We 3 middle aged females spent 6 days at the Hotel Mediterraneo in Montecatini Terme. This hotel is not like any in America, so at first we were dubious. It is an older hotel with furnishings that would be described as dated. But, it was very clean, and we felt very, very safe. The hotel offers single rooms at 1/2 the price of double rooms. It made it nice that the snorers could snore away without bothering anyone and it was nice we didn't have to wait our turn for showers, hairdryers, bathroom use. The hotel is situated close to town with a beautiful park outside the door. We didn't select the full meal option, just continental breakfast daily. The breakfast is served on a terrace at the edge of the park , a beautiful way to start the day. The most amazing part of the stay is the staff. They were wonderful and did everything they could to assist us. I would highly recommend this hotel to all people of all ages. Like I stated above, it was very different than what we are used to in major American cities, but by the end of our stay, we didn't want to leave.
We used ComeandseeItaly.com and booked day trips to Florence, Cinque Terre, Vinci winery. Our tour guide was Tania and she spoke excellent english and was very friendly and fun. We also booked a 4 hour cooking class where we went to a farm house and learned to make pasta, 3 types of sauces and tiramisu. We all then ate together at a table with the cook and her husband. One day we arranged for a free shuttle to Grotta Giusti, where we sat in actual grotto named after Dante's inferno, then chilled in the thermal pool. It was an awesome experience. All in all, it was a marvelous trip to Tuscany and because it was August, we spent most of our time under the Tuscan sun which was intense at 92 degrees farenheit. Thank goodness our hotel rooms were air conditioned. For some reason Montecatini does not attract too many American visitors but they assured us they all love America and treated us like royalty. We felt like we experienced the real Tuscany, we struggled a little with communicating but as long as you attempt to learn some Italian words and phrases, people would attempt to help. If not, someone who spoke english would come and help us. We had lots of fun exchanging words and phrases, it added to the experience. Never, for one moment did we feel nervous or unsafe. One thing I hadn't seen mentioned before, is that in the small towns, no one takes credit cards, but there are ATM machines everywhere.
The Hotel Mediterraneo provided transport service (just the 3 of us) between the hotel and Pisa airport. We never needed a car, but other guests did have car rentals. The hotel had wifi available for a fee.
This is the first time I'm writing a review like this. I feel so satisfied with our experience and I want to share it with others.