Locanda Le Gualchiere

The starting point

A small hotel in an old town lives on direct bookings: every room sold through a portal costs a commission. The website has to make people want to stay and, right after that, answer the first question a phone visitor asks: is there a room on those dates?

This is a concept: a demo project for a made-up business, not a real client. It shows how I approach a website of this kind.

The choices

• Dates up front. The bar with arrival, departure and guests sits on the first screen, with no page to hunt for.
• One photo, not ten. A single large image tells the story of the place; each room has its own card with what matters: bed, bathroom, view, guests.
• Inn typography, not chain-hotel typography. An elegant serif for the headings and warm colours taken from the old-town walls.
• Built for the phone. The menu is cut down to the essentials and the booking button is always within thumb’s reach.

What going live would take

A link to a booking system (or simply a request by email), real photos of the rooms and the owner’s own words.