Hotel - the owners
Travelling from London, we had a nightmare journey as we were re-directed from Pisa to Bologne which caused problems with car hire etc (don't EVER book with Easycar) so we were very late arriving at the hotel but we kept our spirits high. We started to have a chat to the owner but he was completely rude to us and cut us dead and did not even smile at us, so it wasn't the best start. It could be the language barrier but we noticed over the couple of days we were there that he could suddenly communicate in English to other guests where English was the only shared language where as with us he would not even try even though we practised our Italian. We said morning to him every day but not once did he smile.
The Room
Clean, basic and tidy but with no character and very similar to a Travel Lodge!
The Food
We didn't eat at the restaurant as when we arrived (after a nightmare journey) we asked if the restaurant was still open and he said it was shutting in 15 minutes, the time was 9.15pm. We found some information a little later that said the restaurant actually closed at 10pm. Again not very welcoming. Breakfast was typical Italian so quite good.
Restaurants near by
When we arrived late we went to the Dory, which is basic, very well lit restaurant. It's not the best in terms of setting but we had a couple of very good pizza's and they were very hospitable.
We had a fantastic time, really because of the two restaurants near by. If you turn left as you come out of the hotel (by car as it is too far to walk) then you will come across a lovely Osteria on the right hand side. It is quite easy to miss but you should see a small car park. It is set under Olive trees and makes a lovely setting for either lunch or dinner.
If you carry on further, you will see some cars parked and you will come across a massive fishing lake with some basic bars and restaurants surrounding the lake. We didn't eat here but it is definitely worth stopping to take in the views.
If you then drive on you will pass a massive bottle of wine on the left hand side (no I'm not drunk!) and then we you will see a Windmill on the right hand side. Head towards that and park and opposite it a excellent restaurant, which is called The Windmill, funnily enough. It is stunning. Excellent views of the sunset and fantastic food. I had the wild boar, which was delicious. We had the best night here.
The area
The town itself is OK not the most picturesque and we know Tuscany quite well. The restaurants made the area for us but I wouldn't stay at this hotel depending on what you are expecting. Very close to the Windmill is another hotel called Casabella Agriturismo and that looked lovely and is much closer to the better restaurants.
We are a nice friendly couple and stayed in 2 other hotels during our trip here and everyone else was very friendly and welcoming apart from the owners at this hotel so I really don't think it was us. Another hotel that we stayed it which we really enjoyed was Relais Della Rovere. This is near Colle Di Val D'Elsa so still accessible to all the areas.
Best towns/cities in order of personal preference: Lucca, Colle Di Val D'Elsa (hardly any tourists), Siena, San Gimignano and then Florence.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC