario Batali had sung the praises of eating in Frosinone, but I could not find a tempting place to stay in that town, which had been damaged by a severe earthquake not all that many years ago.)
I chose VILLA EUCHELIA for our stopover. This small family owned-and-run hotel was lovely and staff were exceedingly welcoming and willing to fulfill any and all of our (small) requests. I would highly recommend this as a stopover within 1.5 hours drive of the main Rome airport; it has a small pool and a lovely view of the hill town, above, and the valley, below, and is only about 5 minutes drive off the A1. I wish that we had had the energy to explore the nearby town but by this point, both of us were pretty devoid of the energy needed to make the uphill trek!
Although the restaurant had garnered top reports online, I was not as enthusiastic, although my partner thought it wonderful. I suppose that I was spoiled by the meals we had had during the previous 20-or-so days. Perhaps one of our dinners was impacted by a large wedding taking place in the hotel on our second night. Nevertheless, the restaurant was just fine, and staff were willing to prepare off-menu dishes upon request.
All in all, I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a similar stopover within reach of the airport and a bit further out than the towns of the Castelli Romani.
Here are a few photos of VILLA EUCHELIA and its on-site restaurant, where we had two dinners; there is outdoor dining in good weather.
Excellent ravioli with top-notch bread in background:
Bucatini alla Amatriciana, a signature dish of Lazio, named after the town of Amatrice=primo!!
View of Castrocielo town from our room:
