having spent a wet week in tuscany we decided to check out of our previous hotel and were looking for a hotel with spa facilities and internet connection to escape the rain for a day and catch up on e-mails.

having read reviews and hotel description for the aquaviva we thought it fitted the bill.

the impression we had was that it was closer to siena than it turned out to be, but to be fair we hadn't checked hotel website for location details. Journey was hair raising at points , even our sat nav told us not to go!!


Upon approach our hearts sank - it was a motel style building. Upon check in they could not locate a key to a room for us, hotel was huge and i suspect no more than 10 parties were staying (a bit norman bates ) eventually we got our room. very spacious and a fabulous view. Huge wardrobe - what a bonus - only 4 coat hangers - how useful!

bathroom clean, but very basic - hardly any toilettries and horrible shower curtain etc

shower was not the best, water temp kept changing without warning.

bed soft squeaky and lumpy
hotel room had one power socket conveniently located miles from the mirror - not funny when I was trying to straighten my hair!
room had a safe - but you needed to pay for a key.

having checked in around 6pm and having time before dinner
we made a beeline for the pool area - were given a towel for the pool (had to pay if you wanted a robe)
pool area tired - mattresses on poolside beds were few and far between and ones that were out were mouldy. The jacuzzi was a bit of a death trap , but it sort of worked (only some jets operating) but indoor pool was a bonus.

the pool had no proper changing area so meant you either had to go through reception in swimmers or risk leaving clothes etc to get wet around pool

we enquired about spa treatments for the following day to be told it was the girls day off - so whole point of traveling there gone.
when we asked how to access the internet we were told they didn't have it that area! but as we couldn't check it out on our PC we couldn't argue about their description!!

dinner was ok (we chose really basic food grilled chicken and chips) we had a feeling everything else would be pretty bad, meal was overpriced but wine was nice enough. The waiter however was really nice and very helpful - kept us updated with the champions league results!

breakfast was absolutely terrible - waiter kept switching the toast machine off and turning the temp of the hot water / coffee machine to low. all i wanted was tea and toast and this seemed too much to ask for - and we were being charged euro26 each for the breakfast! we need to start liking processed cheese and tinned fruit a bit more.

based on the breakfast and no spa treatment and very tired pool area and very very remote location we cut short our booking and left immediately!

I would not recommend this hotel - so many better places to go and it wasn't even well placed for commuting to many other places.

on our trip we stayed in a mix of basic city hotels, motels, relais and luxury 4 star plus venues and visited a number of other venues (looking for wedding destinations) so I think fair to say this did not live up to reviews

to add insult to injury, the web rates for the hotel were euro76 but hotel was charging euro 105 (we booked direct as internet cafe not secure for credit card payment)

good news is we left and spent an unexpected day in san gimignano - checked into a lovely 4* that really is a 4* (but not had breakfast yet - will keep you posted!)

Ok so it is not very easy to get to this hotel. We drove from Lake Garda to Tuscany and obtained directions through MapQuest which were very helpful until we got around Siena. From there the directions get very vague and just tell you to turn right in 800m or left in 2 km. Considering there are many roundabouts we got lost. So we stopped at a local gas station/car repair shop and since I don't speak Italian but do speak Spanish managed to explain where we wanted to go. One of the attendants was nice enough to escort us to the hotel :)

The area around the hotel is beautiful. There are endless rolling hills...you literally feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. Note: may not be best suited for those who get sick to their stomach easily since the roads in/out are extremely windy (as in they wind alot, not the weather). The hotel was ok...the room was very large and we had a balcony facing the view. The reception was polite but couldn't really recommend anywhere where we could book a wine tour or any tours for that matter, One woman did suggest we visit Volterra, a nearby (about 20km) old town atop a very large mountain/hill that specializes in alabaster production. There was also some kind of torture museum there for those who are interested in that.

We didn't have time to use the hotel's pool but it always looked busy. All in all the hotel served the purpose was had intended- a place where we could base ourselves and explore cities in Tuscany. Next time we'll probably stay totally in Tuscany rather than commuting to other places.

Having been told just before our holiday that we were being re-located to this hotel because of sanitation problems at their sister hotel (Gemini Hotel) about 4 miles away we were pleased with the location and beautiful far-reaching views. The room was spacious and had a private patio on to the garden. Cleaning was thorough and linen and towels changed regularly during our 10 day stay. The reception staff - French, German and English were helpful and pleasant. I had lovely aromatherapy massages (by a Romanian girl) and the gym facilities looked good although the jacuzzi was grubby.
UNFORTUNATELY the food in the hotel was poor, breakfast was a buffet of indifferent ham, processed cheese, cold boiled egg, some cereals, long-life packet croissant, bread that appeared stale every day and awful coffee. There was also a choice of tinned pineapple or tinned fruit salad every day for 10 days!!! In a country where the markets were overflowing with gorgeous fresh fruit - we started bringing in our own!! We were told that Italians don't do breakfast just coffee and croissant - well one of the delicious fresh croissants from the village bakery would have been fine for us, or a choice of the fresh breads we saw everywhere.
As the nearest restaurant was 4 miles away ('The Colombaia') and another one was an Enoteca in the village serving the same meal to everyone with no choices and no menu, the hotel restaurant was more convenient but the only thing we enjoyed was fillet steak (we asked them to hold the gloopy sauce!) Unfortunately always served with frozen frittes! Our verdict on the food was agreed with by other residents we spoke to of various nationalities.
It was very warm during our stay (28c) and nights were hot and sticky but we were told by the staff that by Italian law the aircon had to be switched off by the 1st October - so we sweltered!
It was quiet at the hotel and we did wonder whether it had just been a cost cutting exercise to move us and others over from the sister hotel. The Spanish owners were apparently on holiday in Spain so we couldn't ask them!
This hotel is well situated for visiting the beautiful Tuscan towns and villages - close to San Gimignano, Sienna and Volterra but do your homework before you go as the hotel do not provide any tourist information whatsoever - not a single leaflet in the room or at reception!! You must have a car as public transport was non existent, it was too far to walk to the village comfortably and taxis difficult to track down!
The advertised 'satellite' TV ( for english speakers) means CNN and BBC World news only!

Great and beautifull hotel, but the service is very poor.

It took them 3 days to send someone to activate the interent ( ethernet connection $6 for 2 hours ) and 3 days to repair the safe.

Sorry is a word that they do not understand.

Breakfast is average always te he same burned croissants.

We took a lunch , that was very poor.

To bad becouse the place look great.