After reading all the previous reviews before our stay we had already prepared ourselves to expect the negative points that others had already mentioned.

Pros - The rooms are a great size and the bed was incredibly comfortable. The grounds themselves are very nice. The staff on the front desk were extremely helpful. They helped me to book all my trips and restaurants.

Cons: They charge 5 Euros for a towel to sit by the pool and 15 Euros per day for internet connection. Both of these charges in my opinion are wrong and should be free.

The fact that it is a little way out of the centre of Florence is one of the reasons we chose it as it was almost 40 degrees in Florence centre and its nice to get in and get out.

You MUST have a car and be prepared to use it if staying here but on that basis its a great place to base yourself. One can slip into florence and see what you need to see and then be sat by the pool chilling out in the late afternoon.

After reading reviews about the restaurant, we didnt bother eating there and I found 3 fantastic restaurants in villages closeby. Check out Osteria Poggia di Sotto in Barberino di Mugello. Great food. no Menu. In a small village in Galliano up in the hills around 25k from hotel. Also for a fantastic eating experience. Go to Fiesole and look down on Florence whilst eating amazing food at La reggia degli etruschi. Great experience !

We booked last minute and chose this hotel as a central point for our day trips through Tuscany. We stayed in two deluxe joining rooms as we were a family of four. The rooms are fantastic, our deluxe rooms. The rooms are fanatastic, comfortable, and more than we expected.

Staff: The staff at this hotel need to improve their bedside manner. The staff act as if they are too busy to answer a question, and provide no value as far as directions, recommendations for dinner. It would appear they hired local's that have not travelled from 4 square miles of their home.

Breakfast: Don't expect much. The restaurant is set nicely, but the food is just okay. We were affected by the breakfast twice, once I believe by spoiled milk, and the 2nd by spoiled cold-cuts. I don't expect the staff in the kitchen refrigerate their milk, or take too much care in food preparation handling and cross contamination. The buns were never fresh, but most likely left-overs from dinner the night before, as they were never fresh. The juice tasted like left-over fruit cocktail/peach syrup from a can; horrible. And if you ask the staff for a caffe-latte, they will do so, as they roll their eyes as they get it for you.

Pool: Nice pool. You will be charged 5Euro per day for towels to swim. The pool boy, at least one of them, is too busy get cushions, so you will have to prod the lad to get his attention.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone. Just be prepared for their staff to be too relaxed.

While traveling on a Collette tour, we spent two nights at this lovely hotel; albeit with a rather remote location. I believe a car is necessary for convenience. Our Deluxe room was very comfortable; the staff was exceedingly gracious and helpful (even with our language difficulties); the restaurant was beautifully decorated and the appetizers and dinner were a delight. We had a second floor room--no elevator. Many rooms are located beyond the main building or use external stairways and you have to walk outside to get to the lobby, restaurant and breakfast room. Even though we found it a little odd that the shower had a ripple glass window into the bedroom area, we would happily stay here again.

My wife and I stayed here for three nights to coincide with the UK Aug bank holiday.

Firstly it is not in Florence so it is pointless getting precious about the location. It is as others have said a 25 Euro taxi fare into Florence. It is however more than 50 Euro cheaper than comparable properties in Florence. It is a good base to go into Florence but not stay there.

The room we stayed in was detached from the rest of the property. It was well furnished and modern.

Where this hotel scores is the swimming pool and nice gardens. It an ideal stop if you are travelling by car or if you just want a few days away from the sight seeing.

My only criticism of the hotel is the restaurant. For breakfast it is good. For drinks it is good with a great selection of local wines. It is let down by it's food. On the three nights we were there they served both buffet and a la carte. The buffet had a good selection of starters but the mains were poor. The a la carte seemed to compromise the buffet meals served differently!

There is an excellent supermarket 10 - 15 mins walk away and our tip is Tuscan picnics in the gardens.