October 2010 (late writing this review)

While the Villa was difficult to find on our GPS the locals were friendly and helpful to get us redirected. When we arrived to stay at La Fonte we were told us they had some good news and bad news. They said that there was a big storm the night prior and there was currently no power in the La Fonte but the good news was that they had arranged two rooms in the villa for our arrival night with plans to have the power restored in La Fonte in the morning. What a relief and what a pleasant surprise.

We thoroughly enjoyed the rooms they provided and the chef at the villa was outstanding. The next morning we moved into the La Fonte which was perfect for us being two couples as we had shared living space and separate bedrooms with full bathrooms each. La Fonte enabled us to cook our own breakfast beforing heading out on wine tours and day trips then head home to make meals if we wanted or just walk around the gardens. One highlight of our stay at La Fonte was our Tuscan cooking class we arranged with Kitchen Chez Nous who brought all the food, wine and pots and pans (although our kitchen was well stocked) to prepare a lovely Tuscan meal. We made fresh pasta for our eggplant ravioli, a chicken dish and a light dessert - highly recommend them. They arrived at 3:30 and they finished washing the pots and pans by around 8pm after servings our meal too - what a blast!!!!

We enjoyed two splendid days in this historical palazzo located in a very nice Tuscan environment. The interior of Il Poggiale is absolutely uniquely decorated and furnished. The very friendly and helpful staff completed our unforgettable stay.

Our first stay, although our travel mates had stayed before and highly recommended. They were not wrong. Luxurious, clean, excellent staff, beautiful location. Plus, since we were off-season, the price was very reasonable, considering all.

After long days of site-seeing, a wonderful, relaxing place to come back and chill before dinner.

Tip for Americans who like BIG cups of coffee. Go down by the spa. For some reason the only place with big coffee mugs. You can take them to the breakfast area,fill up, and take them back to your room. The maids will clean and leave them in your room, so you only have to find 'em once.

We will be back!

The Villa was exactly as it appeared in the photos, which was a very nice surprise. The hosts and staff were pleasant. The location was lovely and convenient to Florence and San Gimingnano. The food was good, but not great. When we arrived we were told that our "suite" wasn't available due to a large party so we spent the first night in a lovely room with a private little atrium - we fell in love. In fact, we asked if we could just stay in that room for the remainder of the trip but unfortunately we were told that wasn't possible, so we were moved to our "suite" for the remainder of our four nights. The junior suite was just a larger room, which was fine, but we the bed was VERY hard. We mentioned it a few times and asked again if we could be moved but were told that wasn't an option. We were promised that the hardness of the bed would be addressed but it wasn't so we spent the last few days getting little rest and having very stiff backs - we would have been very happy to go back to the first room we had, which was charming. I also thought I had booked a spa package and added and extra night at a reduced rate but when I got the bill I saw that all of the spa treatments that I thought had been included in the price of the package were actually billed out separately so the bill came to more than $1000 more than I had expected to pay. It is a beautiful property with lovely amenities in a gorgeous and picturesque location but I would only go back if I could guarantee which room was reserved for us and got clarification of the billing ahead of time.