It was quaint, authentic (alittle too much so to be totally comfortable) and remote. Very pleasant staff but no information was offered unless you asked. I bet most guests had no idea there was a bocce court and ping pong on the property. The other reviews are spot on. Location made it difficult to do day trips since you had to tack on extra time to get in and out of area....never got to places we had hoped because of this. Ask questions about rooms. The first we got had very low clearances at doorways and we had to duck at each one. It was also located above the restaurant. The one we changed to had 2 bedrooms next to each other. Problem was that the bedrooms and baths were back to back and no sound proofing AT ALL. Since we were 2 couples, this made for a very awkward situation, to say the least. Cleaning service is not included as frequently as we hoped. It's generally a peaceful place but be aware that hunting goes on occasionally within steps of the pool area. Be prepared to walk up and down lots of gravel paths and steps to get anywhere on property. Can't comment on value for money since I'm not sure what the actual price would be, though my friend traded a week in a much more luxurious property to be there. It was as close to camping as we'd like to get!

Borgo di Vagli is an enchanting place out in the Tuscan country side and very remote. In this review, we'll point out things we wish we'd known prior to going on this trip. Our main purpose for the trip was to see and experience Tuscany. Now retrospectively, we wish we picked a lodging place which was more central and easier to access. The place has amazing olive, fig, hazelnut, walnut trees, the view is spectacular and the accommodations are comfortable. The road through the mountain to the villa including the unpaved 2 km piece is like a serpentine, scary and challenging to drive especially at night. We had a navigation system, which saved us; I can’t imagine doing this trip with just a map. Since you are in the wilderness you’ll see wildlife such as boars (we saw one eating walnuts outside of our villa), snakes, spiders, and scorpions. Every night before going to bed we went on a scorpion hunt in our villa and found at least one scorpion on our walls. Apparently they are not poisonous (more like a bee sting), we never got stung but still we could not fully relax in our place. Although the food in Italy can be a hit or a miss, the on-site restaurant was very nice and we enjoyed the Sunday morning brunch. The concierge is helpful in booking reservations which are required for most restaurants. The closest city was Cortona (30 min) and Mercatale (10 min – very small village with grocery shops).

Our favorite memories of the area include visiting the following cities:
- San Gimignano (2 hours) – city with 14 towers and a great wine shop where you can sample local wines called D!Vineria www.divineria.it. Also, we can recommend a wonderful restaurant with amazing panoramic views, great food and reasonably inexpensive, it’s called Le Vecchie Mura Tel. [--], you’ll need a reservation to book a table on their terrace.
- Pienza (1 hour 15 min) – excellent for purchasing Pecorino cheese and cured meats.
- Montepulciano (1 hour) – charming hill town for tasting Vino Nobile and other local wines. Our favorite gourmet restaurant was Logge del Vignola (requires a reservation).
- Cortona (30 min) – Sunday afternoon antiques market and good shopping.
- Wine Tasting and Gourmet Lunch near Montepulciano (45 min) – book Avignonese wine tour and lunch through a concierge at the villa. We booked a 4-course lunch on the patio enjoying spectacular views, amazing wine and delicious home-made food. This is a special treat.

Borgo di Vagli is beautiful and the staff is wonderful in terms of availability, friendliness, helpfulness and overall hospitality. The views are spectacular! The restaurant on the premises is very good and it is worthwhile dining there. However, we ended up eating dinner there more than we had planned because we did not want to deal with the road coming up to the Villas at night or after having some wine. Although a number of the reviews mentioned the road, the reality is that it is a white gravel road with pot holes and is extremely curvy, steep and about 3 km long. Definitely not a two lane road, so there are some challenges if you encounter anyone coming in the other direction. If you are not comfortable with a standard transmission, don't consider it. And don't try your first time at night. Make sure you get front wheel drive! The other issue that was mentioned in some reviews is that in August, there are bees. Not just a few but lots. They greet you when you pull into the parking lot and follow you to the door of the villa. They're not a problem inside the villa but be prepared for being annoyed by them at the pool and everywhere until sunset. By no way am I saying this isn't a great place to relax but be aware of the issues mentioned including the fact that in August, it's quite warm. It wasn't a major issue for us but I know one family left because they couldn't deal with it being so warm for sleeping.

It’s been nearly two months since we returned from Italy but pleasant thoughts of Borgo di Vagli still remain. We stayed in a restored 14th century 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa with wonderful views of Castle Pierl across the valley. The villa included all the comforts of home: spacious rooms, great bathrooms and bath products, internet access, full equipped kitchen including dishwasher, window screens, swimming pool and daily maid service.

This restored hamlet is about 2 hours from Rome, 20 minutes from Cortona and many of the interesting hill towns of Tuscany and Umbria. A beautiful romantic hideaway, I can’t wait to get back!