What it means to stay in a “albergo diffuso”: the Relais del Maro experience

Imagine crossing the threshold of a two-hundred-year-old house, where every stone tells a story, and having the cobblestone streets of an authentic Ligurian village as your hallway. This is what it means to stay in a scattered hotel: not simply spending the night in a room, but living an experience that transforms every guest into a temporary inhabitant of an authentic community.

A revolutionary idea born in Italy

The scattered hotel is an entirely Italian invention that has revolutionized the very concept of hospitality. It’s not a traditional hotel, but an innovative model that allows you to stay in historic buildings distributed throughout the urban fabric of a village, while maintaining all the hotel services you’d expect from a quality establishment.

It’s an invitation to discover the most authentic Italy, that of small centers rich in history where time flows at a different pace and where every corner preserves centuries-old traditions. Guests can enjoy professional hospitality, carefully prepared breakfast, personalized services, while living completely integrated into the life of the village.

Walking through history in Borgomaro

At the Relais del Maro, this philosophy comes to life in the streets of Borgomaro in an extraordinary way. The rooms and suites are distributed across three historic buildings, all within a hundred and twenty meters of the heart of the structure where reception and common areas are located. The Casa Madre, an early nineteenth-century palace, houses the common areas and some rooms. The Casa del Borgo is located in the historic center, reachable by crossing the bridge and walking ninety meters through the characteristic Ligurian caruggi. The Casa del Fienile, completely renovated, offers the most intimate rooms with vaulted ceilings and small windows that tell centuries of history.

Walking to reach your room becomes an integral part of the experience. Along the way you encounter the smiles of the inhabitants, smell the aromas coming from house windows, experience the authentic rhythm of a village where everyone knows each other by name. You’re no longer a passing tourist, but become part of a living ecosystem that includes inhabitants, visitors, and traditions that resist time.

Comfort meets authenticity

Staying in a scattered hotel doesn’t mean giving up comfort. At the Relais del Maro, every detail is designed to combine the authenticity of the experience with the services of a charming establishment. The buffet breakfast with local zero-kilometer products, the garden with pool open twenty-four hours a day, the personalized service of a staff that welcomes you like a family member.

The five o’clock tea with over thirty different varieties, massages in the intimate and bright salon at Casa del Borgo, aperitifs with homemade appetizers: every moment of the day is designed to offer an authentic experience without giving up the care you’d expect from a quality hotel. The difference lies in the fact that all this happens in a context completely integrated into village life.

A social stronghold that makes a difference

The scattered hotel represents much more than a simple accommodation solution: it’s a true social stronghold that helps keep historic centers alive. Instead of building new impactful structures, this model recovers and enhances existing architectural heritage, creating job opportunities and stimulating local initiatives.

In Borgomaro, the Relais del Maro actively collaborates with local producers and businesses, from Salumeria Giacobbe for artisanal cured meats to Agrilocanda Cor-nus for goat cheeses, from oil mills for Taggiasca extra virgin olive oil to local organic companies. Every purchase, every collaboration, every recommendation to guests becomes a way to support the local economy and preserve traditions.

The five senses experience

Staying at the Relais del Maro means engaging all the senses. In the morning, you wake up to the gentle flow of the Maro stream and the singing of birds. The air smells of aromatic herbs and that extraordinary olive oil that characterizes this valley. Your eyes fill with the beauty of colored houses climbing along the caruggi, while your palate experiences the authentic flavors of early morning Ligurian focaccia or pizza from “Zia Bruna,” a true local celebrity.

Your hands touch stones polished by centuries of history, while your soul fills with that tranquility that only small villages can offer. In the evening, the starry sky that in cities we’ve forgotten could exist completes a sensory picture that remains etched in memory.

Being temporary inhabitants

The true magic of the scattered hotel lies in the transformation it operates on guests. In just a few days, you find yourself greeting the baker in the morning, chatting with village inhabitants sitting on the town square bench, learning the stories that interweave through the village streets. You become part of a community, even if temporarily.

At the Relais del Maro, this transformation is facilitated by the warm welcome of the staff, predominantly female, who make you feel truly part of the family from the first moment. It doesn’t matter what time you arrive or where you come from: you’ll be welcomed with that sincere smile that only Ligurian hospitality can offer.

Staying at the Relais del Maro is not simply booking a room for a few nights, but choosing to live an experience that changes the way you travel. It’s discovering that there are still places where time flows slowly, where traditions are alive, and where every guest can become, for a few days, a true inhabitant of Borgomaro.