We partly agree with the previous reviewer as we also had an unpleasant issue with the front desk staff.We were told they had no rooms available left in the Hotel when we inquired early in the afternoon so one of the staff took us to view 2 other units in 2 different buildings in different streets(not suitable)hoping we would stay there.After much running around we found that the majority of Hotel's in Norcia are indeed owned by the same family,& finally at one of the other Hotel's,owned by that family,we were told by a relative that Hotel Grotta Azzura did have vacancies after all!This took us all afternoon to finally get a room,we were not impressed at all.The room was small & dark but clean,breakfast was served downstairs & we were lucky to find some food left,not many choices,mainly pastries & cakes.We would return to Norcia,loved the town & people,but stay at an Agriturismo again,as we did for another 3 nights.

Our group of 12 stayed here for one week for a small conference. The staff was hospitable, cheerful and responsive to our special requests for meeting space, morning coffee service and equipment. The hotel was crowded on the weekend with leisure travelers and had a fun and festive atmosphere in the dining hall. During the week it was quieter. The rooms varied in size and were not high-end, but they were clean, comfortable and had amenities like hair dryers, plenty of storage space, room safe, good internet connection, etc. Many of the rooms have private balconies with beautiful views of the mountains. Hotel guests have access to a large and well-equipped fitness center just outside the city walls. Those who want more spacious, elegant accommodations might consider the gorgeous Palazzo Seneca across the street. Owned by the same family, it is a Relais & Chateau luxury hotel and spa, impeccably furnished and up-to-date.

I like this hotel but it is not perfect. Contrary to another review we found the staff and the owners very friendly both to us as guests and to each other. The hotel has lots of character and a number of restaurants. In fact it is really a big restaurant with rooms. Thus it lacks general areas and the bar is minimally used. The food is good but not gastromic as some guide books suggest. The restaurants are busy with lots of atmophere particularly at the weekend. However as always here there is a potential downside. During the week we had a number of school parties which were rather noisey.
The rooms are the true eccentric part. If you are used to the uniformity of the major chains this hotel will confuse. Rooms are not the same or even similir in facilities or size.
Yes they are clean and the maids do a good job but they are tired particularly the bathrooms and the family needs to start a rennovation/ modernisation project if the balance between atmosphere and friendliness is not outweighed by shabbiness.
The town is lovely with lots of little shops and bars. The Gregorian chant at the Bascillica was a true memory keeper whilst the walking in the Sibillini Park is just wonderful. Lots of well marked tracks make it ideal for the rambler or the strong hiker..

I am staying at the hotel as of now. This is my worst experience ever. The Bianconi family owns five hotels in town unfortunately, so you don't have many choice in Norcia. They have no concept of "service." Mrs. Bianconi is the only one who is friendly and nice. Everybody else (sons, daughters, etc) is incredibly rude and doesn't understand why people don't visit Norcia anymore. Mr. Bianconi is yelled at the customers and lied to us when we didn't do anything wrong. We request edto fix some problems i(real problem that we couldn't stay there) in the room. He kept saying that he sent somebody. For four nights, they didn't do anything but lying. They kept saying that they fixed and refused to move the room. From time to time, he raised his voice to us. Do you call this "service" or what? The hotel was not full at all since they left the empty rooms open. We saw many empty rooms. They kept lying that there was no room to move. The family is a bunch of liars who only thinks of money. I feel sorry for people who work at the hotel.

Upon arrival, I had a question and had to wait for a minute. I didn't have a problem since the person was helping other customers out. One member of the Bianconi family yelled at this nice person at the front desk to work faster. Even though I don't speak Italian, I understood what was going on. This is one simple example of the family's mind. They are ruining the business and thinking about money only. They don't treat the customers nicely. Mrs. Bianconi is the only one in the family who is concerned about their business and cares about it. Even if you don't understand Italian, you will see who is the Bianconi or not by the way of talking to each other. I was amazed to figure it out.

I am sure that I won't go back to Norcia because of the family's monopoly in town and the way they treat the staff and the customers. I am paying a lot of money for over a week to stay here. I wish I could move to another hotel, but almost everything is owned by this family. Eventually they will lose their potential customers unless they change their attitude. I don't think this day would ever come.

Another thing was that they never refilled the toilet papers nor soaps even when I asked many times. I am sure that the family is so cheap and gave a specific direction not to refill anything. They try to do anything to make more profits and don't have any intention to keep the customers happy. They don't even talk nicely to the customers.

It is too bad that Norcia is a cute and nice town. Unfortunately it is not worth to come here to get treated so badly like this. If you have to come to Norcia, do not stay in Norcia. It is not fair for the Bianconi family to treat people badly and still make lots of money. I have seen them treat their employees like slaves. Excuse me! Maybe you are lucky to own the whole village, but that doesn't mean that you are the king of the town. Isn't this 21st century? They don't understand that the famly's wealthycould exist because of their customers and nice employees. I clearly see that their business will go down unless they change their mind and start thinking about how to make it nicer.

Sorry, guys. Stay away from this hotel and the Bianconi family. You will be treated like nothing. They don't speak much English, so they will blame you for everything that goes wrong. This is my first review ever online. I am a world traveler who goes everywhere and stays at many hotels all the time. I have seen a lot, but never felt this.

I wish I recorded how Mr. Bianconi lost his mind and yelled at us. It was unbelievable.