After reading the reviews, looking at the photos, analyzing the location and then seeing the price I decided to book this hotel for my Tuscan holiday and I was pleasantly surprised that it was all true! It's a beautiful old villa in a wonderful park on top of a hill. The whole setting and architecture is fantastic, with great views from the poolside over the hills of the Valdichiana towards Montepulciano, which you can see in the distance.
The room in the villa (top floor, room 'Berenice') was beautifully decorated with antique wooden furniture and a double bed that was comfortable. The bathroom with shower was modern and clean. At night you closed the shutters and the outside world vanished, with no sound or light entering. Therefore I could sleep in every day until at least 8 or 9 AM without noticing the sun was up.
Breakfast was at the restaurant next to the pool, with a buffet of mostly sweet pastries and some fruit juices and yoghurt. Nice and fresh, good quality. You could order a coffee or tea with that. I didn't have lunch or dinner at the restaurant, so I can't comment on those meals.
The only disadvantage of such a beautiful location is that there are no shops or restaurants in the immediate vicinity. You need a car to get anywhere. The best option is to go to Cortona regularly, which is a very charming hillside town at just under 20 km to the east. For your daily groceries you can also go to Foiano della Chiana, which is closer to the hotel but not as interesting as Cortona, although it does have the Valdichiana Outlet Shopping Village if you want to shop for clothes. The hotel is only a few km from the semi-motorway between Siena and Perugia, which connects to the Firenze-Roma motorway, so it's easy to cover larger distances too. Siena and Perugia are just over a half hour drive and the same goes for Arezzo, Orvieto and the Val d'Orcia. Montepulciano is a 20 minute drive and so is Castiglione del Lago, another charming small town on Lago Trasimeno.
I loved staying at this Tuscan paradise and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a quiet and peaceful luxury retreat in the beautiful Italian countryside.
By the way, Hannibal also stayed nearby once :-)